Chapter 804 - 145: Record-Breaking! Final Transfer! Outrageous Factions! Goodbye, Henry! The Biggest Victory in History!

What about the Flemish-speaking region?

It was situated in northern Belgium, close to the Netherlands. Since Verthongen and Vermaelen both hailed from near Antwerp, they had both gone to the Netherlands when they moved abroad.

And De Bruyne?

He was from the Ghent area in central Belgium, and he was arguably the most unique of them all. He was fluent in French, German, Flemish, and English simultaneously. Logically, a player like him should have been able to get along with everyone effortlessly. However, De Bruyne had a rather solitary personality; he was introverted, reticent, and preferred to keep to himself. Inside the Arsenal dressing room, he answered to no one but Wang Shuo.

Since Vermaelen and Verthongen both spoke Flemish and were both products of Ajax, it stood to reason that they should be quite close. But they weren’t. Their positions and roles on the pitch overlapped slightly, which made their relationship rather sensitive. More importantly, it was only after Vermaelen transferred from Ajax to Arsenal back in the day that Verthongen had finally risen to prominence. Now that they were on the same team again, with their positions overlapping once more, things were bound to be somewhat awkward.

Hearing all this, Wang Shuo felt a headache coming on. They were all Belgians, yet four people had somehow splintered into four different factions! If this was the case, wouldn’t they just tear each other apart with infighting in the national team? It was simply outrageous!

However, Wang Shuo didn’t really care as long as they were at Arsenal. He had no interest in worrying about his teammates’ private lives; his only responsibility was managing the dressing room. As long as everyone displayed a professional attitude in the dressing room, during training, and in matches, their personal relationships were of no concern to him, and he had no desire to interfere.

That being said, during the subsequent training sessions, Verthongen immediately showcased his unique traits and advantages. The guy wasn’t slow, possessed a solid physique, and had great footwork. When pushing forward, he could tackle, hold his ground, and excel at passing. His area of activity was vast, and his recovery speed was quick. He truly was a top-class player!

...

As the clock ticked into February 2012, London experienced a massive drop in temperature. Even at exactly 1:00 PM, the temperature hovered around freezing point. Wang Shuo wore an extra thermal t-shirt under his jersey, but his lower half remained clad in his usual shorts and long socks.

Standing at the edge of the center circle at the Emirates Stadium, he looked at Blackburn’s forward, Modeste, inside the circle. The man was remarkably resilient to the cold, surprisingly sporting short sleeves. How fierce!

Behind Wang Shuo stood Arsenal’s starting lineup.

Goalkeeper: Szczeny

Defenders: Gibbs, Vermaelen, Subotic, and Lichsteiner

Midfielders: Alexandre Song playing deep, with Arteta partnering De Bruyne

Forwards: Hazard, Wang Shuo, and Walcott

Looking at this starting lineup, it was easy to see that Arsenal had only one goal for this match: attack!

Wang Shuo turned his head, glanced at his teammates behind him, and gave them a nod. Many of them were already watching him. Seeing his nod of acknowledgment, they all took a deep breath.

The moment head referee Andre Marriner blew the starting whistle, Wang Shuo was the first to sprint forward. He charged straight at Blackburn’s midfielder Nzonzi, and then darted toward center-back Givet. The Gunners pushed forward ferociously, forcing Blackburn to retreat.

Right from the opening whistle, the situation became completely one-sided. After a few consecutive passes, Blackburn immediately lost possession. Once Arsenal recovered the ball, they instantly initiated an attack.

In just the first minute, Alexandre Song passed the ball to Arteta, who immediately distributed it to the outer left corner of the penalty area. Hazard then laid it off to Gibbs, who was making an overlapping run. Gibbs delivered a low cross from the left side into the box.

However, there were five defending players in the penalty area, completely surrounding Wang Shuo in the middle. There was simply no way the ball could get through. Nzonzi stepped in first, blocking the ball out to the outer left corner of the box. Gibbs tracked back, controlled the ball before anyone else could, and reorganized the attack.

At that exact moment, Hazard made a rapid forward run into the left side of the penalty area. With his left foot, Gibbs threaded a diagonal pass behind the defense, placing the ball right in front of Hazard.

"Hazard is not offside!

"Let’s see how he handles this!

"A cross right to the front of the goal.

"Wang Shuo rushes in, a push shot!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

"Just one minute and twenty seconds into the game, Arsenal is the first to breach Blackburn’s goal!

"One to zero!

"It’s Wang Shuo opening the scoring once again!

"As we can see, the Gunners’ attacking coordination on this play was absolutely beautiful.

"But Wang Shuo’s positioning was equally clever.

"He had five defenders surrounding him, but he first feigned a sprint down the middle, abruptly stopped, and then curled around to the far post.

"Hazard understood his intent perfectly; the unspoken understanding between these two attacking geniuses is flawless!

"It’s another dream start!"

After scoring, Wang Shuo excitedly sprinted toward the left corner flag, pulling Hazard along to celebrate with him. The entirety of the Emirates Stadium echoed with the roaring cheers of the Gunners’ fans.

...

Wang Shuo’s goal was like opening Pandora’s box. Arsenal completely seized control of the match, relentlessly organizing and creating chances.

In the 6th minute, Wang Shuo dropped deep, drawing Givet out with him. De Bruyne then launched a diagonal pass to the left side of the penalty area. Hazard made a slanting run forward, but his push shot went wide, missing a golden opportunity.

Just three minutes later, Arsenal mounted another attack. Positioned on the right edge of the penalty area, in a flash of Spiritual Light, Wang Shuo executed a backheel pass to the inner right side of the box. Walcott surged in rapidly with a low shot, but it was parried away by England’s national goalkeeper, Robinson.

However, after consecutively generating two clear-cut chances, the Gunners finally capitalized on another opportunity in the 11th minute.