Chapter 692 - 129: A Flying Start! Super Scorer! Arsenal’s Number One Fierce Man! Wenger: Wang Shuo, You’re Just Too Good

But Koscielny got there first, heading the ball down.

Within six seconds, Arsenal had won back possession.

After winning the ball, the Gunners didn’t immediately launch an attack. Instead, they patiently built up their play from the back.

Goalkeeper Fabianski, center-backs Koscielny and Subotic, and holding midfielder Alexandre Song exchanged a series of one-touch passes, forcing the Boca Juniors defensive line to retreat again and again.

The ball moved into midfield and was switched to the right flank.

Lichsteiner moved up and passed it to Walcott.

But they couldn’t find a way through on the right, so the ball was passed back to Wilshere, who then laid it off to Arteta.

Arteta passed it forward to Wang Shuo, who had dropped back. Wang Shuo played a one-touch pass out to Hazard on the left and immediately made a run forward.

Under pressure, Hazard couldn’t get the pass off in time and was forced to play it back to Arteta.

Arteta switched the play with a long ball to the right corner, just outside the box. Lichsteiner, having already advanced, controlled it with one touch and laid it back towards the edge of the penalty area. Wilshere trapped it instantly and dribbled into the box.

Just then, Boca Juniors midfielder Elvedi went in for a tackle but missed the ball, tripping Wilshere instead.

However, the match was only 35 seconds in.

The referee was never going to give the "yellow card plus penalty" package, so he waved play on.

As the hosts of a pre-season friendly, the Arsenal players didn’t bother protesting.

But in Wang Shuo’s eyes, this Gunners attack was a perfect embodiment of Wenger’s football philosophy.

The move itself took a while to describe, but the passing and movement were a joy to watch.

Many people say that Arsenal, Dortmund, and Barça share many similar philosophies.

The biggest similarity between Dortmund and Barça is actually their high-press immediately after losing possession.

But after winning the ball back, Dortmund’s style of quick passing and movement in tight spaces was very similar to Arsenal’s.

However, what the Gunners did better than Dortmund was incorporate more of Barça’s signature horizontal switches and pulling the defense out of position.

There was also their way of building up play methodically from the back.

Both full-backs also actively pushed forward, positioning themselves very high up the pitch.

For example, the left-back, Gibbs, was often even further forward than Hazard.

From the team’s training sessions, Wang Shuo could already feel the differences between the two clubs.

At Arsenal, for instance, Wenger’s tactical training had a very unique focus: he heavily emphasized player support.

When a player received the ball, all the surrounding players would immediately start moving, trying to maintain a distance of about 10 to 15 meters from him while also getting into a position that made it easy for the ball-carrier to pass.

Wenger had explained that a distance of 10 to 15 meters is where professional players have the highest passing completion rate.

Therefore, whenever an Arsenal player got the ball, he would have at least two passing options, meaning he never had to worry about the opponent’s press and could always make a one-touch pass.

Dortmund’s offense was actually very direct and expansive.

Arsenal was comparatively more intricate, with a lot of passing combinations and a huge amount of running.

Everyone just kept running and passing like that, and as soon as an opportunity arose, they would attack the penalty area.

It was just like that last sequence: if the right side didn’t work, they’d switch to the left. If the left was blocked, they’d switch back to the right.

Unlike Barça’s slow, methodical passing, Arsenal used quick, one-touch passing to constantly pull the defense apart until Wilshere seized his chance and drove straight into the penalty area.

’In a competitive match, that would have been a penalty!’

But Wang Shuo also knew exactly why Arsenal couldn’t get results, and why Barça loved to poach Arsenal’s players.

Wenger’s style not only demanded a high level of technical skill from his players, but also exceptional stamina, relentless running, and absolute focus and commitment during the match.

’Not a single one of those elements could be missing!’

If any single link in the chain failed, it would cause a ripple effect, and the effectiveness of the entire tactical system would be greatly diminished.

In that respect, it was exactly the same as at Dortmund and Barça.

Although the team had just undergone a major overhaul and the players still lacked chemistry, their one-touch passing frequently went awry.

But Arsenal still firmly controlled the game and possession right from the opening whistle.

Boca Juniors had been almost entirely on the defensive since the match began.

Wang Shuo now felt as if he were on the Dortmund side playing against Barça.

The difference was, before, he was on Dortmund.

But now, he was on "Barça."

...

As Arsenal kept passing, they continuously created chances.

Within the 4-3-3 formation, Wang Shuo’s positioning was also very flexible.

In the 7th minute, after probing down the center and the left flank without breaking through the defense, Wilshere switched the play to the right.

When Walcott received the ball facing the defender Insaurrad, he suddenly knocked it past him towards the byline on the right side of the box and accelerated to chase it down.

After catching up to the ball, the Little Tiger hit a low cross to the front of the six-yard box on the right side.

Wang Shuo, having shaken off his marker, ran onto it and hit a sweeping shot with his right foot.

The ball flew into the right side of the Boca Juniors net just before goalkeeper Oriol could get there.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"It’s in!!!"

"Just seven minutes into the match, Arsenal scores a goal, a poacher’s finish from Wang Shuo right in front of the net!"

"We can see from the slow-motion replay that the Boca Juniors center-back reacted very quickly, but Wang Shuo’s movement was even faster. He got his shot off just in time—it was almost blocked."

"But he seized the opportunity."

"And what a precise shot, too! It went in almost grazing the right post."

"1-0!"