Chapter 830 - 149: Bicycle Kick! Domain Skills: Agile Striker! Winning the Title the Manchester United Way! Gunners, Where Are Your Tricks?

And it was precisely Wang Shuo who had transformed this Arsenal—a team universally written off after losing core starters like Van Persie, Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Clichy, and Sagna in quick succession last summer—into the current leaders of the Premier League.

The Times revealed that during the post-match press conference, a reporter had asked Wenger about Arsenal’s four consecutive comeback victories.

"This is our best response to certain doubts!" Wenger declared.

"I believe we have always possessed the strength and character to fight until the very last second and win matches like an iron-blooded army!

"Leading by ten points? It’s certainly nice, but it’s still not enough to guarantee us the title!

"Yes, you heard that right. I believe we are the team with the best chance of winning the Premier League this season!"

This was the first time Wenger had boldly proclaimed their intention to take the league title! And to do so in the style of that legendary, iron-blooded Manchester United!

As copies of The Times hit the stands, more and more Gunners fans heard their manager’s rallying cry and were overwhelmingly inspired.

How many years had it been? When was the last time the Gunners could so proudly and confidently declare their intention to win the title?

Although Wenger would talk about challenging for the championship before every season in the past, Arsenal would always drop out of the title race early on after the winter break, usually by March or April. But now, the Gunners were leading by ten points! By mid-March, a full ten-point lead! What did this mean?

At the press conference, Wenger also playfully teased his fierce rival, Ferguson.

"You should go ask a certain someone. Didn’t he say that if we maintained our lead into March, he would concede? I’m very much looking forward to hearing him say those words himself."

Obviously, Wenger had finally found the perfect moment to strike back! However, Ferguson flat-out refused to acknowledge it this time.

"Did I say that?" Ferguson responded. "Oh, right, maybe I did, but I don’t think it means anything.

"With ten rounds left in the league, anything can still happen.

"What? You don’t believe me?

"In the 2002/03 season, after the twenty-eighth round of the Premier League, Arsenal was ahead of us by five points. But by the time the thirty-eighth round finished, we had turned it around and led them by five points.

"In just ten short rounds, we managed to secure ten more points than Arsenal did."

His underlying message was clear: they had already proven in the 02/03 season that making up a ten-point deficit in the final ten rounds was not some unattainable pipe dream. What they could do back then, they could still do now. Therefore, it was far too early for Arsenal to be dreaming of the championship!

Wang Shuo was genuinely quite surprised when he read this news report. This was the distinct advantage of managing for a long time. Having personally experienced all sorts of historical scenarios, seasoned managers could effortlessly pull them out of thin air to motivate their teams.

Yet, one had to admit that Manchester United’s comebacks during the turn of the century were truly spectacular. They frequently staged classic dramas where they would stubbornly overturn massive deficits to seize the lead. In contrast, Arsenal really did have a habit of collapsing in the latter half of the season. Thus, Ferguson’s words also carried a strong hint of psychological warfare.

More importantly, both Manchester United and Manchester City were now entirely focused on the league. The League Cup was already over, and Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City had all been knocked out of the FA Cup. Due to poor performances in the Champions League group stage, both Manchester clubs had dropped down to the UEFA Europa League.

But in the Europa League Round of 16 that concluded mid-last week, Manchester City was eliminated by Sporting Lisbon after losing 1-0 away and winning 3-2 at home. Manchester United suffered an even harsher fate, being double-killed by Athletic Bilbao over two legs with a 3-2 loss at home and a 2-1 loss away.

The two Manchester giants had laid their cards on the table—they were pouring all their energy into the Premier League! In contrast, Arsenal still had the distraction of a Champions League quarter-final clash against Barcelona. For Ferguson to issue a challenge at this precise moment was unquestionably a calculated pressure tactic.

Arsenal was notoriously poor at playing away games. And in the twenty-ninth round of the Premier League, they were facing an Everton side managed by Moyes. Who was Moyes? The universally recognized, hand-picked future successor to Ferguson!

Before the match, Moyes had made it explicitly clear that the Toffees would do everything in their power to snipe Arsenal on their home turf.

With so many narrative threads intertwining, fans across the United Kingdom—and indeed the entire world—developed an inexplicable sense of anticipation. Was the script for Arsenal’s fifth consecutive comeback already written? This was the highly anticipated sequel! After accumulating so much hype over the previous four episodes, this one was ready to explode.

But right then, completely defying everyone’s expectations, the Gunners capitalized on a corner kick a mere seven minutes into the match. Vermaelen met the ball with a powerful header, drawing first blood for Arsenal!

Everyone was dumbfounded! Even the Sky Sports commentator covering the match couldn’t help but exclaim, "What happened to the promised comeback?

"Gunners, why aren’t you playing by the script?

"If you’ve been kidnapped by the betting companies, blink twice!"

What did he mean? The whole world was expecting Arsenal to pull off another spectacular comeback. Even the betting companies had opened odds predicting exactly when Arsenal would turn the tide. But the result? A goal just seven minutes in! The bookies were absolutely thrilled.

However, the plot ultimately unfolded exactly as destiny intended.

In the thirtieth minute, Everton executed a successful tackle in the frontcourt. Following a sequence of rapid Passing between Fellaini, Jelavic, Cahill, and others, the ball was delivered to the right side of the penalty area. Drenthe charged forward and fired a side-footed shot, shattering Szczeny’s goal.