After returning to London, Fly took a look at Arsenal's results in their recent two matches.
With just that one look, Fly experienced two emotions.
One was speechlessness, and the other was relief.
The reason for the speechlessness was that Arsenal had suffered two consecutive defeats in these two matches.
In the FA Cup third-round match against Leeds United on January 8th, Arsenal lost 1-2, directly exiting the FA Cup.
This meant that Arsenal's first FA Cup match of the season was also their last, as they were eliminated immediately.
On January 13th, the same day Fly returned to London, Arsenal lost 0-1 to EFL Championship side Ipswich Town in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-finals.
In other words, in the two matches where Fly was absent, Arsenal failed to win a single one.
This seemed to further solidify the media's claim of "Fly dependence."
It also made Fly realize that the current Arsenal team was far from being as strong as their record this season suggested.
Frankly speaking, without him, Fly, who was like a cheat, Arsenal did not display the true style of a top-tier powerhouse.
This season, in the few matches where Fly was absent,
They were first held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in the Premier League, which was Arsenal's only League match this season that they didn't win.
Then, in the Champions League second round against Braga, they were beaten 4-0, a truly humiliating defeat!
Following that were the two consecutive losses in the recent two matches.
Except for the 3-1 victory against Partizan Belgrade in the second round of the Champions League,
Arsenal did not win a single match without Fly!
The overall record was 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses in 5 matches, with a win rate of only 20%, which was vastly different from Arsenal's record with Fly!
This is also why a large number of media outlets began reporting on "Fly dependence."
Of course, although Fly was very speechless about Arsenal's performance without him,
However, when he saw that Arsenal was eliminated in the first FA Cup match, he was actually in a very good mood....
After all, based on his private discussions with Arsène Wenger, Arsenal's goals for this season were the League championship and the Champions League championship.
All other competitions were to be abandoned!
Therefore, being eliminated in the first FA Cup match right away was actually a very good result.
As for the loss in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-finals, it could actually strengthen Arsène Wenger's determination to abandon this competition.
After all, with the old man's indecisive personality, for a competition that had already reached the semi-final stage, he still couldn't bring himself to directly give it up.
Fly could guarantee that if Arsenal had won the first match,
Then he would definitely try to win the second leg of the semi-finals....
This would put Arsenal directly into the final, and they might win a trophy before the League and Champions League concluded.
Even if it was just a League Cup title, for an Arsenal team that hadn't won anything for several seasons, it would still be a good achievement.
Arsène Wenger definitely couldn't resist this temptation, and Fly knew this well.
Now it's good...
Having lost the first leg, the old man would most likely give up directly.
After all, using the physical fitness and health of the starting players as a price to compete for a League Cup final spot that wasn't even guaranteed to be secured, unless the old man was crazy or Arsenal's hopes for the League and Champions League this season were dashed.
Otherwise, he would never do such an extremely unprofitable thing.
"It's good to lose...."
"Only by losing can the subsequent matches be played with a lighter load, and Arsenal's squad can potentially withstand it."
.....
January 16th.
The twenty-third round of the Premier League began, with Arsenal traveling away to challenge West Ham United.
This match was almost exactly as the media predicted before the game; West Ham United, located in the lower half of the League table, had no power to resist the invincible Arsenal in the League this season.
In the 13th minute of the match.
Walcott, who hadn't played for a long time, completed a breakthrough and dribble down the wing, then delivered a cross from the byline, assisting Van Persie who had made a direct run towards the goal, to score with a sweeping shot.
Arsenal led 1-0 temporarily.
In the 28th minute of the match.
Fabregas's pass, like a surgical knife, directly pierced through West Ham United's defense.
Fly, who had started his run early, arrived in position at the right time, and facing the West Ham United goalkeeper's charge, he scored with a delicate chip shot.
Arsenal extended their lead to 2-0.
In the 41st minute of the match.
Van Persie returned the favor, assisting Walcott to score, giving Arsenal a significant 3-0 lead even before the half-time whistle.
In the 67th minute of the match.
Walcott dribbled into the penalty area and was brought down, and the Main Referee awarded Arsenal a penalty.
Fly, who was now Arsenal's primary penalty taker, took the ball and scored with one kick, securing a 4-0 lead for Arsenal.
When Fly scored his second goal, Arsène Wenger promptly substituted him off, bringing on Blaise Matuidi to strengthen the defense and consolidate the current scoreline.
In the 77th minute of the match.
Walcott assisted Van Persie again to score, making it 5-0 to Arsenal against West Ham United, a massacre was inevitable.
Fortunately, Arsène Wenger also knew when to stop and not go too far; if they really angered the opponent, and they intentionally injured Arsenal's players on the field, that would be tragic.
Walcott, the MVP of this match, was substituted off, and Tsar Arshavin was brought on.
Then Fabregas was also substituted off, and Denilson was brought on.
Seeing that Arsenal had eased up, West Ham United also stopped struggling and spent the last ten minutes in a daze until the Main Referee blew the final whistle.
Arsenal once again won by a large margin, taking all three points, and as of now, they lead comfortably with 21 wins and 1 draw from 22 League matches, accumulating 64 points.
However, at the post-match press conference for this match, the focus of the Fleet Street reporters' questions was not on this match, which was expected to be a big win, but on the controversial Ballon dOr selection a few days ago.
That's right!
The final recipient of the 2010 Ballon dOr was announced a few days ago, with Lionel Messi narrowly defeating Wesley Sneijder and Andrés Iniesta to win his second Ballon dOr.
As soon as the result of this selection was announced, it instantly ignited the entire football world.
This was because before the selection deadline, the mainstream media favored Wesley Sneijder, who led Inter Milan and the Netherlands to the treble and the World Cup runner-up position, and Andrés Iniesta, who was the biggest contributor to Spain's World Cup victory in South Africa.
As for Messi, apart from a small number of media outlets who favored him, the vast majority of media did not believe the Argentinian could win.
But the final result left the vast majority of the media completely stunned.....
Messi, who had only won a League championship, became the final winner, which many media outlets found incomprehensible.
Some fans even started shouting "Ballon dOr conspiracy."
Among them, Cristiano Ronaldo's fans were the most vocal.
Of course, Messi's fans naturally defended their idol in every possible way.
This unbelievable result has been the focus of media attention for the past few days.
As the team where Fly, a future Ballon dOr favorite, played, Arsenal was naturally asked about this hot topic by the media.