The fourth place in the Ballon d 'Or would be forgotten by the outside world, but Qin Xiong, as the second player in the Arsenal team to reach the top five for the Ballon d' Or award, caused a subtle change in Qin Xiong's position in the hearts of his teammates in the team.
He had received enough recognition from the outside world and was second only to Henry in the team.
It brought stimulation to the team in two ways.
One was recognition.
Regardless of whether Arsenal had a thin lineup or weak financial resources, at least they had two stars recognized by the outside world. Henry was naturally a superstar, and although Qin Xiong had yet to prove himself because of his young age, he was infinitely close to the level of a superstar.
This represented the strength of the team.
The other was the division of status in the team.
No teammates would question Qin Xiong's strength. His position in the team would be clearly established. This was not required by the manager's edict, but by the people's hearts!
His strength had been recognized by a wide range of people, so there was nothing to be unconvinced about.
This would make it more effective for Arsenal to unite around Henry and Qin Xiong.
In the 15th round of the Premier League, Arsenal visited the Reebok Stadium.
This was a stadium where the Gunners did not have good memories of winning the title last season.
Their unbeaten record was ended by Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.
After Arsenal arrived at the Reebok Stadium and the team's starting lineup, led by captain Henry, the Reebok Stadium rang with the sound of Bolton Wanderers fans mocking Arsenal's unbeaten legend last season.
Bolton Wanderers, who had created the club's highest ranking in the top league last season, had reason to be rampant. Their fans were happy, enjoying the huge leap the team had shown in recent years.
And they seemed to like Arsenal, of course, because seeing Arsenal reminded them of something they were proud of, the terminator of the unbeaten legend!
As a result, they were even more unscrupulous in mocking Arsenal's players in the stadium, including Henry falling behind Gerard in the Ballon d 'Or selection, Qin Xiong not being in the top three, and so on. The mockery that crossed the bottom line was the incident where Wenger was attacked by Mourinho as a "voyeur." This was the Bolton Wanderers fans, just like how they shamelessly rubbed salt into Manchester United's wounds after the Munich air disaster.
"The atmosphere at the Reebok Stadium is really feverish today. Bolton Wanderers seem to be particularly fond of Arsenal. Before the game, most of the Bolton Wanderers fans were full of confidence in the team and expressed that they had ended Arsenal's unbeaten streak last season. This season, Arsenal has started with 12 wins and 2 draws. They can also end Arsenal's unbeaten start.
If Bolton Wanderers can beat Arsenal at home for two consecutive seasons, it would obviously be a great achievement. I think it's a good thing that Bolton Wanderers have such ambitions and goals. It will make the matches more exciting and exciting!
Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both sides.
Bolton Wanderers start 4-5-1.
Goalkeeper: Jaaskelainen.
Defenders: Hunt, Ben Haim, Al-Djaidi, Gardner.
Midfielders: Nolan, Campo, Diouf, Speed, Peterson.
Striker: Davies.
Arsenal start 4-5-1.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Eboue, Touré, Senderos, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Ljungberg, Fàbregas, Qin Xiong, Flamini, Pires.
Striker: Henry. "
Arsenal was very serious in their preparations for the game. The team held their breath and was here to take revenge for last season.
After the game started, the situation was dominated by Arsenal.
In the seventh minute, Qin Xiong broke into the penalty area to receive Fàbregas and directly shot. He was too picky about the angle and shot the ball into the side netting.
Five minutes later, Qin Xiong pulled Ljungberg and cut into the penalty area to cover for Henry. Qin Xiong passed a 45-degree high ball to the back point. Henry outflanked from the back point and volleyed the ball. The ball flew into the stands. Henry raised his hand to Qin Xiong to indicate that there was a problem with his play.
But Qin Xiong did not mind at all. No one could turn every opportunity into a goal.
In the sixteenth minute, Qin Xiong set up a battery for Pires outside. Pires shot a curveball and almost penetrated Jaaskelainen's fingers. Jaaskelainen's brave save won the cheers of countless Bolton Wanderers fans in the Reebok Stadium.
"The situation is a little one-sided. Arsenal made the game run very quickly and smoothly. Unfortunately, Arsenal's attack only bloomed and did not bear fruit. This does not look like a good sign."
As if to confirm the commentator's worries, the game changed in the 24th minute.
Bolton Wanderers almost did not get any good opportunities from the start and were beaten by Arsenal.
But Campo's world-class kick nearly forty yards away from the goal penetrated Lehmann's fingers!
The football flew from the crowd to the lower left corner of the goal. Campo's world-class kick sent the Reebok Stadium into a frenzy.
The Bolton Wanderers fans waved their arms passionately and roared with ferocious expressions.
Their prophecy was coming true.
Bolton Wanderers were going to end Arsenal's unbeaten streak again!
Wenger looked helpless on the sidelines. No one could blame the players for this kind of goal concede. Sometimes there would be some incredible goals on the field.
After the goal concede, Qin Xiong boosted the morale of his teammates and told them not to be discouraged. Under his leadership, Arsenal's state was not affected at all. There was plenty of time for the game.
No matter what problems Arsenal had internally, at least everyone had a tacit consensus: Score goals? We definitely won't have a problem.
In the first 14 rounds of the season, 12 wins and 2 draws, plus a five-game winning streak and a clean sheet performance in the Champions League group stage, Arsenal's team had accumulated enough confidence as a whole this season. Their attention had long forgotten about Vieira's presence in the past and ignored which players in the team could not play due to injury.
This confidence and spirit made them twist into a rope and work together to face difficulties as long as there were 11 Arsenal players on the field.
If the game at the beginning of the season collapsed and their results were extremely poor, or even if they lost the league title within three months, they would not be as united and confident as they were today.
At this time, looking back at the play of Qin Xiong and Henry in the past three months, it was just as Fleet Street said: Arsenal's two kings carried Arsenal forward and their contributions were unparalleled.
They molded Arsenal's confidence and spirit on the field!
In the 37th minute of the game, Qin Xiong and Pirès attacked Ben Haim's side of the defensive zone after cooperating on the left flank. After Qin Xiong's dribbled the ball out to attack in depth, he suddenly passed the ball back into the triangle. Fàbregas, following up from the back row, stopped the ball outside and immediately sent a straight ball to the right flank of the penalty area.
After the pass, Fàbregas was confident in his choice.
This habit of unexpectedly transferring the ball and looking at the overall situation was a valuable experience he learned from Qin Xiong.
Just as Qin Xiong was able to learn and use Robben's "strange" style of play by observing and using it, Fàbregas was also learning from Qin Xiong and benefited a lot.
This big triangle pass made the Bolton Wanderers' defensive line panic. Ljungberg cut into the penalty area and did not pass the ball to Henry. He chose to shoot himself. The explosive volley shot the ball from the top corner of the near post into the Bolton Wanderers' goal.
Jaaskelainen was powerless to reverse the situation!
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