Chapter 704 131: Advancing! King of the Gunners! Heroes Shape the Times! European Best Player! The Bloody Massacre at Old Trafford

Udinese goalkeeper Handanovic, who was crouching in preparation for a save, didn't even have time to react.

The football whistled past him and drilled into the near corner of the Udinese net.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

"It's a goal!!!

"Just five minutes into the game, Arsenal is the first to breach Udinese's goal!

"A goal from Wang Shuo!

"1-0!

"The aggregate score is 3-1!

"Arsenal has secured a dream start!"

The entire Emirates Stadium instantly erupted in thunderous cheers.

The Arsenal fans, who had been on edge earlier, could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As the live television broadcast panned over the VIP area of the stands, Wenger—who hadn't sat down since the opening whistle—could be seen cheering and applauding wildly. He looked exceptionally excited.

...

Just as Udinese prepared to regroup and launch an attack, Arsenal initiated another offensive in the eleventh minute.

After receiving the ball on the right flank, Rosicky knocked it back to Aaron Ramsey. The latter delivered a lobbed pass that reached the right touchline in the front court.

Lichsteiner quickly pushed forward along the right touchline. Catching up to the ball, he swung in a forty-five-degree diagonal pass, sending it deep into the penalty area.

Wang Shuo charged all the way forward from the Arc Top District.

As the football flew over Danilo's head and dropped in front of him, he beat Benatia to it. Leaping high into the air, he executed a powerful header, smashing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

Handanovic anticipated it this time and dove to his side for a save, but he was a step too late.

2-0!

Thrilled, Wang Shuo sprinted toward the right touchline, pulled Lichsteiner up, and rushed to the sidelines to celebrate.

The other Arsenal players chased after them in jubilation.

No one had expected the match to get off to such a smooth start!

Less than twelve minutes in, two consecutive goals.

Most importantly, the aggregate score was now 4-1.

Udinese was basically finished!

After securing a two-goal lead, Arsenal played a bit loosely for a while.

The defensive line, in particular, made a back-pass error that nearly allowed Di Natale to score from a one-on-one situation.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Vermaelen and Subotic teamed up to physically block Di Natale's shot.

However, this served as a wake-up call for the Gunners.

There were still some issues with their defense.

Luckily, it was just an isolated incident.

For the majority of the time, the Gunners maintained control over both possession and the tempo.

This was especially evident in the thirty-sixth minute when the Arsenal midfielders strung together a series of one-touch passes.

After receiving Rosicky's pass, Aaron Ramsey threaded a through ball straight to Wang Shuo's feet inside the penalty box, before rapidly pushing forward himself.

After drawing the attention of both Benatia and Danilo, Wang Shuo collected Ramsey's pass on the right side of the penalty area. With a slick backheel, he knocked the ball right back to Ramsey.

The Wales midfielder surged into the penalty area. Despite the tight pressure from the defenders, he could have easily taken the shot himself.

But Ramsey still opted for a square pass.

Unmarked, Hazard calmly slotted a side-footed shot from just outside the left corner of the six-yard box, sending the ball into the Udinese net once again.

3-0!

The entire build-up to the goal was a beautiful display of teamwork!

The fluid, interchanging movements of the players, in particular, left the fans in the stands roaring with delight.

Neither side made any substitutions during the halftime break.

However, in the seventy-second minute of the second half, Pogba—who had come on as a substitute for Alexandre Song—suddenly drove the ball forward through the left inside channel of the midfield. He then delivered a precise through ball right to Wang Shuo's feet inside the penalty area.

Wang Shuo trapped the ball, spun around to slip past Benatia, and unleashed a powerful left-footed volley.

The entire sequence happened in a flash; Benatia didn't even have time to react.

The football drilled into the Udinese net once more.

4-0!

A hat-trick!

Overjoyed, Wang Shuo sprinted off the pitch to celebrate wildly amid the deafening cheers of sixty thousand Gunners fans.

"This is his first hat-trick since joining Arsenal!

"We absolutely never expected that he would achieve his first hat-trick for Arsenal as early as August.

"The Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium are incredibly lucky!

"They are all passionately chanting Wang Shuo's name.

"We can also see in the stands that the suspended Wenger has gone from being anxious and on edge to sitting completely at ease.

"With an aggregate score of 6-1, Arsenal has essentially secured their ticket to the Champions League group stage!"

Over by the away dugout, Guidolin felt utterly crestfallen over his team's current predicament, looking beyond frustrated.

Missing out on the Champions League main draw would be a bitter loss even for Arsenal, let alone for Udinese.

Even though losing the qualifiers meant Udinese could participate in the UEFA Europa League, the revenue from the two competitions couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath.

But there was absolutely nothing Guidolin could do.

Who could blame him when Arsenal had such a relentless scoring machine?

That damn Wang Shuo!

...

As the late August Mediterranean evening breeze rustled the palm trees outside the main entrance of the Grimaldi Conference Center in Monaco, Wang Shuo stepped out of a luxury limousine amid a frenzy of flashing cameras and riotous fan cheers.

Tonight, he was dressed in a custom-tailored Zegna casual suit. He wore no tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone, giving him an effortlessly relaxed look.

Walking down the red carpet amidst the roaring waves of the crowd, it was as if a gust of wind swirled between his strides.

The media reporters on the scene constantly shouted his name, vying for his attention.

This Chinese forward—who had just propelled Arsenal into the Champions League group stage with a spectacular hat-trick in London—instantly became the center of everyone's attention.