"The game is over! Ajax defeated Arsenal 2: 1 in the away game and defeated Arsenal with a total score of 3: 2 in the two legs of the Round of 18 finals. Congratulations to Ajax for advancing to the top eight of the Champions League this season! We saw Ajax's players excitedly celebrating their advancement in Highbury. The manager, Comain, walked quickly into the stadium after shaking hands with Wenger. He hugged and kissed every Ajax player. This was the ticket to the top eight that they had worked hard to win. With Ajax's current strength, it was really commendable for them to advance to the top eight of the Champions League for two consecutive years!
Henry, the King of Highbury, squatted where he was. He lowered his head so that no one could see his expression. Maybe it was helplessness, maybe it was disappointment, or maybe it was an emotion that we could not understand.
Once again, Arsenal lost the crucial battle of the Champions League in a regrettable way in a game where they thought they had the advantage before the game but were unable to suppress their opponents in the actual game, causing the game to become a stalemate. Over the years, their strength had increased day by day, but in the Champions League, the same story always played out. Were they overestimated by the outside world, or were they unable to play to their true strength on the stage of the Champions League?
Let's look back at Arsenal's Champions League record over the years.
In the 98-99 season, Arsenal was sent home by Lens and Dynamo Kyiv in the group stage.
In the 99-2000 season, Arsenal's second place in the group was snatched away by Fiorentina, and they were also sent home in the group stage.
In the 2000-01 season, Arsenal lost to Valencia in the Round of 14 finals.
In the 01-02 season, Arsenal was kept out of the top eight by Deportivo La Coruna and Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 02-03 season, Arsenal also failed to advance to the top eight. In the second stage of the group stage, they were placed behind Ajax and Valencia.
This season, the Premier League canceled the second stage of the top 16 group stage. Arsenal and Ajax also met for two consecutive seasons. In the end, the more promising Arsenal was eliminated by Ajax!
Ajax was no longer the same as last season's Ajax. They were missing van der Meyde, Chivu, and many new players this season, such as Qin Xiong, Snede, De Jong, Heitinga, Grygera, and so on. It could be said that Ajax had experienced half the team's blood change, while Arsenal maintained stability under Wenger's management. However, the long-term stability did not bring them a leap in strength on the stage of the Champions League. Instead, it gave people a feeling that they were stagnant.
Therefore, perhaps we could understand Henry's helplessness. They seemed strong enough, so why did they still lose the competition?
Perhaps it was Ajax's vigor and passion that defeated Arsenal!
From now on, we can look forward to Ajax's performance in the Top 14 finals. How long will the youth storm stirred up by Ajax last? What kind of impact can it bring to the European football scene? Let's wait and see! "
In Highbury, Arsenal's fans were leaving the stadium one after another. More than half of the stands were already empty.
Qin Xiong shook hands with his teammates and ran side by side to the visiting team's stands. Then, they slid down to their knees in unison, causing the fans in the visiting team's stands to cheer even more wildly.
They took off their jerseys and threw them into the stands in unison. After they were done, Ajax's players looked at each other, their eyes full of pride.
It was strange. The game was clearly over, but they did not feel the slightest bit tired. The excitement in their hearts was unprecedentedly high.
They turned around, and the shirtless Ajax's players left the field proudly side by side.
They had conquered Highbury!
The reporters on the sidelines swarmed into the stadium and aimed their cameras at them.
Qin Xiong, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Van Der Vaart, Snede, De Jong, Galasek, Maxwell …
Showing off their strong upper body muscles, they were like a group of steel warriors stomping on everything and leaving with a strong momentum!
From this moment onwards, the Ajax youth team for this season had officially become the focus of attention in Europe!
Wenger attended the post-match press conference. Faced with the embarrassing situation of being eliminated by their opponents at home, he praised Ajax's performance and claimed that Arsenal had lost to luck.
Fleet Street turned its gun muzzle and made things difficult for Wenger. Arsenal, who had not lost in 27 rounds in the Premier League, had lost their ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals at home.
Not by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Juventus, AC Milan, but by Ajax, who had knocked them out of the quarter-finals last season. Again!
A columnist for The Times simply said bluntly at the press conference: Your ability to adapt on the spot is too poor!
It seemed that Arsenal had the advantage at home, but in fact, Arsenal had always been passive, even in Amsterdam!
In the 180-minute confrontation, Ajax's changes on the spot were more than Arsenal's!
Arsenal always thought that they could steadily win the game. As a result, when an accident happened in the game, Arsenal's situation immediately took a turn for the worse.
And a football game was by no means rational. It was always full of all kinds of accidents!
Arsène Wenger was so embarrassed that he was unable to show his face. There was nothing more embarrassing than losing a match.
There was no way to defend himself, and any excuses were pale and powerless.
He left the press conference under the siege of the reporters from Fleet Street. When he walked out of the door of the press conference hall, he suddenly stopped and lowered his head to mutter to himself.
"Qin Xiong, Qin Xiong, Qin Xiong …"
Koeman, on the other hand, was in high spirits at the post-match press conference. He was not stingy with his praise for the players' performance. He chatted and laughed with the reporters, and when he talked about the secret to defeating Arsenal, he spoke frankly with assurance.
"The first is mentality. Our lads were calm and composed on the field. They never panicked and lost their composure. The second is will. Their fighting spirit is obvious to all. No matter the time, they firmly believe that we can win and work hard for it. In the end, we received the reward. The third is performance. There is no doubt that we played to our full strength in this game. They froze Henry, restricted Bergkamp, and made it impossible for Pires to gain a foothold in the penalty area. In terms of offense, every player made a contribution to the team that cannot be ignored. "
"As for the best player of the game, if I could choose three, I would name Ibrahimovic, Qin Xiong, and Lobonte as the best players. Ibrahimovic has been covering for his teammates on the front line. His role as a restraint and fulcrum is very obvious. Qin Xiong scored an incredible free kick and also provided an assist to Snede. He is a key player for us to advance to the top eight. Lobonte blocked many of the opponent's threatening shots in this game. He played as well as Lehmann, but on the whole, Ajax played better. We deserve to be in the top eight of the Champions League."
Ajax's team returned to Amsterdam overnight. The team was dismissed in the early hours of the morning. The players were still in a state of excitement, so they went to the nightclub together. Comain gave the team a day off to let them have a good rest.
In the nightclub, Ajax's players became stars.
When the news of them reaching the top eight of the Champions League spread throughout the Netherlands, it meant that their attention in European football had soared.
More beautiful women would come to chat with them, and more reporters lurked around to watch their every move.
Qin Xiong did not stay for long. He left with Snede, Hai Tinga, and Van Der Vaart.
They went to a nearby hotel to enjoy a massage service.
The four of them lay on the bed and enjoyed the massage, and then talked about the future.
Unknowingly, Qin Xiong was so tired that he fell asleep.
When he woke up the next day, it was already noon. He slept very comfortably and soundly, but when he saw Snede lying on the floor in the suite with his head buried in the pillow, he guessed that the three of them might have drunk some wine after he fell asleep.
Because the room reeked of alcohol.
He dragged Snede onto the bed and covered Van Der Vaart with the blanket. After he moved Hai Tinga's leg, which was hanging out of the bed, back onto the bed, he took a shower and left the hotel.
Wearing casual clothes and walking on the streets of Amsterdam, Qin Xiong turned on his phone and saw a congratulatory text message from Sylvia. After he replied, he realized that he had nowhere to go, so he took a ride to the club.
The reserve team and the youth team still had to train today. After all, it was the middle of the week and not the weekend.
After seeing Qin Xiong come to the training ground in casual clothes, the teammates who knew him came forward to congratulate him, especially the youth team players. Those who had a good relationship with him were already crazy about him!
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