When Qin Xiong stood in the awe-inspiring tunnel of the Emirates Stadium, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up into a smile.
He remembered the question that the reporters bombarded him with before the game: How does it feel to face Arsenal?
His answer was: It's just an ordinary game.
But in reality?
His mood was a little complicated.
He did not want Arsenal to be like Ajax, who had a glorious era and suddenly declined.
At least Arsenal's performance as the Premier League's leader this season was still impressive. It was a world of difference from last season's struggle on the verge of collapse.
Qin Xiong stepped forward. Beside him, Arsenal's starting players were already lined up. Qin Xiong did not turn his head to look, but kept a smile on his face.
Whether or not the Arsenal players had fought side by side with Qin Xiong in the past, they would all look at Qin Xiong's back when he walked past.
He was a special member who had made great contributions to Arsenal's rise to the King of Europe!
To this day, there were still Arsenal fans who said that the club had made a huge mistake back then and should not have let Qin Xiong go!
Time could not be turned back, and life went on.
Qin Xiong could never go back to Highbury. Arsenal stepped into the Emirates Stadium era, but it allowed him to face Arsenal with less sadness and a more natural state of mind to go to the battlefield that he had defended and shed his blood in the past.
Henry and Raúl stood side by side at the front of the two teams. Henry looked back at Qin Xiong, while Fàbregas, who was behind him, held his head high and did not look at Qin Xiong at all.
Fàbregas, who had played well this season and officially became the core of Arsenal's midfield, had a close relationship with Qin Xiong. But when the two were already opponents and were about to confront each other directly, he was stubborn. He did not want to blame Qin Xiong for leaving back then, but wanted to let Qin Xiong see an Arsenal that was not inferior to before!
Now, Arsenal's backbone was supported by him and Henry!
Under the lead of the referee team, the starting players of Real Madrid and Arsenal walked into the Emirates Stadium together.
Qin Xiong once again felt the familiar cheering atmosphere of the Premier League stadium, crazy and persistent!
"The first leg of the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League 18 finals will be held at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal will face Real Madrid at home. This is the focal battle between the leader of the Premier League and the leader of La Liga. The previous season's Champions League champion, Arsenal, had a mediocre performance last season. This season, they are making a comeback. Real Madrid is the most powerful offensive team in Europe this season. Arsenal, under the guidance of Arsène Wenger, is trying to perform beautiful football to the peak of perfection!
Let's wait and see. This game will definitely not be a conservative contest.
Let's introduce the starting lineup of both sides.
Arsenal starting lineup: 442.
Goalkeeper: Almunia.
Defenders: Touré, Senderos, Gallas, Clichy.
Midfielders: Eboue, Fàbregas, Flamini, Hleb.
Forwards: Henry, Adebayor.
Real Madrid starting lineup: 442.
Goalkeeper: Casillas.
Defenders: Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Heinze.
Midfielders: Robben, Diarra, Guti, Snede.
Forwards: Qin Xiong, Raúl.
Well, the game is about to start. Real Madrid will be the first to kick off. "
When the referee blew the whistle, Raúl gently touched the ball and Qin Xiong directly started to dribble the ball forward from the side!
Perhaps the change from static to dynamic in the game was too drastic. No one thought that Qin Xiong would directly dribble the ball forward, which made Arsenal feel unprepared.
When Adebayor also rushed toward Qin Xiong, Qin Xiong pushed the ball to the right. Henry and Adebayor were about to form a pincer defense. Qin Xiong did not look back and used his right foot to kick the ball behind him.
The football that rolled behind him was kicked out by Raúl. The football rolled between Adebayor and Henry and returned to the feet of Qin Xiong, who was rushing forward.
Qin Xiong quickly dribbled the football to the danger zone forty yards away from the goal.
Robben rushed forward on the flank, which made Hleb dare not rashly help to defend the middle.
Flamini was just about to defend against Qin Xiong head-on when he saw Qin Xiong was about to raise his leg for a long shot!
Flamini subconsciously wanted to raise his leg to block Qin Xiong's long shot because he knew Qin Xiong's strength in his heart. They had fought side by side in the past. He was afraid that Qin Xiong's sudden kick would really defeat Almunia!
But Qin Xiong's right foot, which fell, hooked the ball diagonally from behind. At the same time, he completed a change of direction and broke through from the left side of Flamini's body.
Fàbregas also wanted to follow up to intercept, but Qin Xiong repeated the same trick. This time, he switched to his left foot and pretended to kick the goal!
In order to prevent Qin Xiong from changing the direction of the ball diagonally again, Fàbregas decisively expanded the defensive area and directly used his body to block Qin Xiong's shooting path. Even if Qin Xiong did not shoot and chose to change the direction of the ball diagonally, the inertia of his sliding shovel would allow him to follow and complete the destruction of the ball under Qin Xiong's feet.
But he did not expect Qin Xiong's left foot to fall to not touch the ball at all. In an instant, Qin Xiong chose to continue dribbling forward along the trajectory of the football's rolling trajectory.
Fàbregas' shovel missed!
Eboue assisted in defending the middle from the flank and rushed over in a rough manner. Qin Xiong waited until he had passed Fàbregas before he chose to hook the ball diagonally back to the middle. He followed his right foot and used his body to resist Eboue's pressing at the same time.
In the more than a year since he left Arsenal, Qin Xiong's physical ability continued to grow.
Perhaps Real Madrid did not pay attention to physical strength training. At least the club itself did not want the players to be muscular strength types. But Qin Xiong still joined in strength training under the arrangement of his personal coach.
Now, after he resisted Eboue, he burst out with an acceleration to dribble the football to the right front. Eboue's pressing also announced a failure.
The Arsenal fans in the stands were nervous.
The crazy and demonic Qin Xiong was back!
Unfortunately, he came back here as an opponent. In other words, he was Arsenal's enemy!
And he was now wreaking havoc on Arsenal's defensive line!
Because there were no teammates in front to support, Qin Xiong became the target of Arsenal's defensive line to encircle and suppress.
Qin Xiong, who was about to reach the front of the penalty area, knew that he could not continue to dribble, or he would miss the chance to shoot.
Twenty yards away from the goal, in the right position outside the penalty area, Qin Xiong decisively chose to lift his leg for a long shot this time!
The football flew like a meteor from his feet into Arsenal's penalty area.
Arsenal's players immediately looked back. They nervously observed the trajectory of the football flying towards the goal.
Almunia hurriedly ran in the direction of the right post of the goal. Halfway through, he breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to his teammates to indicate that he was fine.
There was a burst of cheers in the stands at the Emirates Stadium.
The football brushed the outside of the goalpost and flew out of the end line. It hit the advertising board solidly and bounced back into the field.
Qin Xiong turned his head and walked back. His calm expression evoked the best memories of the Arsenal fans, but it also made their hearts fall into an ice cellar.
Qin Xiong was back!
Unfortunately, this was a reunion of swords and weapons!
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