Chapter 724 134: Derby! Born Leader! Three Powerhouses Vying for Supremacy! Another Hat-Trick! Being Enemies with Wang Shuo Is Too Terrifying!

After the match, a dead silence settled over the away dressing room at Ewood Park Stadium.

The damp post-rain air brought in from the pitch mingled with the stench of the players' sweat, mud, and grass clippings, forming an indescribable odor. As everyone entered the dressing room, it was as if they were glued to their seats by their own sweat. Aside from the occasional rustle or the soft crack of a water bottle or energy drink being opened, a heavy, suffocating silence pressed down on everyone's chests.

They had won!

5-4!

But this was destined to be a scoreline devoid of pride. After all, they had just faced the league's bottom dwellers. It was an absurd victory! Arsenal, one of the Premier League's Big Four, had actually been battered so miserably by the bottom-of-the-table Blackburn. If word of this got out, everyone present would die of shame! It wasn't that top clubs couldn't accept defeat, but they absolutely couldn't afford to lose face like this!

At this very moment, everyone was waiting for the impending storm: the wrath of their manager, Wenger!

When Wang Shuo walked into the dressing room alongside assistant coaches Boro Primorac and Pat Rice, they were all taken aback by the atmosphere. How to describe it? It was completely lifeless. The players were slumped over, just like the rain-logged, ruined turf out on the pitch of Ewood Park Stadium!

"Do you guys want to celebrate together?" Wang Shuo asked with a smile, holding up a bottle of champagne to his teammates.

Everyone in the dressing room looked up, staring at Wang Shuo in surprise. They wondered if it was really a good idea to talk about celebrating right now when they had just played like absolute crap. Did they even have the right to celebrate?

Pat Rice and Primorac exchanged a glance, a hint of a smile hidden in their eyes. After every Premier League match, the Man of the Match was rewarded with a bottle of champagne. Most of the time, it was popped and drunk right there in the dressing room. Just moments ago, outside, Wang Shuo had already discussed this with Wenger, Pat Rice, and Primorac. Given the team's current state, they really couldn't afford to pile any more pressure on the players.

In the middle of the week, they had a League Cup match. As was often the case, the Gunners' opponent was the fourth-tier side, Shrewsbury. Many fans probably didn't even know where that was, but they had definitely heard of Joe Hart. Joe Hart was born in Shrewsbury; it was where he began his youth training and first made a name for himself.

Arsenal certainly wasn't going to field their starting lineup for this match. Therefore, the main squad's workload wouldn't be heavy.

"Tomorrow night, dinner is on me. Let's celebrate together!"

Everyone was stunned. They wondered if he was really serious about celebrating.

"Let me make this clear," Wang Shuo continued. "Even though this isn't an official club event and it's purely my personal invitation, everyone has to be there. It's settled. I'll let you all know once I book a place, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Subotic was the first to nod in agreement.

Although the team had conceded consecutive goals, frankly speaking, it didn't have much to do with him as a center-back. Even during set-piece defenses, it was the same. He was just one person—how could he cover everything? Most importantly, he was Wang Shuo's "inside man" among the players, always ready to step up and back him at crucial moments.

De Bruyne, Pogba, Hazard, and the others naturally chimed in with their agreement as well. Like Wang Shuo, they were all new signings. More importantly, they were all beneficiaries of rallying around Wang Shuo. Hazard went without saying; his synergy with Wang Shuo was growing increasingly seamless. De Bruyne and Pogba had also been strongly recommended by Wang Shuo.

As more and more people agreed, the rest found no reason to object.

"Then it's settled!" Wang Shuo finalized the decision on the spot. "Everyone go take a shower. We're getting ready to head back to London!"

With a grand wave of his hand, everyone sprang into action.

Seeing the players obediently get moving and shedding their previously lifeless demeanor, Pat Rice and Primorac were filled with a sudden sense of admiration. The Gunners' underlying weakness had been an issue for a long time. Being the captain of Arsenal wasn't just about leading the team on the pitch. Above all, it meant being able to unite everyone in the squad. This was exactly what Wenger expected of Wang Shuo.

But achieving this was no easy feat. Never mind anyone else, even Henry and his peers hadn't managed to do it back in their day. Yet, from the looks of it so far, Wang Shuo was genuinely doing a fantastic job.

A born leader—perhaps that was the perfect description for Wang Shuo!

***

The next day, at the Novikov Restaurant in the Mayfair District of Central London.

Wang Shuo had booked the entire first floor of the restaurant. All the players from the Arsenal first team sat around a massive long table, which was laden with a variety of signature dishes and specialties from this Chinese and Italian fusion establishment.

The most eye-catching item was undeniably the enormous king crabs. There was also the incredibly appetizing Peking duck. Of course, the long table was completely covered with roast meats, steaks, lobsters, caviar, and pasta.

"To be honest, this is my first time seeing king crabs this huge, too."

Wang Shuo's opening remark had everyone roaring with laughter. In truth, finding king crab in London wasn't difficult, but finding ones of this sheer size was a rarity.

"I just asked, and a single king crab leg costs 95 British Pounds! A whole Peking duck is 85 British Pounds, and that serving of Imperial Caviar is 130 British Pounds..." Subotic paused before shouting boisterously, "Everyone, make sure to stuff your faces tonight! Eat as much as you can, and don't you dare feel sorry for our captain's wallet!"