Chapter 816 - 147: Charge! Unstoppable Wang Shuo! The Fastest Hat-Trick in History! De Bruyne’s Deadly Diagonal Passing!

The entire stadium was stunned!

All the fans in front of their televisions were equally astounded!

Even the Sky Sports commentator found it unbelievable, momentarily forgetting to commentate.

"My God, what on earth just happened?

"Three Tottenham defenders sandwiched him, but not only did they fail to steal the ball from Wang Shuo’s feet, they actually let him break through?

"His movements were simply too fast!

"Just what exactly is going on?"

The fans in the stands were completely blown away because they couldn’t even clearly see what had happened. Only the fans at home, watching the slow-motion replay on Sky Sports, realized what had actually occurred.

What exactly had Wang Shuo done in the blink of an eye?

It left everyone reeling in shock! His movements were just too fast!

Inside the stadium, the Gunners’ fans were equally flabbergasted, completely unable to track the sequence of events. However, the ball had unequivocally found the back of the Tottenham net. It was only when they leaped madly from their seats, screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs, that Wang Shuo signaled for his teammates to rush over and celebrate.

"Three to two!

"In less than four minutes! Wang Shuo has secured a hat-trick!

"The Tottenham players must be completely devastated. They had a dream start and cemented their advantage with a penalty. But none of that mattered against Wang Shuo’s four minutes! He scored a hat-trick in merely four minutes!

"This breaks the record for the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, set by Robbie Fowler in August 1994. Interestingly, Robbie Fowler’s opponent at the time was Arsenal!

"The Liverpool legend breached the Gunners’ goal three times in four minutes and thirty-three seconds at Anfield Stadium. But this time, Wang Shuo took even less time. He breached the goal of their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, three times in just three minutes and fifty-one seconds.

"It’s absolutely incredible! But this is football!

"It always brings us endless surprises and twists, constantly refreshing our imaginations! So many things we once thought impossible have ultimately become reality.

"For example, we used to think that scoring thirty goals in a single season was an outstanding record, and forty goals felt completely out of reach. Yet, Wang Shuo raised the bar to fifty goals in the Bundesliga. Ronaldo and Messi are constantly setting new scoring records in La Liga as well.

"And this season in the Premier League, Wang Shuo has already surpassed forty goals and is still setting new records! We have every reason to believe that this young forward from China will continue to bring us more surprises and unexpected moments.

"The entire Emirates Stadium is cheering for Wang Shuo!

"Indeed, just as Henry said, it took Wang Shuo less than one season to completely win over the Arsenal fans. Before the season started, many worried whether Wang Shuo could adapt to the Premier League and integrate into the team.

"But now, we see that all those worries were entirely unfounded. For a superstar like Wang Shuo, as long as he is given the right space to perform, no matter where he goes or what league he plays in, he will always shine with the most dazzling brilliance!"

The live television broadcast intentionally panned to the sidelines, where Wenger, sharply dressed in a suit, had rushed to the edge of the pitch to celebrate the comeback.

At this moment, the Professor showed absolutely no trace of the sluggishness and frustration that had plagued him over the past few years. He was thoroughly in his element, radiating high spirits. Even the wrinkles on his face seemed to have smoothed out and significantly lessened.

Three goals in less than four minutes!

Three shots, three goals!

Putting everything else aside, Wang Shuo’s scoring efficiency and consistency alone were enough for him to look down upon the entire football world with pride.

However, what pleased Wenger the most was that this team wasn’t just growing more confident—they were constantly maturing and evolving.

The Gunners actually still had many shortcomings this season. For example, the substitute center-forward, Chamak, wasn’t effective enough. Whenever Wang Shuo was rotated out to rest, he failed to adequately make up for the team’s scoring gap. Additionally, the team’s defensive line remained unstable.

Among the top teams in the Premier League this season, Arsenal boasted the fiercest offense but suffered from the worst defense.

As the saying goes: a league campaign relies on offense.

This style of play might work in a league format, but it would face immense difficulties in the Champions League, especially upon entering the knockout stages. Take the away match against AC Milan, for instance. If Wang Shuo hadn’t exploded in the final moments, Arsenal wouldn’t have been able to take three points away from the Italian side. And in the Champions League, there were quite a few teams with better defenses than AC Milan.

Yet, this current situation had already vastly exceeded Wenger’s expectations.

In his original plan, this season was supposed to be a transitional period to help Wang Shuo integrate, with targeted reinforcements planned for the summer of 2012. But as it stood, the pleasant surprise Wang Shuo brought him was simply too immense!

It was so massive that he found himself feeling a pang of regret. Why hadn’t he simply raised the stakes higher last summer?

During the summer of 2011, although Arsenal signed Wang Shuo and Hazard, they also sold quite a few players. Their spending in the transfer market was balanced. This meant Arsenal hadn’t actually invested that much pure cash; rather, their expenditures had mostly increased in terms of player wages.

If only he had made a firmer resolution and gambled a bit more back then, the current Gunners would undoubtedly be even more competitive!

He was filled with so much regret!

...

The first half ultimately came to an end following a poor touch by Walcott inside the penalty area. If he had managed to control the ball, the Little Tiger definitely would have been able to score again. Before that, Wang Shuo also had another attempt with a header, originating from a cross by Gibbs on the left flank.