novelraw Chapter 624 - 429 [Anger Value Detected Off the Charts]! Starting with a sensational goal, Wenger is completely dumbfounded!
Chapter 624 - 429 [Anger Value Detected Off the Charts]! Starting with a sensational goal, Wenger is completely dumbfounded!
Wembley Stadium is dazzling, radiant.
The FA Cup was founded in 1871 and is the oldest national football competition in the world, bar none!
Last season, Arsenal retained the FA Cup title.
Winning the FA Cup for two consecutive years has led fans to jokingly call the trophy the "Thermos Cup."
Like Mancini’s Serie A coaching days over ten years ago, Wenger’s team is now powerless to make waves in the Premier League and Champions League;
And the FA Cup, the oldest and most traditional tournament in England, has become a lifeline for Wenger to repay the board and fans.
Before the start of the game, the two veteran managers met in the coaching area.
Pellegrini, 63, Wenger, 67, both are senior managers in England.
Both have a head of silver hair, tall stature, and gentlemanly demeanor.
"Hello, Mr. Wenger." Pellegrini extended his hand.
"Hello." Wenger replied coldly, gripping Pellegrini’s hand firmly, as if testing a grip strength tool.
Pellegrini remained unfazed, adding force to his palm as well.
The two stood fixed in place, with their clasped hands trembling in the air due to the force, and their faces gradually turning red.
"We see the pre-game handshake between the coaches is lasting a long time!"
"It’s been almost a minute, and they’re still shaking hands!"
"Both have smiles on their faces, smiling so much their faces are red!"
"Especially Wenger, his neck is red now!"
"It seems the relationship isn’t strained by Arsenal’s previous defeats!"
"The assistants had to step in, barely managing to separate the coaches’ hands!"
"Their relationship seems real strong indeed!"
When it comes to a strong relationship, it’s quite strong, almost wanting to slap each other to death.
During a league encounter, Wenger got angry and ashamed from losing and had a physical clash with Pellegrini, players from both sides rushed in, and the scene turned chaotic, becoming a laughing stock for European football that week.
Joe Hart and Agüero were suspended for three matches, which was a significant blow to Manchester City’s rising momentum at the time.
This suspension caused quite a stir within the Manchester City team, even years later it was considered a big wave!
Firstly, replacement goalkeeper Caballero seized the chance to rise, showcasing eye-popping foot skills in three league matches, not only perfectly integrating into the team’s pass-and-control system but also greatly enhancing the defense’s passing ability, frequently rendering opponent’s high-pressure worthless.
Since then, Joe Hart fell from grace, relegated to a substitute;
On the few occasions he played, mistakes piled up, often serving as a backdrop for opponents’ world-class shots, becoming a laughingstock in football, indirectly leading to the downfall of the native English-speaking contingent in Manchester City’s locker room.
And though Bony didn’t manage to rise successfully, during Agüero’s three-match suspension, Bony was activated by Tang Long’s passes!
In this season, Bony, as a rotational player, managed to score 17 goals, becoming the third top scorer in the team after Agüero and Tang Long, aligning with his best season record at Swansea.
It’s under the competitive pressure from Bony that Agüero triggered his explosive mode!
Slicing through, he boosted his league goal total to 37, with just 4 penalty kicks, becoming the Premier League’s most deserving Golden Boot winner.
...
At this moment, Agüero stands at the center circle, foot on the ball, looking around.
Wembley Stadium is packed with 90,000 spectators, filling the biggest stadium in England completely. Amidst the clamor, Agüero surprisingly couldn’t hear what Tang Long behind him was shouting to encourage teammates.
But Agüero wasn’t listening, his thoughts had already strayed far away~
He was standing on the grass of Wembley Stadium, yet his mind drifted to those unbearable 50 hours of community service.
He and Joe Hart were commanded by sanitation workers to trim branches, dump trash, and sweep streets across Manchester, making them look dusty and dirty;
Moreover, some spiteful Manchester United fans trailed them all the way, snapping photos and then reported them to the Premier League disciplinary committee, accusing them of slackness in cleaning and demanding harsher penalties.
Agüero was followed all the way, annoyed, and threatened to punch the Manchester United fan;
Unexpectedly, as soon as his fist raised, the latter fell gracefully, camera in hand, screaming:
"He’s hitting me! Manchester City player Agüero is hitting me!"
...
Those three weeks were incredibly frustrating for Agüero.
"All TMD thanks to Wenger!"
The referee’s piercing whistle finally pulled Agüero’s thoughts back.
He didn’t pass the ball to Sterling beside him, but instead sent a heavy return pass and dashed forward cursing!
Tang Long looked at the incoming ball coming at the same speed as a shot, there was no time to be surprised, his body moved backward, and his foot unloaded the ball into the air.
Because Agüero’s ball came unexpectedly, Tang Long wasn’t prepared at all, so the ball stopped a bit too far, and soon, Big Giroud charged forward from the opposite side.
Giroud, tall and strong, charged forth like a raging storm, exerting immense pressure—he seized on Tang Long’s mistake in stopping the ball this time.
Luckily, Tang Long was light on his feet and quick-witted; without waiting for the ball to fall, he jumped a little and headed the ball towards Gundogan five meters behind him.
While the ball was flying through the air, several Arsenal forwards and midfielders pressed past the halfway mark;
Giroud, Iwobi, and Sanchez all rushed toward Gundogan, and suddenly the German midfielder faced an even more challenging receive situation than Tang Long.
If he headed it further back to the backfield, it would be extremely dangerous. Gundogan, who was sharp-eyed, glimpsed Tang Long quickly moving into an empty space and could only use a header to leverage once more and return the ball to Tang Long.
"What the hell, Agüero, almost lost it!"
Gundogan muttered under his breath, still puzzled about what sort of madness Agüero had for starting a midfield ball like that.
-[Detected Agüero’s rage meter maxed out, entering explosive moment, countdown 10 seconds]
-[9, 8, ...]
Bam!
Tang Long didn’t wait for the ball to fall, and kicked a big foot towards Arsenal’s front field!
[7, 6, ...]
Height 172 Agüero leapt high, clashed in mid-air with height 179 El Nani, then flicked with his chest, while his feet touched the ground, El Nani lay on the ground, rolling forward.
"Wow, can stopping the ball in a confrontation be done like this???" Gundogan looked on in awe from afar!
[5, 4, ...]
Agüero’s fighting power was completely unaffected by this aerial duel; he didn’t even glance at Sterling and Navas on his side, just barreled towards Arsenal’s penalty area!
Ramsey’s slide tackle from behind couldn’t catch him!
Koscielny’s arm pull couldn’t hold him!
Gabriel and Bellerin’s blockade couldn’t seize him!
[2, 1...]
Agüero shoots!!!
Directly blasted a dead angle past Cech, unstoppable!!!
The livestream exploded!
-[What, what, what! What did I just see!]
-[Five Arsenal players couldn’t hold down one Agüero!]
-[He’s unimaginably strong, is this really Agüero, I don’t recognize him!]
-[That’s awesome, it feels like it’s going to ignite!]
-[Still the Tang-Ar connection, can someone tell me how many times they’ve linked this season?]
After scoring, Agüero resembled an angry lion, hair standing on end, pounding the Manchester City crest on his chest while roaring towards Wenger on the sidelines:
"Come on, old man, keep suspending me, come on!"
Gundogan, in his career, had never seen such a pleasurable and pure goal; holding his head in disbelief, he walked over to Tang Long and excitedly said to him, "Crazy, this guy is simply crazy, I’ve never seen such a strong Agüero, Tang, you got yourself an easy assist!"
Tang Long was also stunned by this unbelievable goal from Agüero.
He didn’t expect Agüero, with his rage meter maxed, in those fleeting ten seconds, would explode with energy unmatched all season.
"Haha, he’s always been strong, let him go wild! It’s the last match, if not now, then never!"
Conceding a goal within 20 seconds of kickoff.
Wenger was stunned~
In the thunderous noise of Manchester City fans at Wembley Stadium, Wenger felt a surge of heat, sweat beads emerged densely upon his forehead;
Instinctively he reached into his suit pocket, trying to take out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat.
Yet after four or five attempts, even as sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, he still couldn’t align it with the pocket.
Agüero’s explosive start left Wenger both anxious and puzzled.
He was secretly alarmed: "Given my understanding of Agüero, he simply shouldn’t be this strong, even C Luo couldn’t pull off such a shot, how did Agüero explode right after kickoff? Moreover, Tang’s high and floating pass, really is both high and floating, how could he pass that way, is it intentional, strange indeed..."