Chapter 713 132: Dribbling Past 7 Players! Arsenal Awakens! The Number One Player in World Football! I Want to Play Like Him!

The fourth official on the sidelines raised the electronic board indicating two minutes of stoppage time. Arsenal's attacks grew even more ferocious. Wang Shuo, in particular, was shoved to the ground by Phil Jones while dribbling into the penalty box. However, Weber didn't call a foul. After a mere 1 minute and 23 seconds of stoppage time, Weber blew the final whistle early.

Furious, Wang Shuo kicked the ball entirely out of the pitch. Right in front of Weber's eyes! But the renowned English referee pretended not to see it and turned away.

The Manchester United players huddled inside and just outside their own penalty area, all bearing the lingering shock of survivors pulling through a disaster. These final three minutes had felt as excruciatingly long as three days to them. It was as if their goal could be breached at any given second. Wang Shuo looked like a blood-crazed god of slaughter! The Arsenal players were like fierce wolves and tigers, tearing into Manchester United at every opportunity.

"The match is over!

"The final score is 5-4!

"We can see that the Manchester United players are visibly relieved, while the Arsenal players are incredibly unwilling to accept this outcome.

"Looking at the match as a whole, this scoreline is actually quite normal. However, considering the final stretch, we have every reason to believe Arsenal is deeply dissatisfied.

"Playing a man down, they persevered for over an hour. From a 1-5 deficit, they fought their way to a narrow 4-5 defeat. They were even agonizingly close to equalizing, or perhaps overturning the scoreline entirely!

"The Gunners have played their most unforgettable match in recent years!

"At the same time, this will be the match that makes the Gunners' fans the most proud and thrilled!

"They may have lost this crucial derby against their bitter rivals, but they have won a group of brilliantly talented young players; they have won the future!

"More importantly, they have found their leader once again.

"A leader capable of guiding them against any formidable opponent!

"After tonight's performance, we have absolute reason to believe that Wang Shuo, just like legendary captains Adams, Vieira, and others of the past, will lead Arsenal to rise again!

"After this battle, the whole world will remember this name: Wang Shuo!

"After this battle, Arsenal may have lost the match, but they have reclaimed their long-lost soul!"

Wang Shuo calmed his emotions, but he heard the sound of his teammates crying nearby. Hazard was squatting on the grass, clutching his head in tears.

It was agonizing! Who wouldn't be frustrated? If they hadn't been a man down, there wouldn't have been a penalty, and Arsenal wouldn't have conceded consecutive goals. Then they definitely could have defeated Manchester United!

Others, like De Bruyne, Matuidi, and the rest, all had red-rimmed eyes. Clearly, they were deeply bitter about this result. But there was one thing. On the face of every Arsenal player, there wasn't a single trace of a loser's dejection.

Wang Shuo walked over, pulled them up one by one, hugged them, patted their backs, and gathered them together.

"Look at the players opposite us. Do you think they won?

"Now look at the 75,000-plus fans in the stadium. Can they even celebrate?"

Hearing this, the Arsenal players began to notice the anomaly. Wasn't it true? Manchester United had won. But did they look like they had won? Inside Old Trafford Stadium, were the Manchester United fans cheering? Was there any joy of defeating their bitter rivals?

"Today, we lost this match, but we also won!

"From now on, no one will dare underestimate us again!

"From this day forward, any team that encounters our Arsenal will feel immense pain!"

After speaking, Wang Shuo led his teammates to the corner of the stadium where the Gunners' fans were seated in the stands. There were few of them, but they were shouting exceptionally loud. Especially when Wang Shuo brought his teammates over to show their appreciation, they all stood up, offering enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Wang Shuo also noticed a Black child among the Gunners' fans desperately waving at him and shouting his name. He walked over with a smile, took off his jersey—which was covered in mud stains and grass clippings—and handed it to the tear-streaked young fan. "This is for you."

"Thank you, Captain! I'm an Arsenal player too!" the Black child said with deep reverence, taking the jersey with boundless excitement. "I hope that someday in the future, I can play right beside you."

"Sure thing. What's your name?" Wang Shuo smiled, reaching out to ruffle the child's hair.

"Bukayo."

"I'll remember you, Bukayo. Train hard!"

Wang Shuo pumped his right fist at him, then turned and walked away. The Black child gripped the jersey, which was so soaked it could practically be wrung out, and gazed in adoration at Wang Shuo's retreating back. Filled with excitement, he turned to his father and older brother beside him.

"Dad, from now on, he's my idol! I'm going to play football just like him!"

***

Arsenal had lost! But surprisingly, not a single media outlet in the United Kingdom criticized the defeated Arsenal. As a line from a post-match review in The Times of the United Kingdom read:

"The Gunners have been defeated, but the long-lost bloodlust within them has awakened!"

The Times believed there was absolutely no reason to blame Arsenal. While other Premier League teams had only played three matches, the Gunners had already played five up to this point. Furthermore, their two Champions League matches were grueling battles against Udinese, the fourth-placed team in Serie A. Moreover, in the past three rounds of the Premier League, their three opponents had been Newcastle, Liverpool, and Manchester United.