Chapter 100 The Gunners Slay the Devils

The second half whistle blew.

Manchester United with possession.

Rooney kicked off and passed back to Carrick.

In his youth, he was fast, physically tough, and explosive, earning him the nicknames "England's Little Tank" and "Three Lions' Battering Ram."

He peaked upon his debut.

A British Empire Star.

Just how explosive was his impact?

Vieira and Makélélé of the 2004 European Championship could attest to that.

A chubby teenager, crushing world-class defenses!

The key was that Rooney wasn't picky.

He could spark with forwards of different styles: Van Nistelrooy, Hernandez, Tevez, Van Persie...

Before he liked women, he worked hard, training even during holidays, making the security guard at the base feel sorry for him.

....

"Manchester United, down by two goals, are they abandoning the width on the wings and strengthening their attack through the center?"

"The Premier League media has given Rooney the nickname: the British Pirlo!"

"His transformation in recent years can't be called a complete success; the finesse of his close-range skills isn't quite there yet, but his long passes are quite accomplished."

Rooney, of course, hadn't reached Pirlo's level.

However, he could cooperate with Pogba and Ibrahimović to form three unstoppable passing points in the attack.

In a difficult situation, none of the three held onto the ball.

They led Manchester United's formation in a frantic push forward, their teammates filled with fighting spirit.

Arsenal maintained a low block, their formation steadily retreating.

Without Saúl and Koke beside Li Kang, it was theoretically difficult to crush the opponent's midfield.

One person couldn't possibly stop three core players.

Trailing behind in Arsenal's midfield was Xhaka.

Was Xhaka bad?

No.

But his style was different.

Xhaka was more suited to positional defense: holding his ground and being responsible for his area.

Making him run around like Atlético's youngsters wouldn't be effective.

Nor could he run like that.

He also had to consider Maguire and Mustafi behind him.

Those two center-backs had a strong desire to push forward.

They wished they could play center forward.

...

Mourinho's expression was stern.

He held a brand-new, unopened bottle of mineral water in his hand.

Its shape was perfect.

He couldn't accept losing by a large margin to Wenger's team.

The remaining 45 minutes had to be a do-or-die battle.

Arsenal's defense wasn't that solid; they could definitely be broken through!

On the other side.

Bould said, "Boss, I suggest we replace Li and Walcott around the 60th minute and set up with six defenders..."

Wenger shook his head, rejecting the proposal:

"Even if Li just walks around on the field, he's still a deterrent."

....

The God's-eye view analysis was complete.

Li Kang gestured: telling Xhaka and Maguire to hold their positions well.

He then ran towards Rooney.

That was the easiest passing point to bully in Manchester United's attacking group.

Rooney, for some reason, had a huge difference in his ability to distribute the ball to both sides during the attack in recent years: his passes to the right were divine, while his passes to the left were ghostly.

At the same time.

Walcott understood the signal Li Kang was giving.

He immediately abandoned his entanglement mission and began to push forward along the wing.

Manchester United's full-back, Brandt, hesitated: this season, Rooney... couldn't replace Martial's interception role on the wing.

....

"Rooney received a diagonal pass from Pogba on the left side of the box."

"Manchester United's attack hasn't formed a crowded center, and the effect of strengthening their attack through the center is significant."

"Lingard and Luke Shaw are crisscrossing on the right wing and right side of the box."

"Arsenal's defense is a little chaotic."

Ibrahimović stood again on the right side of the penalty area, raising his right hand high.

He was a center forward who made his teammates feel comfortable.

As long as Rooney played to his normal level and sent a chipped pass to the right from the left side of the box, he could...

With a snap.

Possession was lost.

Ibrahimović helplessly lowered his hand, seeing Arsenal's number 10 blocking in front of the chubby guy through the dense crowd.

...

Rooney was a little annoyed.

He was just about to send a deadly pass when Li disrupted it.

If he were seven or eight years younger and didn't eat so much fast food... how could he be afraid of this kind of high pressing?

"Close call."

"Arsenal almost launched a counterattack."

"Herrera stepped up in time and controlled the ball."

"Manchester United restarted their attack."

This small episode didn't affect the morale of Manchester United's teammates.

The soaring team song echoed over Old Trafford.

The Red Devils fans were tenacious, having long forgotten the fear brought by the 200 million man, enthusiastically encouraging the players on the field.

"Glory, glory,

Čech watched Li Kang's constantly running back from afar, feeling incredibly relaxed.

The Tank Hat God even didn't need to direct Maguire and Mustafi's positioning... Li Kang had turned Arsenal's low block into a super defensive formation.

The ball was either blocked out of bounds or kicked out of play.

On the sidelines.

Assistant coach Faria said with a solemn tone, "How did the situation turn out like this? Even if Rooney normally filled Martial's original position..."

"We would lose even more miserably."

Mourinho squashed the water bottle again.

Arsenal's number 10 on the field was too unbelievable... How did he find a way to deal with it in such a short time?

If it were any other team, even Guardiola would be hammered by this trick.

In the second half's game.

Mourinho's backhand was easily countered by Li Kang's backhand.

He turned his head to look at the bench.

Mkhitaryan was still injured.

Mata... forget it, his ball release speed was too slow, more suitable for Van Gaal's tactics.

The passing of time.

The unchanging score.

Eroded the patience of Manchester United's coaching staff.

On the other side.

Wenger had already sat back in the coach's seat, beaming with joy.

He hadn't been this relaxed at Old Trafford in a long time.

Leaving aside the victory or defeat, he also didn't need to complain to the fourth official about anything.

Even the referee on the field, Atkinson, had become a little cute.

Bould said, "Boss, Manchester United now has eight players pressing past the halfway line to participate in the attack! I suggest replacing Morata and Walcott with Mertesacker and Koscielny..."

Before he finished speaking.

A sudden change occurred on the field.

...

The one who messed up wasn't Rooney.

To be honest, the chubby guy wasn't that bad.

It was Pogba who was impulsive.

How could the young and vigorous French black egg tolerate his performance at the club being inferior to Arsenal's number 10!

The larger the player, the faster their stamina would be lost on the field.

Mourinho didn't arrange strength training in his usual training sessions.

If it continued, Manchester United would only lose.

He weaved through the left side of the box, shaking off Xhaka, and caught Herrera's pass.

He continued to probe the baseline.

With a sudden stop, he crossed the ball to the right side!

Unfortunately, the pass was disturbed by Bellerín.

The ball speed was a little slow.

Above Arsenal's penalty area.

Maguire and Mustafi jumped high.

Clang!

It was unknown whose head successfully cleared the ball.

The ball was bounced towards the frontcourt.

...

Cazorla's prediction of the landing point was very accurate.

He headed the ball again before Carrick.

"Headed it to the middle."

"Li Kang's positioning is very insightful."

"Manchester United is now very dangerous."

"The defense on the left wing is empty."

"Oops!"

A series of sighs sounded at Old Trafford.

Li Kang didn't stop the ball, and under Rooney's interference, raised his left foot.

Snap!

Accompanied by a crisp sound of touching the ball.

Walcott, who had been waiting for a long time, started.

He was a hidden mine that Li Kang had placed on the wing.

In an instant.

Mourinho's face turned ashen.

....

Walcott and Bale were in the same class at Southampton's youth academy.

How fast was he?

You'd have to ask Bale.

The camera moved quickly.

Arsenal launched a storm-like counterattack in the frontcourt.

Morata and Sánchez sprinted.

The attacking width the two of them pulled apart made Smalling and Bailly very passive.

'Can't lose position.'

'Maintain the last line of defense...'

Bailly's mind echoed with Mourinho's teachings.

Unfortunately.

Defending two against one was easy.

Defending three against two was difficult.

In a counterattack, having one more attacking player geometrically increases the options for passing.

....

Li Kang was a little tired.

Even eating a banana didn't help.

The Torres module and Ronaldo module put a lot of strain on the body and consumed a lot of energy.

Maybe even if he maxed out his 99 stamina points in the future, he wouldn't be able to use it many times within 90 minutes.

He had been constantly driving the pig-like chubby guy in positional defense.

He was a little tired.

England didn't have the heroic achievements of the Iberian Peninsula.

He finally understood a little: why Klopp-style managers liked to use short players in the frontcourt when playing high-pressing...

A midfielder who was 1.86 meters tall running like crazy.

A midfielder who was 1.68 meters tall running like crazy.

The stamina consumption of the two was not the same.

Stamina planning for players in puberty who are developing quickly is a big problem at different times of the game.

Modern football has developed to this day.

It seems that only peak Spain and peak Italy can maintain static offense and defense for a long time.

....

De Gea calmly directed the positioning of his defensive teammates.

Li's figure wasn't there.

Not a big problem.

"Walcott brought the ball to Manchester United's penalty area, slowing down."

"Bailly was very calm this time, not easily trying to steal the ball."

"The ball was passed horizontally to Morata's feet."

"Then passed to Sánchez."

"Then back to Morata's feet."

"Why haven't they shot yet?"

"Manchester United's players are about to fall back into position."

A series of exclamations sounded from the stands behind the goal.

The ball was passed back and forth between Arsenal's three players.

The hearts of the Red Devils fans were in their throats.

The Gunners fans were extremely anxious.

Clang!

Sánchez took a furious shot from the left side of the penalty area.

The ball whistled towards the upper right corner of the goal.

De Gea's slender figure stretched out in mid-air, his platinum gloves easily resolving the danger.

Everything was under control.

"Incredible save!"

"Oops! It wasn't cleared far enough!"

"Morata!"

"Header!"

On the right side of the penalty area.

Bailly and Morata jumped at the same time.

There was no suspense in the aerial duel.

How could a T1-level center-back compete with a T0-level forehead?

The ball floated lightly into Manchester United's net.

0:3!!!

A small number of Manchester United fans stood up on the spot, scolded a few words, and left in anger.

Arsenal fans were immersed in joy.

They had been constantly suppressed, yet they could still win by three goals?

...

"There's no suspense anymore!"

"In the final stage of the game, Morata killed the game with a header!"

"Manchester United gained momentum but didn't score."

"Under Li Kang's command, Arsenal easily resisted wave after wave of the opponent's attacks."

"Wenger is about to make substitutions!"

"Koscielny and Mertesacker are standing on the sidelines."

"The old routine."

"After leading by three goals, Arsenal is going to use beautiful football to reward the audience."

Livestream.

-[Morata's head really can break through De Gea's five-finger barrier.]

-[Manchester United put on a show of flashy moves, and then you look at the score...]

-[Why can Koscielny and Mertesacker play beautiful football when they come on?]

-[The styles of the center-backs are different. The two of them have explosive individual abilities. Now they're on the field to finish the harvest, harvesting the exhausted Manchester United attacking players, and then letting Cazorla move forward to assist Little Li.]

-[In the Champions League next week, M4K6 can start in full condition!]

-[Wenger's principle: utilitarian football will lose neutral viewers, and beautiful football has higher broadcast revenue.]

-[Arsenal is really awesome this season, just go for it.]

...

The game quickly resumed.

Contrary to the fans' predictions.

Mertesacker and Koscielny failed to restrain Ibrahimović and Pogba, who were trying to save face.

The effect of head-on confrontation wasn't much stronger than Maguire and Mustafi.

The head-on confrontation in a small area was even a little worse.

But the two had strong individual combat abilities, didn't rely on a system, and didn't need protection.

Beautiful football still set off a storm at Old Trafford.

With a three-goal advantage, Li Kang and Cazorla were no longer confined to defense, and their cooperation was tacit, repeatedly launching flowing passing attacks.

Amidst cheers.

The enjoyable back-and-forth attack brought the fourth round of the Premier League to a close.

De Gea, in one high save after another... gradually began to doubt his life.

...

Beep! Beep beep~

Finally.

The referee blew the whistle to end the match.

Arsenal, having defeated two strong teams from the Premier League Big Six, achieved a four-game winning streak in the league!