Chapter 1 Life is Like a Penalty Kick

Penalty shootouts do not have a long history in the world of football.

In the 1968 European Cup semi-final, Italy eliminated the Soviet Union by a coin toss.

The final against Yugoslavia also ended in a draw.

The opponent resolutely refused to continue tossing coins!

UEFA ultimately chose a replay.

It wasn't until the 1978 European Cup that penalty shootouts were officially established.

Life is like a penalty kick.

Baggio deeply understood this sentence. In the 1994 World Cup, he replicated Maradona's feat, single-handedly leading Italy to the final.

Ultimately, he left behind a regretful image of a missed penalty.

Wembley Stadium, FA Cup semi-final.

Arsenal and Tottenham entered the penalty shootout stage, also the highest-rated segment.

The fans were extremely nervous.

No one wanted their club's efforts for the entire season to be in vain.

"Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker is the first to stand at the penalty spot, beautiful! A powerful shot straight into the center of the goal!"

"Tottenham's Erik Lamela is the first to step up, oh no! Too much adjustment, Petr Čech easily blocks the ball!"

"Danny Welbeck, a bit too much pre-movement as well... It's in!"

"The Goddess of Victory is smiling upon the Gunners!"

"Dele Alli's Panenka didn't fool Čech!"

"."

"Fourth round, Santi Cazorla only needs to score this penalty to end the game!"

"Beautiful!"

"Goal!"

"Arsenal eliminates Tottenham and advances to the 2016/17 FA Cup final!"

The Gunners, who were originally standing shoulder to shoulder in a line at the center circle, immediately sprinted towards Cazorla and Čech.

Álvaro Morata ran the fastest, as he was the penalty taker for the last round.

The coaching staff also couldn't help but raise their fists in the air.

Wembley Stadium, the Arsenal anthem resounded.

*clap.*

Li Kang and his assistant closed the tablet.

"This Arsenal team definitely deserves a championship trophy!"

"No, at least two!"

"As long as we beat Pep Guardiola's Manchester City at home the day after tomorrow, we'll be the Premier League champions!"

The assistant looked expectant.

The Premier League championship trophy was called the "Barclays Cup" before 2016.

Because Barclays became the title sponsor of the Premier League in 2004.

After the sponsorship contract expires this year, the league championship trophy will be forged by a royal jeweler, and the material of the cup crown and base will be a little heavier than before.

But it has not yet been forged.

Because Arsenal has a high probability of completing an undefeated record this season, the material of the cup body must be changed to pure gold!

Arsène Wenger is very likely to win the second "Premier League Golden Cup" in his career.

The FA discussed it for a long time and made a decision: the championship trophy will be awarded on May 21, the last round of the Premier League!

Without finishing the entire season, no one knows whether to award Arsenal a golden cup or a silver cup!

There is also a very small probability: what if Arsenal loses all six of the remaining league games and misses the Premier League title?

Night fell quietly.

The business car drove on the street.

"Oh, right."

"Robert brought you some gifts, Iberian ham and olive oil."

"I said you miss the black bread of North Rhine more."

"Don't eat his things, at this critical moment, you still have to strictly follow the Bayer Leverkusen diet! Prepare well!"

The assistant had a lot to say.

If someone was willing to listen, he could chat all night.

Li Kang smiled and nodded.

With the championship imminent, he would not care about what was happening outside.

The most important thing right now is to win the championship with the coaching staff and teammates.

Premier League, Round 33.

Arsenal vs. Manchester City.

Guardiola led the Blue Moon Corps to North London.

As soon as they entered the pre-match press conference, the reporters couldn't wait.

"Mr. Guardiola, your team has experienced more than a dozen formation changes throughout the season."

The Manchester City coach's expression suddenly became serious.

"Europe is experiencing a tactical revolution."

"Chelsea's N'Golo Kanté no longer focuses on interceptions and sweeps like he did at Leicester City, Conte has developed his offensive abilities."

"Liverpool's forward, Roberto Firmino, often retreats to the center-back position to play the ball during the team's advancement."

"Arsenal's Li Kang is a representative of the attacking midfielder."

"Southampton's Virgil van Dijk, if he can stay healthy, will become the center-back who best fits the development of football. His abilities have improved greatly this season."

"Many, many players are developing in the direction of these four types of players, this is the trend."

"Football is a game of space, the positions of players on the field are becoming increasingly blurred, and the formations will become less and less fixed."

Seeing that the Manchester City coach was about to launch into a lengthy speech.

Considering the time constraints of the press conference, the press officer had to interrupt.

The reporters listened with great interest.

In comparison.

Wenger's speech content was very simple.

"Li Kang is in good condition."

"He will start today."

Suddenly.

The scene of the press conference burst into applause.

The two hundred million man had not shown his face in two consecutive games, and the attraction of the front-page headlines of major Premier League media had been greatly reduced.

Players' tunnel.

There was no tense atmosphere.

David Silva, who had recovered from his injury, warmly embraced his national team teammates.

He whispered, "Li Kang, I feel like I'm in good shape, I can still play in the Confederations Cup with you."

Santi Cazorla gently punched the Blue Moon midfielder: "Don't talk nonsense, we can still play in the World Cup with Li Kang."

Although the two magicians could not produce explosive secondary statistics, their role on the field was very obvious.

Li Kang couldn't help but miss the invincible European Cup.

Kevin De Bruyne had a smile on his face, because Guardiola's pre-match arrangements did not involve any tactical experiments: except for letting Fernandinho play as a fullback.

Manchester City as a whole was on an increasingly good development path.

He was looking forward to an evenly matched contest.

Emirates Stadium.

Flags were flying.

Arsenal legends arrived one after another.

The Kroenke father and son supervised the battle on the spot.

Sir Chips Keswick and Ivan Gazidis were full of anticipation.

The club's championship celebration was set for the last round of the Premier League, after all, it could not yet be determined whether the trophy would be pure gold or pure silver.

The senior management had decided to greatly increase the bonus ratio to reward the players and coaching staff.

"Ctv5! Ctv5! Good evening, viewers!"

"We are now broadcasting live the thirty-third round of the 2016/17 Premier League season!"

"Arsenal hosts Manchester City!"

"If the Gunners win tonight, they will win the championship five rounds in advance!"

"Can Guardiola complete the interception of the invincible champion?"

"Let's wait and see!"

Accompanied by a landslide and tsunami-like cheers.

The referee team led the two teams of players out of the tunnel.

The entire Emirates Stadium was covered in red and white.

The Premier League title was within reach!

"Next, I will introduce the starting lineups of both sides."

"Arsenal's formation is 4-2-3-1!"

"Goalkeeper: Čech."

"Defenders: Bellerín, Maguire, Koscielny, Monreal."

"Double defensive midfielders: Xhaka, Li Kang."

"Attacking midfielders: Sánchez, Cazorla, Walcott."

"Forward: Giroud!"

"Manchester City's formation is 4-1-4-1!"

"Goalkeeper: Caballero."

"Defenders: Fernandinho, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy!"

"Single defensive midfielder: Yaya Touré."

"Attacking midfielders: Sané, De Bruyne, David Silva, Sterling."

"Forward: Agüero!"

(End of this chapter)