Chapter 169 The Hand Grenade and the Van

The Emirates Stadium was in complete uproar.

Cheers and applause, like a flood, rolled down from all sides of the stands, engulfing Arsenal's number 10.

"Lee!!!"

"Lee!!!"

"Lee!!!"

Tens of thousands of fans in the stadium were stirred, subconsciously savoring the shocking super-grenade from just now.

Overly excited young fans tore their homework into pieces, crumpled them into balls, and threw them into the air.

Welbeck shook his head and ran all the way to Lee Kang, opening his dark arms.

"That's what you call teamwork!"

"Lee, one more! Throw it at my head!"

Lee Kang smiled and supported his waist.

The 'Nuclear Hand Grenade' module doesn't hurt the arm much, but it does hurt the waist...

The teammates gathered around, celebrating wildly.

The stalemate was completely broken after Lee Kang came on the field.

Some were happy, and some were sad.

Van Dijk, recovering from the shock, slapped the turf in frustration.

A throw-in even more terrifying than a corner kick... too unreasonable.

How the hell are you supposed to defend that?

If they were to defend specifically against it, it would mean that the spacing of Southampton's entire defense would have to undergo "surgery."

Too late.

There was very little time left in the game!

Goalkeeper Forster patted Van Dijk on the shoulder.

The two had once created an amazing record of 1256 minutes without conceding a goal in the Scottish Premiership.

"Stop thinking about defending!"

"We're one goal behind, we need to attack!"

...

At the edge of the field.

Bould was shocked beyond words: "Boss, when did Lee secretly develop that grenade?"

Wenger shook his head with a smile: "He inherently possesses excellent core strength..."

Years ago, Arsenal had been dizzy from such earth-shattering grenades.

The old members of the coaching staff praised him one after another, completely forgetting their angry accusations against this terrifying tactic back then.

On the other side.

Pierre anxiously raised his watch.

There were only 5 minutes left in the regular time of the match.

Southampton needed someone to step up.

...

A familiar figure appeared on the sidelines in the center circle.

Maya Yoshida.

With his right hand claw-like, he adjusted his shorts.

Save the world?

The opponent is Lee!

"There's very little regular time left in the game."

"Southampton has made a substitution!"

"Yoshida replaces Davis!"

"This adjustment is a bit baffling, still bringing on a defender when they're one goal behind?"

...

The game restarted at the center circle.

Rodriguez passed the ball back to Romeu.

Southampton pressed forward in full force.

Yoshida and Fonte twisted their big butts and charged towards Arsenal's half.

The audience then understood Pierre's intention for the substitution: to use the center backs as forwards and charge into the opponent's penalty area!

Simple,

Practical.

The most efficient offensive arrangement for Southampton in the limited time left!

The ball came to the forty-meter area after several passes.

Romeu activated his La Masia mode.

A one-touch pass to the wing.

Right-back Bertrand, who had pushed up, ran wildly with the ball.

Once a talented young player for Chelsea.

He was once hailed as one of Ashley Cole's successors...

Chelsea had several young left-backs in reserve back then.

Bertrand was relatively lucky.

He was the first young player to make his debut in the Champions League final... winning the big-eared cup with the team in his Champions League debut!

"Too many players committed to the attack!"

"Only one Van Dijk left in the high defensive line!"

"A desperate gamble by the Saints!"

...

Arsenal's half was in turmoil.

Southampton pressed forward with all their might like crazy.

Defend?

Losing by one goal is still losing.

Losing by two goals is also losing.

Might as well take a chance.

Bertrand dribbled the ball to the thirty-meter area.

His figure stopped abruptly.

"Long pass!"

"He's going to lob the ball into the penalty area!"

"Ah! Didn't get it out..."

Bertrand was tackled to the ground.

The referee indicated no foul: Xhaka got the ball first.

People suddenly remembered: Xhaka is not a pure defensive midfielder, he was the organizing core at Borussia Mönchengladbach, possessing superb long-passing skills.

Pa!

Xhaka ignored Welbeck's gesture for the ball and decisively kicked it.

Of course, he was looking for Lee Kang.

The ball rose from the ground, spinning violently in the air, and fell straight to the center circle line.

Southampton had too many players committed to the attack and didn't have time to return to defense.

It didn't matter.

There were still two people in the high defensive line.

Romeu predicted accurately, quickly approaching Lee Kang, preparing to disrupt Arsenal's counterattack!

Also a product of La Masia's number 4 position experiment.

Romeu didn't think he could defend Lee Kang alone, he was preparing to intercept the ball while calling for Van Dijk behind him for support.

Support?

Where's Van Dijk?

Why is that kid retreating!

His thoughts were interrupted.

The ball fell to the ground.

Romeu was undoubtedly overturned by Lee Kang.

...

"Arsenal counterattack!"

"The red and white torrent instantly washes over Southampton's half!"

"Lee Kang is charging! Morata opens up the width of the attack! Welbeck maintains the spacing to prepare for support!"

"Van Dijk is alone! How can he stop three people!"

"He's still retreating!"

Van Dijk was very calm.

While retreating, he raised his hand to signal Forster not to attack and to block the far corner.

And he was stuck in Lee Kang's path.

He wasn't observing the opponent's touch rhythm and step frequency.

In one-on-one defense, the Dutch center back likes to look at the opponent's eyes.

The eyes are the windows to the soul.

But Van Dijk didn't see anything.

He still has to retreat!

...

In the live broadcast room.

-[Van Retreat!]

-[I've always wondered, what kind of horror story would happen if Van Dijk and Neuer were teammates?]

-[Van Dijk has really become much stronger this season, even Hazard can't abuse him.]

-[No way? Do you really think Van Dijk can defend against three?]

...

Lee Kang couldn't cut to the center.

Van Dijk's special skill "retreating defense" was becoming more and more refined, far surpassing his time at Bayer Leverkusen, he wanted to force Lee Kang to the wing.

During the retreat, he could also use his burly body to cut off Arsenal's forward passing connections.

One against three.

No.

Within the penalty area, there was also goalkeeper Forster!

Southampton fans erupted in enthusiastic applause.

The great art of defense!

"Lee Kang has entered the Saints' penalty area!"

"No way to shoot!"

"Beautiful!"

...

Lee Kang stopped abruptly.

Van Dijk couldn't stop the inertia of his retreat for a moment.

Passively giving up the passing route.

Pa.

The ball was passed along the turf diagonally to Morata!

The twelve-yard penalty spot.

The Spanish striker faced goalkeeper Forster.

The audience couldn't help but be on tenterhooks.

Pa.

Backheel!

The ball rolled softly to Welbeck's feet.

"He can shoot!"

"Welbeck!"

"Almost an empty goal!"

...

Welbeck had a headache.

Morata didn't pass to his usual foot direction like Lee did.

He had to adjust.

Would he have time to adjust?

No time.

Van Dijk quickly moved across and charged over!

...

Welbeck twisted his big butt.

Protecting the ball with his side.

Not making eye contact with Van Dijk.

The audience sighed.

"Wasted the opportunity to extend the lead!"

"Too much."

"Southampton's players are about to return to defense and take their positions... beautiful!"

...

After Welbeck completed a rhinoceros turn.

Although he wasted a shooting opportunity, he squeezed out a passing opportunity.

A light flick.

The ball leaped lightly to the side of the penalty area.

Lee Kang raised his left foot high.

Volley!

Ping!

The ball was like a cannonball!

It went straight through Southampton's goal!

3:1!!!

"Too tacit!"

"Teammates gifting each other!"

"In the 88th minute of the game, Welbeck assisted with a flick, Lee Kang volleyed, and Arsenal killed the suspense of the game!"

"Van Dijk did his best!"

...

No miracle comeback was staged at the Emirates Stadium.

Southampton ultimately tried their best in stoppage time, but couldn't stop the Gunners' title-winning progress!

Beep! Beep beep~

The referee finally blew the whistle to end the game.

Arsenal 3:1 Southampton.