Starting with playing defensive midfield for Evergrande

Chapter 105 Arsenal will always be Arsenal!

A deafening roar!

Scarves fluttering in the air!
Not far away, a pile of Arsenal players had somehow appeared!
Everywhere I look, there's that awful red!

In front of Bayern Munich's substitutes' bench.

Guardiola's mind was still preoccupied with that capital C from earlier.

It's incredible, so incredible that Guardiola doesn't even know when he last saw such a top-level pass.

at least
He had never seen one in his generation of the Cosmic Team.

However, Guardiola quickly recovered from the shock of the letter C.

Yes, the competition isn't over yet.

His Bayern Munich still has a chance!

Although the chances are indeed very slim.

"Hi! Mr. Referee, may we resume the game? Or could you add all of this time into stoppage time?"

Seeing that those annoying Arsenal players hadn't finished celebrating, Guardiola could only urge the referee on.

just
Knowing that every minute they dragged on would increase their chances of winning, how could these Arsenal players, already piled high on top of each other, finish so quickly?
After the referee had been dragging the ball around for so long that he seemed about to pull out a card, the Arsenal players finally got up from Su Hao and returned to their positions, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.

On the other side of the stadium.

Unlike their high spirits at the start of the game, when defeat was about to befall them, these Bayern Munich stars, who were still basking in the glory of being defending champions, were really starting to panic.

Especially after the game restarted.

The seemingly effortless passing and control style has become less elegant.

All we got were chaotic crosses from the wings and ineffective long-range shots from the center.

At this moment, Bayern Munich, like drowning people, desperately searched for their own survival.

Ribery is still desperately trying to fight alone!

Müller, on the other hand, is still searching everywhere for an opportunity to save Bayern!
As for Mandzukic, after a full ninety minutes of intense physical combat, he was no longer able to jump.

Meanwhile, beside him, the 17-year-old Arsenal interim captain was still using his bull-like body to ram him as he tried to contest the header!
Bayern Munich has not given up!

Guardiola was also on the sidelines, yelling and directing Bayern to find their last chance for redemption!

However, after the professor slowly made two more substitutions, the last stoppage time of the game was completely used up!

The 94th minute of the game.

When Su Hao kicked the ball back into Bayern Munich's already empty half, the referee decisively blew the whistle to end the match.

"The match is over!"

Arsenal won!

"In this second leg of the Champions League Round of 2 match, Arsenal defeated Bayern Munich once again, thanks to Su Hao's two assists and one goal!"

"They eliminated the defending champions 5-3 over two legs!!!"

"Before this match, I saw too many media outlets predicting the downfall of Wenger's Arsenal!"

"The squad is riddled with wounded soldiers, and the attacking line is weak!"

"In their writings, Arsenal's appearance in the Champions League knockout stage is simply to help the mighty Bayern Munich rack up goals!"

"but!"

"No one expected that this Arsenal team would defeat the star-studded Bayern Munich in a spectacular attacking battle at their own Emirates Stadium!"

"3:2!"

"A match that Arsenal fans will absolutely never forget!"

"Of course, for us Chinese fans, the most exciting thing about this match is that 17-year-old Su Hao has once again proven himself!"

"In the two matches against top club Bayern Munich, Su Hao contributed three goals and two assists, accounting for all of Arsenal's attacks!"

"Furthermore, while being involved in five goals, Su Hao also contributed an average of 3.5 tackles per game and a pass completion rate of over 84%!"

"For a 17-year-old player, this statistic is absolutely unimaginable!"

"Especially the moment Su Hao temporarily took over the Arsenal captain's armband!"

"I believe this scene will forever remain an unforgettable and beautiful moment in the memories of Chinese football fans!!"

The commentators, Lao Huang and Zhan Jun, have already begun reviewing the entire game.

Meanwhile, on the field at the same time!

The moment the referee blew his whistle, all the Arsenal players raised their arms and cheered.

Of course, some people shouted wildly, while others collapsed onto the grass as if they had completely breathed a sigh of relief.

Just like Su Hao, who has run wildly on both the offensive and defensive ends countless times!
Su Hao was so tired that he didn't even have the strength to get up.

It was at this moment that Su Hao suddenly became curious about his physical fitness level. Back in the Chinese Super League, he had never been this tired. Although, back then, he usually scored goals while standing still, unlike now where he had to run back and forth like crazy.

"Congratulations!"

The match was over, and this time, with no obviously controversial calls between the two teams, Guardiola, despite being extremely unhappy, still walked towards Wenger with a smile on his face as always.

"Thank you!"

Guardiola originally thought that since he had acted so humbly and politely, the professor should at least reciprocate by saying something like "lucky" or "good fortune."
But the result?

Thanks?

This old guy actually accepted my congratulations so easily?

It's as if he's taking this victory for granted?
It was this "thank you" that made Guardiola unable to resist tugging at the corners of his mouth and quickly withdrawing his right hand, turning around and entering the players' tunnel without hesitation.

Having clearly seen the fleeting displeasure in Guardiola's eyes, the professor seemed finally satisfied and laughed out loud.

After all these years, he has finally overcome Guardiola, a mountain that seems to have been specially placed in front of him by God in the Champions League!

After the handshake ended, the professor naturally turned to look at his students, who were exhausted and collapsed on the grass.

Ignoring the swarming reporters, the professor strode into the stadium and reached out to help each of the children he considered the cutest.

1 goal and 2 assists.

With such impressive statistics, Su Hao was unsurprisingly selected as the best player of the match once again.

Moreover, right after Su Hao picked up the MVP trophy, more than 50,000 Arsenal die-hard fans once again rose up to give Su Hao the applause and cheers he deserved.

"Su-hao!!!"

They defeated the mighty Bayern Munich with such a crazy, all-out attacking tactic and advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Nothing could drive Arsenal fans wilder than this gift!
At the very moment Su Hao was being cheered on by more than 50,000 Arsenal fans, players like Wilshere, Fabregas, and Ramsey, who had always been in their hearts, came to mind.
All those moments were relegated to an inconspicuous corner!

At this moment, all Arsenal fans had only eyes and hearts for the number 11 who brought them endless hope – Suarez from China!
Post-match press conference.

Although he knew that his defeat would become a feast for the eyes of countless media outlets, Guardiola still attended without fear.

Sure enough, the moment he sat down, the reporter from Marca, whom he didn't get along with the most, spoke up.

"Mr. Guardiola, after a whole season of transformation for Bayern Munich, what changes do you feel your transformation has brought to Bayern Munich?"

Marca.
When I was in Barcelona, these disgusting guys were always at odds with me, and they're still haunting me now that I'm in the Bundesliga.

What changes did it bring to Bayern Munich?
Isn't this blatant self-mockery? By applying Barcelona's tactics to Bayern Munich, who are clearly Champions League winners, they ended up preventing Bayern from even reaching the quarterfinals?
"I don't want to answer questions that are unrelated to this match!"

"Then please tell me."

"Your question is finished, next one!"

Without tolerating the annoying Marca reporter, Guardiola ignored his question and pointed to another newspaper.

And coincidentally, Guagua was pointing to the domestic sports weekly!
The reporter from Sports Weekly got the microphone, and the question naturally boiled down to two words—Su Hao!

"What do you want to know? Do you want to hear what words I would use to describe him?" "Three goals and two assists in two matches. All of Arsenal's goals came from him. You think that kind of performance is... Oh! And the Club World Cup, I think he was the one who scored for that Chinese team back then!"

"How would you describe this performance?"

After rolling his eyes at the reporter from Sports Weekly, Guagua finished his answer.

but
Although I didn't hear any substantial praise from Guagua, just that one sentence, "How do you think I should describe this performance?" was enough!
Guardiola, one of the world's top managers, expresses his frustration!
This is enough to keep our domestic fans excited for quite a while.

During the away team's press conference, Guardiola was criticizing the reporters' unprofessionalism.

At the home team's press conference.

Wenger, who once again brought Su Hao along, smiled and joked with the reporters.

"Halls, I remember you said in the London Sports Daily two days ago that Arsenal's chances of winning this match were extremely slim!"

Upon hearing that the professor had actually read his previous column, the London Sports reporter named Halls blushed with embarrassment.

Halls was incredibly embarrassed, while the other reporters burst into laughter.

Of course, after the joke, Halls also asked the question that all the reporters present were most concerned about.

It wasn't Su Hao's performance in this match, nor was it anything the professor wanted to say to Guardiola after defeating the powerful Bayern Munich.
Everyone was concerned about whether Wenger's decision to put Su Hao on the captain's armband in the final stages of the match was intentional or a last-minute one.

After Halls asked the question, the room fell silent.

Even Su Hao, who was sitting next to the professor, looked at his professor with some curiosity.

To be honest, Su Hao himself was also really curious about what the professor was thinking when he suddenly pulled this stunt.

Everyone turned to look at the professor.

The professor, who suddenly sensed that something was amiss, took the microphone after a moment's thought.

"As you can see, our captain was still recovering from injury, the second captain couldn't play, and the third captain was exhausted and had to leave the field, so the situation was quite urgent!"

The professor spoke.

However, this one sentence immediately dampened the spirits of many reporters.

Yes, they were originally thinking that if the professor directly appointed a 17-year-old as captain, the news would definitely be a hot topic in tomorrow's newspapers.

But the result?

According to the professor, Su Hao only temporarily got to experience being the team leader.
However, just as Su Hao was feeling a little disappointed, the professor spoke again.

"It was precisely because the situation was urgent that I had Su take over the captain's armband before announcing it to the other team members."

Ok?
Because the situation was urgent, so before the announcement?

This statement
"In my plan, Su would be officially appointed as the team's vice-captain after the end of this season! However, as you can see, the plan has to be brought forward!"

Wenger simply said those words.

The reporters in the audience immediately erupted in uproar after those words were spoken.

Yes, Wenger's statement essentially defined Su Hao's character.

A 17-year-old vice-captain!
Although in professional teams there can only be one captain, but multiple vice-captains, a 17-year-old vice-captain is still a top team like Arsenal.

This vice-captain is crazy enough.

The reporters were visibly excited, while Su Hao, sitting next to the professor, felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

There's nothing we can do about it. Others may not know what will happen after this season ends, but this little butterfly knows very well.

As far as I can remember, the current Arsenal captain, Vermaelen, transferred directly to Barcelona after the season ended, just like his predecessor, Cesc Fàbregas.

So if that's the case...
Arsenal miraculously eliminated defending champions Bayern Munich.

In the other rounds of the competition.

Paris Saint-Germain, the newly rich team in Ligue 1, defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at home, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 6-1 aggregate score.

Manchester City suffered another 1-2 defeat to the mighty Barcelona, and were eliminated 1-4 on aggregate.

Manchester United, thanks to a hat-trick from Robin van Persie, came from behind to defeat Olympiacos 3-0, securing a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place in the quarterfinals.

Atletico Madrid's 5-1 defeat to AC Milan completely ripped away the fig leaf from Serie A, a top league once hailed as the "Little World Cup."

多特5:4圣彼得堡泽尼特，皇马则是两回合9:2狂屠了沙尔克04.
Since then!

The eight teams for the Champions League quarterfinals have been determined.

Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Galatasaray, Manchester United, Arsenal.

However, although the eight teams have been determined, the matchups will not be decided until the draw at the end of March, according to the new rules implemented this year.

Of course, after seeing this list after the match, Wenger had another problem to worry about.

These eight teams.
Apart from Manchester United, none of the other six teams are weak.

Real Madrid and Barcelona aside, Atletico Madrid is also a tough opponent capable of snatching titles from them. Paris Saint-Germain, a super-rich club that could buy an entire Premier League team in the summer transfer window alone, and Chelsea and Dortmund...
The league is at a crucial stage, and now we also have to deal with the Champions League. It looks like we'll have to sacrifice either the league or the FA Cup!

"Su Haojun, congratulations on beating Bayern!"

That night.

While the entire Arsenal team was indulging in heavy drinking and celebration, Su Hao was hiding in a corner, chatting with Arimura-chan on his phone again.

It wasn't a text message, but rather Arimura's own Facebook account.

I have to say, in this day and age, Facebook is indeed both cutting-edge and fucking fun.

Moreover, after Su Hao mentioned it to Mendes a few days ago, Mendes had already spoken with Facebook!
What disappointed Su Hao and Mendes was that both Facebook and Twitter wanted Su Hao to join their platforms through verification, but due to certain reasons in China, neither of them was willing to spend too much money on any exclusive deals.

After discussing it with Mendes, Su Hao decided to open verified accounts on both platforms, just like Ronaldo.

Su Hao originally thought that due to the special circumstances in China, his newly opened Facebook and Twitter accounts wouldn't have many followers. However, to Su Hao's surprise, his accounts gained nearly 300,000 followers on the very first night they were opened.

Moreover, this number is growing by hundreds of thousands every day.

Especially tonight.
Before chatting with Arimura-chan, Su Hao had personally witnessed his Facebook fan count surpass one million.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Mendes's dedicated account management team just released a video of his iconic assist.

In less than five days after opening his verified account, he gained over a million followers. While this speed can't compare to players like Cristiano Ronaldo, it's still considered top-tier among professional players.

However, Su Hao also knew that the main reason why his number of fans could grow so quickly was his legitimate nationality.

It's just that this thing doesn't exist in China, otherwise Su Hao even felt that he might have been able to break Ronaldo's record of tens of millions in a month.

"Su! You should go back first! That...that captain said he wants to talk to me about some issues with my offense."

Su Hao was chatting casually with Arimura-chan when suddenly Kant, his close follower, leaned over somewhat shyly and said something to Su Hao.

Oh shit
Although Kant blinked his big, white eyes as much as he could to make it seem like he wasn't lying.

But after drinking to this extent, how could he possibly discuss attack strategies with the captain?
Even a dog probably wouldn't believe that.

The attack might be genuine, but the problem is that the attack might not be directed at the goal.
They crossed the mountain that is Bayern Munich.

The professor naturally poured all his energy back into the league.

Four days later, on March 16th.

Arsenal welcomed Crystal Palace, their opponent in the 30th round of the league, to Selhurst Park.

In order to keep a close run against Manchester City in the league, after much deliberation, the manager decided to field Arsenal's key players despite their fatigue.

However, to Wenger's dismay, the adage that the toughest teams to beat in the Premier League are always the relegation-threatened teams has once again come true.

Crystal Palace, currently at the bottom of the league, showed their determination to avoid relegation against a tired Arsenal team!
Despite having 82% possession and 19 shots, Arsenal were unable to break down Crystal Palace's defense, which employed a five-man defense plus only one fast striker to counter-attack.

0: 0!

Arsenal were held to a draw by bottom-ranked Crystal Palace in the crucial 30th round of the league.

However, just as the match ended, Professor, who was so worried that he forgot to shake hands with the excited Crystal Palace manager, heard some news that gave him a little comfort.

Yes, Arsenal failed to win, and Manchester City, who were just eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona, also failed to beat their weak opponent Swansea.

With neither side able to win, the gap between the two teams in the league standings remains a mere 1 point.

Looking at the points that are still so close, the professor even suddenly wondered if the Premier League title this year might be decided in the last round of the league.
There's nothing we can do about it; Arsenal's opponent in the last round of the league just happens to be Manchester City, who are currently ranked above Arsenal!
(End of this chapter)