My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 98 North London is red

New Wembley, 2011 February 2.

League Cup final, Arsenal VS Birmingham.

No. 809 minutes.

Birmingham's high center Zikic celebrated wildly as his team-mates were hit by the sudden surprise.

The football lay quietly in the Arsenal goal, and for a moment no one even picked it up.

For more than 40 years, the Birmingham team, which has not won any championship and hovered between the top league and the secondary league, led Arsenal [-]-[-] when the audience was suppressed.

Laurent Koscielny felt his head hurt and he was dizzy.

Did the collision just now hurt him?He's not sure.

Koscielny struggled to get up, he didn't want to think about what happened in the past minute, and he didn't have time to taste the regret.

All he knew was that he was running out of time.

But the dizziness in his head and the exhaustion of physical strength made his attempt fail. He lay flat on the grass, panting heavily and covering his eyes with his palms.

Damn, this light is really dazzling.

Koscielny still remembers his excitement and joy when he received the invitation from Arsenal. A French central defender who had been in Lorient had the opportunity to play for Arsenal, and he quickly became the main player.

But the doubts surrounding him have never dissipated-he often makes reckless mistakes, lacks composure and is too rash, and his defensive skills are not mature.

He is not a cheerful person. For doubts, it is difficult for Koscielny to ignore them carelessly, nor can he fight back confidently.

He just silently browsed through those criticisms, buried his guilt and fear deep in his heart, and then continued to prepare for the next game.

Koscielny thought that he would dilute these criticisms with his gradually adapting performance, but at this moment, he knew that he would never be able to wash off the label of "parallel guard" on his body.

Just now, Koscielny made another reckless mistake during an effortless clearance.

He collided heavily with goalkeeper Szczesny, allowing the unmarked Zigic to easily smash his header into the goal and killing Arsenal's hopes.

He knows that he can blame the goalkeeper, which will make him feel less guilty, and the goalkeeper is indeed responsible - just leave the ball to yourself, why hit it?

But it's meaningless to say that now, the fact is that he, Koscielny's mistakes, caused the lag.

And it's at No.809 minutes.

Goalkeeper Szczesny, who collapsed to the ground, thought so too.

For Arsenal, who have endured Almunia's poor performance for a long time, the birth of Polish genius Szczesny is tantamount to rain after a long drought.

Szczesny showed prodigious talent with goal-line skills, developed at a rapid rate, and then replaced Almunia in the starting position.

But at the age of 22, he made a mistake on the occasion where mistakes are most intolerable.

Szczesny couldn't explain why he rushed forward. At that moment, he didn't notice his teammates.

He made a bold decision, as long as the danger is eliminated immediately before the opponent reacts, the risk can be eliminated invisible.

So he strikes, he leaps high and hits his teammate.

After two laps on the ground, Szczesny watched the innocuous header roll into the goal.

Szczesny suddenly couldn't hear all the sounds of the stadium at that moment, and great shock and regret seized his heart.

He felt disappointed eyes focus on him, and he didn't need to think about it to know that those were his teammates and his fans.

Szczesny may be able to excuse himself by saying that he is still young, but he also knows how meaningless such an excuse is.

……

"Only the championship is our salvation."

The words echoed in Szczesny's head as he held the ball tightly in his arms, breathing heavily.

It’s still Wembley, it’s still the final, and the goalkeeper is still myself.

He couldn't count how many saves he had made, but Szczesny didn't dare to relax.

Any time you relax, you may make the same mistake again.

He saw Koscielny in a state of distress, his white ball pants were covered with dust, and his face was covered in sweat and mud.

Szczesny looked up at the time, No. 805 minutes.

The score was one to zero with Arsenal leading.

Szczesny stood up with the ball in his arms vigilantly, kept a safe distance from the Tottenham players, and drove the ball away.

Just hold on for another 10 minutes.

It was tiring to keep the concentration high, and the pressure on Szczesny increased sharply again in the second half.

After Arsenal and Tottenham started a duel and switched, the interceptions on the wing and midfield were useless, and a large number of Tottenham's attacks were directly converted into shots.

Szczesny kept the goal in the flood of attacks. He also wanted to thank Koscielny in front of him. The defender did not make any mistakes and blocked a large number of shooting opportunities.

……

"We and they gave it our all."

Holding the ipad in his hands, Chen Yao sighed to Wenger.

"In the second half we had six shots and three on target. Spurs had seven."

"The players moved even more than in the first half, the transition frequency was more than twice that of the first half, and both sides touched the ball significantly more in the opponent's penalty area."

"And... it's been almost nine or ten minutes, and they should all have no energy."

"But...no one gave up."

Wenger's expression was stern, whether it was Arsenal or Tottenham, they had repeatedly threatened the opponent's goal in the past half hour.

He stood on the sidelines, helpless, but he was too eager to win this championship.

By this time, both coaches had used up three substitution opportunities, and any on-the-spot tactical changes were meaningless.

Adding stoppage time, the last 10 minutes were completely a contest of willpower.

Can Arsenal hold on to a one-goal lead, and can Tottenham equalize?

In fact, judging from the data, Arsenal's back line should have made a mistake long ago.

So many direct attacks against Tottenham, so many interceptions, tackles and clearance attempts.

The success rate is frighteningly high, especially for Koscielny, who is an almost omnipresent central defender.

There is also Szczesny, whether it is a long-range cold shot or a short-range supplementary shot, he has maintained a super high concentration and reaction speed, which made Tottenham's shooters desperate.

They haven't put up such good defensive numbers all season.

Chen Yao put aside the ipad, now, he doesn't need to care about the data anymore.

Reality is the only basis. At present, there is only the difference between a 100% success rate and a 0% success rate.

……

Arshavin tried to complete the lateral dribbling again and break through the space.

As before, he moved his right foot horizontally, keeping his center of gravity, and continuously touched the ball with his left foot, cutting towards his ribs.

But Arshavin failed to complete this series of movements smoothly, his muscles failed to keep up, his breathing was stagnant, and he did not wade through Joelluka who was closely following him.

I'm getting old...

Reluctantly, Arshavin turned his head to tangle with the Tottenham full-backs. He cursed inwardly, is his physical strength really so difficult to support a half-court ball?

Although in this half of the game, he played hard and seriously.

A lot of running, breaking through, returning to defense and cutting in without hesitating physical strength.

Arshavin came up with his most dazzling performance. In some moments, he seemed to have returned to the days when he was called the tsar.

Joel Luka completed the steal and passed it directly to the substitute Townsend, who is also a speedy winger.

Townsend suddenly started to speed along the outside line, broke through the exhausted Gibbs, and tapped his right foot to Van der Vaart.

van der vaart...

No, that's not Van der Vaart.

This time, it was Van der Vaart who took the initiative to complete the cross exchange with Modric. After driving away the defender, it was Modric who received the ball.

Modric poised to shoot, he was a few meters from the top of the arc, but Mertesacker dared not take any chances and nervously pushed it out.

It's a fake shot.

Modric turned his swaying right leg into a kickback, and with another force, he slammed it straight to Gareth Bale who was thrusting diagonally.

Bell was like a supercar. He glanced at the time. Minute No. 809 was about to pass, and it was almost nine and ten minutes.

There is no time, but there is still time!

Bell broke through Carvajal's interception and rushed to Modric's early pass!

Is it offside?

Chen Yao raised his hand reflexively, and many Arsenal players who couldn't keep up also raised their hands.

But the linesman was unmoved.

Chen Yao was almost certain that Bell would definitely be offside if he blew his whistle.

But if you can blow it or not, it doesn't matter.

Bell has already opened the distance, and he can enter a completely one-on-one position after three seconds at most.

This is a semi-single sword.

Szczesny watched Bell's swift breakthrough, his muscles tensed, ready to go.

This is my salvation.he thought.

And another figure is also chasing at the fastest speed - Koscielny.

This is my salvation.He thought too.

Bell completed his first touch of the ball, and Modric's through ball was a masterclass. In this position, Bell could stop and step without adjusting his body direction, facing the goalkeeper directly.

Taking another step, Bell was about to shoot, but felt something, and pulled the ball back sharply.

A figure slid past him and brought up a piece of turf and soil.

Koscielny threw himself out, calculated all the distances, and flew to tackle the ball without hesitation.

But he didn't get it.

Koscielny's heart went cold and he had no time to get up again.

A few seconds ago, he completed a very visually stunning chase back.

Bell rushed towards the Arsenal goal with great speed, and Koscielny also started a sprint race with Bell with great speed.

Although Bale took a slash and Koscielny took a straight line, the distance between the two sides must have taken advantage of Koscielny.

However, facing a superstar embryo whose biggest characteristic is speed, Koscielny showed a speed that is not inferior after the high-intensity defense of the audience.

This not only exceeded his normal speed, but also exceeded his physical limits.

What is supporting him?
Koscielny didn't think about the answer to this question. He caught up with Bale and he shoveled out. He believed that this technical action was not reckless.

But he missed the ball--Bell's pullback was a terrible intuition.

has it ended?

Bell shook Koscielny away and frowned. Even if the French central defender in front of him did not make a successful tackle, he blocked too many angles and left him a little space.

It's going to be an awkward shot, but it doesn't matter.

Bale kicks a shot, and the ball will be shot into the inside of the back post.

He has seen the scene of football entering the net, the beautiful arc, and the precise landing.

He kicked his foot in an awkward posture, exerted force in an awkward way, and his shooting movement was not very smooth.

But these small flaws are insignificant. He kicked at this time. At such a close distance, it is absolutely impossible for the goalkeeper to complete the block.

— What if the goalkeeper moves early?
Szczesny stretched his body, flew up like a gibbon, and rubbed the ball with his fingertips in the air.

Szczesny observed Bell's movement just before Koscielny threw the shovel.

He took a gamble, he bet that Bell would pull back and then connect to the shooting action, and the only angle was the angle he was blocking now.

Before Bell dodged Koscielny's sliding shovel, the short moment of connecting shots was the only time difference Szczesny could use.

He started moving maybe only a few tenths of a second ahead of time, jumped up, stretched out his arms, and just in time.

Is it talent?Or fate?

Will these two sinners, who have continued the shame of Arsenal without a crown, complete their own redemption in another championship battle?

With just a swipe, the angle of the football deflected slightly, hit the outside of the far post, and bounced off!
it's over!
Szczesny fell heavily to the ground, and Koscielny immediately got up as soon as he turned over. Arsenal players poured into the penalty area like a tide and controlled the ball!

The game time exceeds 10 minutes, and the stoppage time that is better than nothing is insignificant!
The ball was in Arsenal's hands, and Tottenham's players and fans had lost all fighting spirit.

Bale looked at Arsenal's goal unwillingly. In his eyes, Szczesny and Koscielny screamed to the sky and embraced each other.

In the same position, they had crashed to the ground and made a big mistake.

And in the same position they accomplished redemption.

Harry Redknapp also looked at the pitch wordlessly. He should have asked the players to keep attacking and grab the last one or two minutes.

But Lao Lei knew that this was of no avail.

Tottenham had drained the last of their talent, but fell short of the champions.

Is it fate?

Redknapp sat back on the bench. He didn't know if it was fate, but he could already feel Levy's anger.

The referee on duty endured for 2 minutes and finally blew the whistle for the end of the game
——Mountain roar and tsunami-like cheers resounded throughout New Wembley, and the red Gunners flag burned like fire in the stands.

The call signs of thousands of people were noisy and chaotic, and finally gradually became uniform and clearly identifiable.

They shouted:
"North London is red!"

"North London is red!"

"North London is red!"

　The manuscript is empty again, brothers, I am exhausted, and I still have to take the exam

　　
　
(End of this chapter)