Chapter 729 134: Derby! Born Leader! Three Giants Vying for Supremacy! Another Hat-Trick! Being Wang Shuo's Enemy Is Too Terrifying!

Van der Vaart moved to the left flank, while Modric returned to the center to orchestrate the play. Both teams continuously created shooting opportunities.

Except for Wang Shuo.

No matter where he ran, there were always defenders swarming around him. The moment he got the ball, someone would instantly mark him tightly. Not only the defenders and defensive midfielders, but even Modric pressed him aggressively. Despite the Croatian midfielder's short stature, he was incredibly tough to deal with—highly agile and full of tenacity. However, when it came to a physical clash between the two, Wang Shuo had the upper hand.

There was also a moment when Wang Shuo received the ball on his own left flank and went shoulder-to-shoulder with the tracking Gareth Bale, holding his own against the Welshman. Yet, Wang Shuo still couldn't find a chance to face the goal directly. Under Tottenham's rabid, mad-dog pressing tactics, the Gunners' midfield simply couldn't organize any effective attacks.

In the 34th minute, when Wang Shuo saw Hazard blocked by Corluka near the left touchline, he immediately sprinted over, calling for Hazard to pass him the ball. The Belgian sent a straight pass hugging the left touchline right to Wang Shuo's feet.

Receiving the ball, Wang Shuo caught Hazard making a quick diagonal run out of the corner of his eye. Deliberately slowing his pace, he drew Caboul over, along with Corluka, who had turned back just in time to double-team him. With this, Hazard was left completely unmarked.

Wang Shuo only paused for a split second. He didn't wait for their double-team to fully close in. Suddenly accelerating, he feigned a breakthrough right through the middle of the two defenders. After tricking Caboul into shifting sideways to defend, Wang Shuo abruptly chopped the ball toward the baseline, executing a breakthrough down the left touchline.

With an explosive start, Wang Shuo instantly tore past Caboul's defense, rendering Tottenham Hotspur's double-team on the flank a complete failure and drawing gasps from the crowd at White Hart Lane Stadium.

After the breakthrough, Wang Shuo reached the baseline. He changed direction, cutting inside, and carried the ball all the way along the baseline into the left side of the penalty area, drawing out goalkeeper Friedel and the other center-back, Ledley King.

Just as everyone's attention was fixed on him, Wang Shuo suddenly executed a cutback pass. Hazard quickly caught up to the ball and slotted it with a side-footed shot. The ball drilled straight into Tottenham's net.

1-1!

The tempo of the match had been blown wide open. Both sides engaged in an end-to-end attacking battle.

In the 40th minute, after Modric received the ball in the center and shook off Matuidi, he drove forward along the right half-space. Just as everyone thought he was going to look for Adebayor on the left side of the penalty box, he suddenly used the outside of his boot to distribute the ball to the right side of the box. Gareth Bale arrived with blistering pace, controlled the ball, and fired a powerful volley.

2-1!

But right before the end of the first half, Arsenal executed a beautiful give-and-go combination on the right flank. After De Bruyne drew the defense's attention in the half-space, he distributed the ball near the right baseline. Lichsteiner surged forward and sent a low, driven cross to the edge of the six-yard box.

Wang Shuo swiftly darted to the front post, beating both Caboul and Ledley King to the ball, and unleashed a furious shot that sent the ball flying into Tottenham Hotspur's net.

2-2!

The first half ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw.

When the second half began and the teams switched sides, both teams realized they couldn't sustain this end-to-end shootout and began to slow down the tempo. Tottenham Hotspur, in particular, began to place more emphasis on defense, retracting their overall formation. The match fell into a stalemate.

In the 70th minute, Redknapp made his first substitution. Kyle Walker came on for Corluka.

After coming on, Kyle Walker was extremely active on the right flank, repeatedly attacking Arsenal's left wing.

In the 83rd minute, Gareth Bale switched back to the left flank. After receiving the ball near the midway line, he pulled off a beautiful knock-and-run, forcibly breaking past Lichsteiner. He surged forward with a blistering sprint. After drawing Subotic out near the left corner of the penalty area, he squared the ball to the completely unmarked Modric in the center.

The Croatian seized the opportunity. He controlled the ball, burst into the penalty box, and unleashed a ferocious strike, sending the ball into the bottom right corner of Arsenal's net.

3-2!

Wang Shuo was genuinely provoked by Gareth Bale's assist. Carrying the ball from the left flank at the halfway line, executing a knock-and-run to aggressively bypass Lichsteiner... the Welshman was practically treating Arsenal like last season's Inter Milan. That battle was exactly what made Gareth Bale a household name!

And then there was Modric. This Croatian midfielder possessed extraordinary ability; he had an incredible engine and was incredibly difficult to deal with. His footwork was also exceptionally brilliant.

Adebayor, Van der Vaart, Sandro, Kyle Walker, Ledley King... Tottenham Hotspur's players were all undeniably strong.

But this only made Wang Shuo even more excited.

When the match reached the 85th minute, Arsenal once again pressed into Tottenham Hotspur's half to organize an attack, but they struggled to penetrate the final thirty-meter zone.

Wang Shuo quickly dropped back, running into the left half-space of that thirty-meter zone to ask Alexandre Song for the ball. As soon as he controlled it, the Brazilian defensive midfielder, Sandro, was already glued to his back.

Facing away from the attacking direction, Wang Shuo first stepped out with his left foot, but in reality, he used the outside of his right boot to cushion the ball toward his right side.

The feint with his left foot completely deceived Sandro. Wang Shuo swiftly spun to his right and pinged a pass to Hazard.

The Brazilian defensive midfielder froze for a moment. He genuinely had no idea how Wang Shuo had even spotted Hazard's position.

But there was no time left for him to think. After passing the ball, Wang Shuo explosively accelerated. Bursting forward at top speed, he shook off Sandro and made a diagonal run straight into the center.