Arsenal pierced through Ajax's goal for the second time. According to the statistics, Qin Xiong's assist was not counted, but he instigated the attack. When his teammates went to celebrate the goal, Qin Xiong turned and walked back to the half of the field. Then, he stood on the ground facing Ajax's goal with a calm expression.
His mood was certainly not uncomfortable, just a little complicated. Just like Snede, who brushed past him without saying a word, his mood must also be unusually complicated.
How could his invincible comrade-in-arms, who had fought side by side, be as calm as stagnant water now that they were facing each other with swords and weapons?
Blinder's expression showed a trace of disappointment. In a strong confrontation, any slight mistake could lead to a change in the situation of the game.
Also, Ajax's defense on the left flank was like a pit. Without Maxwell, it was no surprise that Arsenal was able to defeat them in this area. Even in the Premier League, many aggressive opponents would take advantage of this weakness.
Defend!
Even though Ajax was the flag-bearer of Dutch offensive football, it was not to the point where he did not know the immensity of heaven and earth and asked for humiliation.
Arsenal was obviously playing defense and counterattack in the away game. Even though Arsenal's lineup also had hidden dangers and its strength was weakened, Eboue, Flamini, and Senderos at least did their best to defend well and had a certain strength as a foundation.
It could be said that Arsenal only needed to invest three or four players in the counterattack, and it was enough to kill Ajax.
Just like Lindbergh, who was forcefully defeated by Qin Xiong's speed in the counterattack, how could Blinder blame Lindbergh?
In terms of speed, acceleration, and explosive power, he was not as good as the other side. This was a gap in hard strength. There was no way. It was not something that could be made up with a few words of perking up and fighting with his true colors as a man!
If this could be made up, then there would be no superstars or masters in the world of football.
Blinder let Heitinga, who had a minor injury, take on the role in a critical moment. He came on to replace Babel, who did not do much in the game, to add a defensive force to Ajax. De Rong returned to the back waist line, and Heitinga played as the center back.
Wenger was satisfied.
Although the attacks of the Jax Legion were threatening, it was all bark and no bite. Since the Jax Legion was on the defensive, Fei decided to return the favor. He asked Hleb to take away Pires and replaced Henry with Van Persie.
After Arsenal's two-goal lead, the game's tempo suddenly dropped. Ajax weakened the attack, and Arsenal strengthened their control.
In the remaining time of the game, Sneijder tried his best to create opportunities for Huntelaar, but Huntelaar was surrounded by Arsenal's defensive line and did not have the ability to come and go freely in the midst of tens of thousands of players in the Premier League.
Jax's attacks failed again and again, and they tried to threaten Arsenal's goal with great difficulty. However, they rationally didn't expose the holes in their defense.
Qin Xiong was not going to be merciful to Ajax, but after Arsenal replaced Henry and Pires, their offensive strength did indeed drop. Coupled with the team's two-goal lead, it was also the team's established strategy to ensure victory and avoid excessive consumption.
When the whistle sounded at the end of the game, Ajax's players stood on the field, looking frustrated.
Ajax and Arsenal were the favorites to advance in this group.
But Ajax's results of one draw and one loss in the first two group games made Ajax's prospects of advancing began to worry. This was an unchangeable fact.
Qin Xiong and Snede came together. The two men hugged each other's shoulders and chatted.
Snede said helplessly, "This is great. Ajax's group is in third place."
Qin Xiong smiled and said, "There are still four games. It's not good to be pessimistic too early."
"Yes, there are still four games, and one of them is at Highbury."
"That's the last round. Don't tell me you want to pin your fate on the last game?"
Snede smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, he bumped Qin Xiong's ribs and whispered, "This reminds me of something."
"What?"
"In a certain season, we also had a bad start in the group stage."
Qin Xiong's eyes were in a trance. He knew which season Snede was talking about. It was the season when they conquered Europe together for Ajax.
Ajax had a very bad start in the group stage. They only managed to turn the tables and advance to the knockout stage at the end.
"Oh, it seems like Ajax was eliminated in the group stage last season."
Hearing Qin Xiong's words, Snade punched Qin Xiong's arm hard. Although he punched Qin Xiong's arm hard, he was aiming at Qin Xiong's arm muscles.
"Don't mention last season. It's a disgrace."
Ajax created the legend of the youth team and also created the humiliating record of the defending champions of the Champions League being eliminated in the group stage.
Qin Xiong chuckled and exchanged jerseys with Snede before parting ways. He walked to the side of the field with Ajax's jersey on his shoulder and thanked the Arsenal fans for their support from afar with his teammates.
After he left the field and walked into the players' tunnel, there were many reporters waiting for him in the mixed interview area.
When a Dutch reporter asked him how he felt about scoring Ajax's goal, he answered frankly, "I'm now playing for Arsenal. It's my job to help the team score goals and win games. I have special feelings for Ajax. At the moment when I scored, I just wanted time to go faster. I didn't want to be the focus."
The Chinese reporter asked such a question.
"After helping Arsenal win the Double of the Premier League and the FA Cup last season and becoming the European Champion of Assists, your performance this season is even more dazzling than last season. Do you think you will get more votes than last year for the annual Ballon d 'Or awards in two months? You were eighth in the Ballon d 'Or awards last year. "
Qin Xiong took a deep breath. He did not know why, but when the reporter asked about the Ballon d 'Or awards, he felt a little nervous. Perhaps it was excitement, but he did not have time to distinguish his emotions.
After sorting out his thoughts, he said frankly, "The Ballon d 'Or is the highest individual honor award. Of course, I hope to be recognized by the world in this selection. Whether I will improve from last year, I don't know and I'm not sure. Because the European football world is very big and there are many star players. There are players who perform well in every league. It depends on the judges' vision. I don't know, but I look forward to making progress."
Before leaving Amsterdam, Qin Xiong and Sylvia had a little chat. Then he met up with the team and boarded the plane back to England together.
He could not sleep, thinking about the Ballon d 'Or awards.
He knew that he could not win the Ballon d 'Or this year. Not to mention anything else, the outside world did not have an accurate conclusion about who was more important between him and Henry in the team, not to mention that Henry had never won the Ballon d' Or. Him? It was even more impossible.
And Arsenal did not seem to have the ability to cultivate Mr. Ballon d 'Or.
The English Premier League was not the world's number one league. It was not convincing enough to conquer the English Premier League. Arsenal had not conquered Europe, so naturally, they were not as popular as those powerhouse clubs with Champions League backgrounds.
However, Qin Xiong secretly made up his mind that he would work hard to climb to the throne of the highest individual honor in his career!
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