Chapter 91
Wenger's reprimand and the captain Ramsey's assurance seemed to have worked.
In the next ten minutes or so, Arsenal used their skilled footwork to firmly control the ball under their feet.
Manchester United's several quick pressing attempts from the midfield did not work.
As time went on, Van Gaal, who was standing on the sidelines at the beginning, retreated to the coaching seat at some point. The ceiling covered the Dutchman's face, making it impossible to know what the iron coach was thinking at the moment. In the 90th minute of the game, the fourth official on the sidelines raised the light panel, and the game was extended by three minutes.
"call——"
Di Maria failed to steal the ball again. He put his hands on his knees, bent down and breathed rapidly. Sweat flowed down his cheeks. He had already lost.
"Carrick!"
On the other side of the court, the black-haired, yellow-skinned Dragon country youth was calling on Carrick to cooperate with him in pressing Cazorla who was holding the ball.
The short-statured Llanera teenager used his skillful dribbling skills to get rid of the continuous pressing of Chen Huan and Carrick. Then Cazorla did not choose to pass the ball to the front court, but passed it back to Arteta who was in a safe position.
"Damn it! They are just playing with us!" Di Maria gritted his teeth,"Why hasn't this damn game ended yet?!" The Argentine thought so.
But in his field of vision, the Dragon Country youth who had just been fooled did not stop to sigh or get angry. He rushed towards Arteta again, and when the opponent passed the ball to Ramsey, he did not stop, but turned and rushed towards Ramsey again.
Di Maria was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt a burning pain on his cheek.
"What the hell am I doing?!"
"Manchester United spent tens of millions to bring me back from Real Madrid and gave me the highest salary in the team! But my desire to win is not as strong as that Dragon Country player!"
"He is my junior, how can I give up before him?!"
At this moment, facing Chen Huan's pressure, Ramsey once again passed the ball to Arteta on the other side.
"Hahaha, I like you Chen, but give up, you can't grab the ball……"Ramsey said provocatively, but the next moment his pupils suddenly dilated.
In his field of vision, Di Maria, who was originally standing on the sidelines sighing, suddenly rushed towards Arteta who was about to receive the ball.
"Be careful behind you……"Ramsey pointed at Arteta who had let down his guard and shouted.
Arteta, who was just about to wait for the ball, felt a jolt in his heart. He realized the danger and immediately stepped on the ground to catch the ball.
But a thin black figure passed by him. Di Maria had already rushed over. Before Arteta could control the ball, Di Maria passed the ball to Chen Huan who had started again.
"Steal!"
Chen Huan opened his arms to block Ramsey's body, and once again passed the ball forward to Arteta - the direction Di Maria was advancing.
Di Maria looked up and saw that Arteta had rushed over in front of him, and Arsenal's No. 18 central defender Monreal had also accelerated and rushed over.
"There is no chance to control the ball, so let Chen handle it."
Di Maria thought so and passed the ball to Chen Huan again before Monreal touched the ball.
After two quick passes, Manchester United's counterattack had already reached the front of Arsenal's penalty area.
"Chen!"Manchester United's young center forward Wilson also started to move forward at this moment. Bellerin immediately came over from the wing to make up for the deficit. Right center back Mertesacker rushed forward to Chen Huan.
The ball was right in front of Chen Huan's feet. He could reach it with one step.
He noticed Wilson's move forward, but there was a better position to receive the ball.
Mertesacker, who was also experienced in front of Chen Huan, also noticed that. He stepped to the right while pressing forward to block the space for Chen Huan to handle the ball with his right foot.
"Force me to use my non-dominant foot!"
Chen Huan understood Mertesacker's intention. The next moment, Chen Huan had already rushed to the ball. Without any hesitation, he directly pushed the ball to the right front with his non-dominant left foot.
The ball slipped under Mertesacker's crotch.
Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez had already jumped out.
But closer to the ball was Di Maria who had passed by Monreal.
"call——"
A breath of foul air was exhaled from his chest.
Di Maria lowered his head and looked at the football rolling over instead of the goal.
"As expected, the ball was handled by my non-dominant foot and was sent to my right foot.……"
"But my right foot is very bad."
"Should I adjust to my left foot to handle the ball?!"
Just as Di Maria was hesitant after receiving the ball, he suddenly heard a roar behind him.
"Direct shot!"Chen Huan rushed to the penalty area, preparing for the possible follow-up shot.
Di Maria's body trembled violently, and the next moment he did not hesitate, his right foot was closer to the ball, so he shot with his right foot.
"boom——"
With a muffled sound, Di Maria met the ball with his right foot and shot it into the goal.
Van Gaal rushed from the coaching booth to the sideline, his eyes wide open, his clenched fists shaking constantly.
Wenger lowered his head and put his hands in his pockets to avoid watching.
At Highbury, Manchester United or Arsenal fans all held their breath.
"Swish——"
The ball flew out from Di Maria's feet, brushed against Martinez's outstretched hand, rolled over the goal line, and hit the net.
The net shook slightly, and the visiting Manchester United fans jumped up in the stands and roared loudly.
"Goal!" Van Gaal waved his arms excitedly, turned around and pulled the assistant coach beside him into his arms for a hug.
Wenger pulled his hands out of his pockets, still without looking up.
On the court, Di Maria, who scored the goal, did not choose to rush to the corner area to celebrate alone. He turned around and looked at the Dragon Country youth running over.
"How do you know I'm hesitating?"Di Maria yelled at Chen Huan
"Because your body was very stiff, I knew at that time that you had not decided which foot to shoot with, so I chose to help you make the decision."Chen Huan said with a smile.
Di Maria and Chen Huan hugged each other, and the Argentine whispered:"Perfect choice, thank you"
……
After Manchester United scored this goal, Arsenal kicked off from the center circle and tried to attack Manchester United's penalty area, but after an outrageous shot that missed the goalkeeper by several meters, the referee blew the whistle to end the game. In the
12th round of the Premier League, Arsenal tied Manchester United 2:2 at home, and both sides got one point
……
"Chen, I have always watched you play football in videos, but I didn't expect you to be so fast. How did you do it?"Arsenal's Sanchez smiled and said to Chen Huan when he left the court.
The Chilean seemed to be in a good mood, and Chen Huan was also in a good mood. One point for both sides was an acceptable result.
"Strict training, self-disciplined diet, and the spirit of constant pursuit of victory." Chen Huan made up a story.