"That's George Wood's shot … It's been saved!" The commentator screamed from the radio.
Looking at the red light at the intersection in front, the taxi driver, Randy James, slammed the steering wheel hard. The passenger in the back seat was startled by his sudden action.
"Nicolas Anelka!" But then the commentator's excited roar came from the radio. "GOOOOAL — It's _ GOOOOAL!!"
The driver, Randy, slammed his hand on the horn this time.
Amidst the long blare of the car horn, the commentator's voice came out incessantly. "Nottingham Forest's counterattack! They've scored! Nicolas Anelka, a former Arsenal player, has given his old club the most powerful stab! He ran hard to … the technical area! Look at Tony Twain's excitement! "
"Haha! Tony! Beautifully done! " Randy did not care that there was a trembling passenger behind him. He slammed the car horn and roared in a hoarse voice.
Just as he was excitedly slamming the horn, a traffic policeman came over.
"I'm sorry, sir. There's no honking here." The traffic policeman warned as he prepared to take out a notebook from his breast pocket to record it.
Randy froze for a moment. The car horn was gone, but the voice from the radio became clearer.
"… Who would have thought that George Wood would suddenly appear in this position? It's amazing. It's completely out of Arsenal's expectations! "
"We scored?" The traffic policeman cocked his head to listen for a moment, then looked at Randy James and asked.
Randy laughed. "That's right. We scored!"
"Who scored?"
"Anelka."
"That bastard … Beautifully done!" The traffic policeman praised, shaking his head.
※ ※ ※
In the noisy Highbury stadium, boos could be heard everywhere, but Anelka could not hear a thing. He did not even put his index finger to his mouth in a "celebratory gesture of demonstration." He ran to the Forest team's technical area with open arms. There, Twain was kneeling on one knee, pounding the ground hard.
This season, he had to thank one person for his explosive return to England. He was truly grateful.
Tang En had just stood up from his frenzied celebration when he saw Anelka pouncing toward him. He did not even have time to open his arms to receive the embrace before the French striker crashed into him. Following that, he was directly pressed under him.
Without waiting for Tang En to struggle, more Forest players swarmed forward and pressed the two of them under their bodies.
"Haha, Nottingham Forest's celebration tradition!" ESPN's British commentator laughed happily. "We haven't seen it for some time. This usually happens when the players are very excited."
This time, even George Wood did not become a "spectator" again. He took the initiative to rush forward and stack himself on top. He was so excited that all he knew was to open his mouth wide and roar.
"Nottingham Forest has equalized the score. This is a priceless goal! They had obtained a valuable away goal. Maybe in the next 90 minutes, this goal would be the key to deciding the outcome of the game! No wonder the Forest players are so excited. Think about the scene in the Champions League quarterfinals. The Forest team was able to successfully advance by relying on away goals! "
※ ※ ※
Wenger stood on the sidelines, pacing back and forth with a gloomy face. He could not smile anymore.
Originally, the game had already entered the rhythm he had planned. He did not expect this goal to change everything. All his previous efforts had gone up in smoke.
What a bastard! He had studied all aspects of Nottingham Forest, including their manager's character and habits. He believed that this team had no secrets in front of him. He had already found a set of ways to control Forest. He did not expect … He did not expect to be defeated by Tang En's sudden change of tactics. No matter what, Wenger could not have imagined that Tang En would push George Wood to the front field and make him the tactical core, allowing him to participate in the offense.
He had calculated countless possibilities, but he had not calculated this one.
But how could he be blamed for this? The more he studied George, the more he believed that this kid could not do anything except defend. Let him attack? Wasn't that helping the opponent? Even if his shot helped Anelka's rebound, everyone would probably still think that it was only because Wood was lucky and did not shoot the ball away.
An away goal … Although the situation was not so bad that Arsenal would be eliminated, there were still 15 minutes before the match. What if Nottingham Forest used their best tactic of defending to the death and counterattacking?
Wenger believed that after obtaining a goal, Tang En would definitely command the team to defend to the death until the end of the match. He understood his opponent. The pursuit of results was more important than anything else. An ugly or even embarrassing situation was nothing to Tony Twain. The current score was very much in line with the result Tang En hoped for.
"Arthur?" Patrice walked out and stood beside Wenger, intending to ask him if he had any ideas.
"Pat, it's our turn to be in trouble this time." Wenger bit his lip and frowned.
※ ※ ※
With great difficulty, Tang En was finally "rescued" with the referee's intervention. The first thing he did was not to tidy up his suit, but to grab hold of George Wood.
"Well done, George!"
Wood broke into a grin.
"How did it feel the moment you shot?"
"Very good."
Tang En winked at him. "You finally didn't say 'not bad.'"
Wood stopped smiling. "Are we going to defend next?"
"Defend?" Tang En asked in return.
"They lost a goal at home and were even equalized. They'll definitely think …" Wood pointed to the Arsenal players who had already placed the football in the center circle and were preparing to kick off.
Unexpectedly, Tang En shook his head. "No, we're not going to defend."
Wood was shocked to hear Tang En say that.
"We'll continue to play like this. I can't explain too much to you right now. In short, remember to play like before. If there's a chance, firmly plug in and suppress Fàbregas! "
Wood rolled his eyes and nodded. "I understand."
"If you understand, then hurry back!" Tang En glanced at the fourth official walking towards him and hurriedly pushed Wood back to the field.
※ ※ ※
Wenger's latest instruction to the players before the kickoff was to give up on defense, strengthen the offense, and quickly score a goal. Nottingham Forest had already scored an away goal. They could not let them get another point.
But not long after the match resumed, Wenger had no choice but to change his decision again.
Arsenal had yet to threaten the Forest Team's goal when the Forest Team's forward, Anelka, used a long shot to nearly blast open the goal guarded by Lehmann once again.
"Arsenal's players aren't focused enough. Perhaps they still haven't recovered from the loss of that goal. Anelka reminded them — hey, the match isn't over yet!"
What annoyed Fàbregas was that he had wanted to seize the opportunity in the last ten minutes of the match to once again help the team take the lead. But he quickly realized that he needed to first stop George Wood.
Tang En waved his arms off the field and yelled, reminding the rest of the team to coordinate with Wood's passing and positioning and not let Wood get caught up in Arsenal's two-man scramble.
Speaking of the two-man scramble, Fàbregas had once again successfully intercepted Wood's regular dribbling. But he realized that perhaps the situation was better when the football was at Wood's feet. As long as the football was at the feet of an Arsenal player, Wood's entire person seemed to be possessed by God. He was full of vigor, and his defense was like a different person. If he could intercept it, he would intercept it. If he couldn't, he would immediately foul without hesitation.
His style caused Arsenal's players to suffer greatly. Even if they could intercept the ball from his feet, they would immediately have to face his close interference. And in their offense, Arsenal's players always hoped to be as far away from this monster as possible.
When George Wood attracted the attention of most of the Arsenal players, the defensive pressure faced by his other teammates also lessened. Arteta had more energy to use to pass the ball for his teammates. This gave Wenger a headache. He had no choice but to make adjustments once again, telling his players not to press forward in large numbers to prevent the gaps behind them from being exploited by Forest. That way, Arsenal would inevitably be unable to attack at full force.
This was equivalent to using another method to resolve the pressure on Forest's defense. Arsenal's effectiveness would be greatly reduced if they were unable to attack at full force. When the referee blew the whistle to end the match, Forest Team actually did not have any substantial attacks after that. However, they succeeded in making Arsenal think that Forest Team would always make use of the gaps in their advance to attack behind them. Tang En made use of Wenger's understanding of Forest Team to counter Wenger's army.
As a result, when the match was nearing its end, Wenger raised his head and saw the 1: 1 score on the big screen. Only then did he suddenly realize that he had fallen into Tang En's trap. Tang En's posture of wanting to score another goal at the last moment was just a bluff. His true goal was not to attack, but to defend!
And at this time, even if Wenger already knew, it was too late to make any changes. There was not much time left in the match. The referee had already raised his hand to look at his watch for the third time. He could blow the whistle to end the match at any time.
Seeing Wenger pacing back and forth by the side of the field, Tang En smiled at Kerslake beside him. "China's Art of War once said: All is fair in war. We've won, David. "
Just as he finished speaking, the referee blew the whistle to end the match.
"The match is over! Until the very end, Arsenal was unable to score another goal. They tied with Nottingham Forest on their own home ground, 1: 1! For Tang En's team, this was a satisfactory ending. However, this score did not mean that Forest Team would definitely obtain a ticket to the finals. Arsenal still had a great chance. After all, Nottingham Forest only had one away goal. I believe that with Arsenal's powerful attack, it would not be difficult to score a goal in the City Ground Stadium. After all, they are no strangers to that stadium. Moreover, just two months ago, Arsenal had defeated Nottingham Forest 2: 0 in that stadium. This 1: 1 score is not the end of the world for Wenger's team. "
These words sounded very reasonable. However, saying it at this time would only make people feel that he was comforting the "losers."
He believed that Wenger would not like to hear these words either.
Once the match ended, Tang En turned and walked toward the home team's technical area. When he was about five or six meters away from Wenger, he took the initiative to extend his hand, his face brimming with a bright smile.
"An exciting match, wasn't it?"
Wenger also extended his hand, and the two shook hands.
"An exciting … match. Congratulations, Mr. Tang. "
"There are still 90 minutes left. The outcome of the match is still unknown."
"You're right. It's still too early to laugh or cry."
"Let's meet at the City Ground Stadium."
After Tang En bid farewell to Wenger, he did not walk back to the tunnel. Instead, he turned and walked to the field. The players from both sides did not exchange jerseys in a friendly atmosphere after the match. These two teams were rivals in the Premier League and UEFA Cup. There was nothing friendly to speak of.
Arsenal's players hurriedly left the field, while Nottingham Forest's people stayed on the field as if they were victors. They raised their hands to thank the audience, even though most of the audience had already left or were in the process of leaving.
"Alright, guys. Go back and take a shower. Change your clothes. Let's go home! "
Tang En called out. He was worried that the players would be too excited and catch a cold.
Eastwood, who had only been brought on at the last stage of the match with the main goal of wasting time, walked over with a grin. He gave Tang En a hug and continued walking toward the players' tunnel. There was not even a sweat on his body.
The players heard their manager's summons and left the field one by one. They walked down to hug Tang En and then returned to the locker room.
Albertini and Tang En stood together on the sidelines. The players came down to hug Tang En and then clapped hands with him.
Anelka walked into the stadium with his head held high. He similarly held his head high when he left.
When George Wood came down, Tang En did not say anything. He only used a little more force when he hugged him. Albertini held him back and said a few words.
When everyone had gone back, Tang En turned around and walked back with Albertini.
"What did you say to George just now?" Tang En asked casually.
"Hmm, nothing much. I was just praising his performance."
Tang En laughed. "Oh, right. Demi, I still have to thank you. If you hadn't told me that George had talent in offense and hoped that I could nurture George into an all-rounded midfielder who could attack and defend well, I might not have been able to win this match. "
"I only offered a suggestion and a possibility. Boss, the person who made the decision is still you. "
"If you were in my position, you'd make the same decision, wouldn't you?"
Albertini smiled and did not answer.
"You're right, Demi. George … does have talent in offense, and it's been buried very deeply. Fortunately, it hasn't been buried forever. "Tang En reached out and patted Albertini." I'm looking forward to his future more and more. Let's go. "
※ ※ ※
In the post-match press conference, Wenger admitted that George Wood's sudden move was a change he had not expected. He expressed with some regret that if not for Wood's shot, the result of the match would not have been like this.
Tang En, on the other hand, happily praised Wood's performance, believing that he had stood up when the team needed him the most. Of course, in the face of the reporters' astonishment, he insisted that this was an adjustment that he had planned for a long time. It was a routine that he had repeatedly practiced during his usual training. It was not something that he had suddenly thought of out of helplessness.
As he said this, Wenger turned his head to look at him. Tang En finished speaking without a blush or gasping for breath. He even returned Wenger's smile.
Of course, Wenger did not believe Tang En's nonsense at the press conference. Based on his understanding of Tang En, it was impossible for him to have trained for a long time in advance and then let Wood be the core of the offensive tactics in this match. If that were really the case, then Arsenal would not have been the first to be sacrificed.
Looking at Tang En's shameless smile, Wenger was even more certain that the person in front of him was a bastard.
(To be continued, if you wish to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support genuine reading!)
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