Chapter 131: Setbacks and Tests on the Road to the Championship
At the 27th minute of the opener, Arsenal had already taken a two-goal lead — what a marvelous start.
Even Arsène Wenger, a man who cares a great deal about his image, was acting like an old rascal letting loose, not to mention the young players in the Arsenal squad.
They seemed to be already cradling the big-eared trophy in one arm, ready to face the rest of the match with total relaxation.
By contrast, Borussia Dortmund, thinking "we're already two goals down, so forget the final score," took the kind of decisive, courageous attitude seen in the Bundesliga — "willing to risk everything to pull one back from Bayern" — and just set about giving their all.
So, after the half-time champagne, the pitch presented this situation:
The two-goal leading Arsenal seemed unsure how to play, while Dortmund began to play with the momentum of last season's Bundesliga double winners.
The swing was huge.
Dortmund grew more fluent as the game went on, while Arsenal sank into a quagmire — there was no organization, no coordination, no breakthroughs...
Forwards Xia Qi and Mario Balotelli up front could hardly receive passes from their teammates; Arsenal's attack and midfield were completely disconnected.
The Premier League champions had truly become the "peace-loving" China team.
"Reus breaks through! Like a little rocket at high speed."
Zhang Lu lavished praise on Marco Reus's recent brilliant dribble.
"Dortmund has suddenly awakened; they're rubbing Arsenal into the dirt..."
On the pitch, Mario Götze burst forward, carrying the ball past the center circle and switching it to the left.
As Reus received the ball he immediately sprinted forward.
Mikel Arteta came up to defend; as soon as his weight shifted he was brushed aside by the Little Rocket.
"Reus timed his change of rhythm perfectly — just when Arteta's footing was unstable — and his change of direction was lightning quick. In all martial arts, speed wins..."
At that moment, Robert Lewandowski cut sharply into Arsenal's box from the center.
"Boom!"
As Reus surged, he immediately played the ball.
Dortmund's attacks weren't flashy or over-complicated — simple, efficient, and fast.
The ball rocketed toward Arsenal's penalty area.
Per Mertesacker and Samuel Umtiti flanked Lewandowski in the box, one in front of the other.
But Lewandowski, coveted like treasure by any digger, isn't easy to mark.
With a simple leap and a cleverly timed nudge...
Mertesacker was shoved straight backward.
Mertesacker's heart jumped; his first thought wasn't defense but to avoid falling. He shoved his right foot back a step and barely kept his balance.
He thus avoided becoming someone's background wall, but that retreat also effectively "sold out" his teammate.
As Mertesacker stepped back, Lewandowski's jump had plenty of space; facing Umtiti, Lewandowski powered over him and soared high.
In the air he even found time to adjust his angle, then with a header like a "rhino facing the moon," his temple heavily brushed a third of the ball.
The ball spun up with fierce topspin, tracing a strange curve toward the far corner.
Martínez rushed toward the far corner, but the ball suddenly lifted in the air — so sudden that Martínez, in a panic, stretched his arm upward while gravity pulled his body down, which proved deadly.
Martínez felt the ball brush his fingertips but could not push it away.
The ball slipped past his ten fingertips into the net.
"Goal! Dortmund pull one back."
"Lewandowski produced a quirked-arc header with his forehead; as the ball approached the goal it even rose again. That late lift wasn't huge, but it was enough to cause Martínez to misjudge — the tiniest of margins and the ball found the net."
"From a neutral standpoint, the match just got interesting again; the suspense is reborn, and it's not certain who will be smiling at the end."
At that moment Wembley Stadium became a sea of yellow; in Dortmund's anthem Lewandowski spread his arms and reveled in the wind...
With the goal that pulled them back, Dortmund's morale soared. When play resumed,
their suffocating high press resumed.
Arsenal's youthful weaknesses were magnified; panic led to frequent mistakes.
In the 38th minute, while defending Reus, Theo Walcott used his "little black hand" to pull Reus down. The tug was not subtle enough and escaped neither the referee's keen eye — he received a yellow card.
The young tiger took that booking badly because when Reus had broken by him he'd given Walcott a hidden elbow; the referee had not reacted to that elbow, yet the pull on Reus was punished...
Unbalanced mentally, Walcott became a different player. In the 43rd minute, he faced Reus again; after Reus passed the ball, Walcott kicked him down.
Reus immediately seized the opportunity to make the situation worse, grabbing his thigh and screaming loudly.
Only then did Walcott show fear and regret on his face...
In the Penguin live stream, Zhang Lu worried for Arsenal and shook his head, sighing:
"Like Beckham back then, not calm — that could squander Arsenal's great position."
"The score is 2–1 now! Arsenal lead by one, but if Walcott gets sent off, they'll be down a man with a whole half to play. Anything can happen."
Arsenal fans, whether in the stadium or in front of screens, whether in the U.K. or abroad, poured abuse onto Walcott.
On the pitch, Walcott was scared; he begged the referee for mercy...
His teammates tried to plead for him; Balotelli even acted cute before the referee, thumping his chest and promising not to offend again, but the referee was steely and unmoved. He firmly showed Walcott a second yellow, then a red, and sent him off.
At 23, Walcott couldn't hold back the tears...
Arsenal, unlike Dortmund, had never won the Champions League in its history; Arsenal people's hunger for the first European Cup is indescribable, and Walcott knew this all too well.
Moreover, in this match Arsenal had started well and quickly built a two-goal lead.
But such a great position was ruined by his own actions; remorseful tears flowed uncontrollably.
A smattering of boos and curses rose from the stands at an inopportune time.
Wenger stood at the touchline, turned to face the crowd to stop the furious jeers at Walcott, then gave the sent-off Walcott a slap on the palm.
"Boss, I—"
Wenger patted his back: "Growing up requires a price. Everyone goes through this. David made the same mistake as you in '98, but four years later he completed his redemption against Greece. You will too. In Arsenal's next match, you will save us, right?"
"Boss..." Seeing Wenger not scolding him but comforting him, Walcott felt even more guilty.
...
A few minutes later the first half ended and the Arsenal players trudged back to the dressing room in low spirits; Walcott's eyes were swollen from crying.
In the quiet dressing room, Walcott grew more fearful as he thought: he feared that Arsenal's efforts to beat the big teams in the Champions League would be ruined by his momentary impulse.
The mood among players like Xia Qi was indeed down, but seeing Walcott's swollen eyes they were stunned and at a loss.
When everyone didn't know what to do, Xia Qi stepped out of the group, bent down and patted his shoulder:
"You're not David, you're not that important to us. If we lose the title, it's my fault, not yours — stop being so self-obsessed."
Walcott lifted his head, his voice breaking as he said to Xia Qi: "But, but Sha— we will be one man down. How could I have been so stupid? I..."
Xia Qi waved his hand: "I told you you're not that important. Here, one ice cream — I'll cover your shift."
Before Walcott could answer, Xia Qi's head received a heavy knock from captain Thomas Vermaelen.
"You're great at comforting people!"
"Theo, you are important to us, but it's done and gone. We'll each take a bit more of your work."
Vermaelen looked around, then put out his right hand palm-down; the others followed suit, placing their palms on top, including Walcott, and together they shouted:
"We Arsenal are invincible!"
For a moment the gloom in the dressing room lifted.
At that moment Wenger walked in from outside.
"Feeling better? Then I won't be making that chicken stew."
"Heh heh..."
Xia Qi and the others gave a faint laugh.
"This is the final! The highest honor in European football. If this is the greatest battle, where is smooth sailing ever to be found?"
"Theo's red card is just a test, like how we had to score five at the Bernabéu."
"In the second half we will be down a man — that's a problem, yes. Problems are normal. Solve them. There's nothing a cup of ice cream can't fix — and if there is, then two cups."
"Ha ha!"
"Win the trophy and there's ice cream for everyone."
"I want strawberry..."
"I'll have chocolate..."
After the jokes subsided, Wenger continued: "Down a man, then everyone takes on more. Each of you runs a bit more distance and that will make up for being a man down."
"That will strain your fitness; you must distribute your energy wisely and have iron will."
"Beyond fitness, I'm more worried about your mentality."
"On our way here we faced the big teams. Their strengths are generally above ours; Dortmund is the weakest among them.
"We started light and easy and quickly led by two goals, which proved our overall strength is better.
"But after taking the lead we stopped being able to play.
"So now think hard here:
Why did we relax after going two up? Why, at certain moments, were we pinned to the floor by a side weaker than us?"
"If you solve the mental and fitness problems, in 45 minutes you'll have ice cream."
With that Wenger and his coaching staff walked toward the door, leaving time and space for the players.
At the same time, in Dortmund's dressing room, Jürgen Klopp was also rallying his players.
"In the second half they'll be down a man — we must keep the pressure like after we scored, force them to collapse quickly."
...
At half-time, the supporters in the stands presented two completely different moods.
The trailing Dortmund fans were the more jubilant.
Their singing never stopped; in their hearts they believed they could laugh last like Argentina.
Arsenal fans were frowning and worried...
After half-time neither side made substitutions.
When the second half began, Dortmund resumed their high press against Arsenal.
Arsenal, having kicked off, quickly lost possession right after the whistle.
They tightened their defense immediately.
For a time there was panic in front of Arsenal's goal, but they managed not to concede.
Ten minutes passed and it was still 2–1!
Arsenal still led.
Klopp, who'd been calmly watching from his perch, couldn't sit still after the second half began.
He had already seen some signs.
During half-time Wenger had surely given the team some "soul food." Arsenal players seemed passive and being beaten, but were in fact united.
If the match were allowed to continue that way, when their wave of attacks petered out it would be Arsenal's turn to strike while Dortmund would be showing fatigue...
Seeing this, Klopp immediately made changes: Ivan Perišić and Nuri Şahin came on to replace Jakub Błaszczykowski and Sebastian Kehl.
Both newcomers were attack-minded — exactly what a one-goal-behind Dortmund needed.
You had to admire Klopp's tactical sense.
His substitutions did produce some effect.
Arsenal's goalmouth became nervy again...
In the 60th minute, the newly substituted Perišić and Marco Reus combined two-versus-three on the right of the box and ripped through Arsenal's defense into the area.
With Martínez rushing out of his goal, Perišić feinted a shot but actually played it across; the ball reached the center of the penalty area.
"Martínez rushed out and erred!"
"Lewandowski! Shoot!"
In the stadium, Lewandowski made a late run into the center. Amid Dortmund fans' cheers and Arsenal fans' screams, he reached the ball and struck it cleanly and hard.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Two loud sounds rang out — one the fourth tone, the other the first.
The fourth was the sound of a struck football; the first was the dull sound of a ball hitting flesh.
At the lightning-fast moment of Lewandowski's shot, Mertesacker charged in to block with his body.
The ball hit him squarely on the most vulnerable part, causing him to drop immediately, nearly fainting from the pain.
The shot carried real power; although it hit a fragile spot, it rebounded far. Reus got the ball, saw Mertesacker collapsed in the box clutching his groin in agony.
He did not continue the attack; instead he kicked the ball out of play.
Warm applause rang around the stadium.
This was rare.
Not everyone, when coming from behind, would give up an attack.
It brought some warmth and emotion to the competition.
This is also how competitive sport should be.
"I suddenly feel Arsenal have the look of champions. A red card and an injury might just be the setbacks and tests along the road to the title..."
Commentator Zhan Jun's words gave Arsenal fans watching on TV a jolt of excitement.
Yes!
What doesn't experience storm, how can it see the rainbow??
"We Arsenal are invincible!"
Arsenal fans' spirits were full once more.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10