Chapter 227: Wenger's Indecision, Özil's Shameful Anger
"The Brazilian should thank Lin Quan for the assist. That pass from Lin Quan was perfect, allowing him to take the shot comfortably."
"Wenger's Arsenal is in danger. The first half isn't even over, and they've already been overtaken by Manchester City!"
In the Sky Sports commentary booth, the two commentators watching Fernandinho's goal were not optimistic about Arsenal's prospects.
Once you're behind at Manchester City's home ground, it's very hard to make a comeback.
Wenger clearly understood this as well. So, after seeing Fernandinho's goal, Wenger put his hand on his forehead. He knew things were looking bad.
"Should we bring on Cazorla?"
Arsenal's assistant coach suggested. It was obvious to everyone that Özil was being overwhelmed.
He was already somewhat afraid of physical confrontations, and now Manchester City had discovered and exploited this weakness, targeting him relentlessly.
If Arsenal didn't quickly find a way to solve this problem, similar goals would likely continue to happen.
"Let's wait a bit longer!"
Wenger's old habit of indecision struck again. He still held out hope for Özil, hoping he could quickly adjust his state.
In the 42nd minute of the first half, after Manchester City's attack failed, Arsenal organized a counterattack.
Ramsey hesitated for a second after receiving the ball, unsure if he should pass it to Özil.
Özil had made several mistakes on the field, becoming a weak point that made it very difficult for his teammates.
Ramsey was tired of covering for Özil's mistakes, so this time he passed the ball to Wilshere.
Before Wilshere could receive the ball, he was surrounded by Lin Quan and David Silva, while Özil was unmarked.
So, Wilshere had no choice but to pass the ball to Özil.
Özil knew his performance today had been terrible, so he was eager to prove himself.
After receiving Wilshere's pass, he took advantage of being unmarked to look up and observe.
Arsenal's striker Giroud hadn't found an open space yet. His passing lane was blocked by Manchester City players, so Özil couldn't pass to him.
Wilshere was caught in a double-team, and passing back to him would likely result in losing the ball.
Then he decided to pass to Walcott on the right!
With that in mind, Özil quickly made the pass.
Özil's technique was still good, and the pass was of high quality.
After receiving the ball, Walcott sped down the wing. However, Manchester City had anticipated this, with Nasri and Yaya Touré blocking his way, creating an impenetrable wall.
Walcott had a decent success rate in one-on-one situations, but against two players, he wasn't confident!
Not everyone has the extraordinary dribbling skills of Messi or Lin Quan!
So, Walcott passed the ball to Giroud. Giroud, with his back to the goal and under pressure from Kompany, couldn't turn around.
He passed the ball back to Özil, then turned to await a through ball from his teammate.
Great opportunity!
On the sideline, Wenger's eyes lit up.
As long as Özil made the pass to Giroud, Giroud would have a chance to shoot.
However, before Özil could receive the ball, a Manchester City player had already tackled him.
"Lin, how is he here?"
"Lin tracked back very deep on defense, almost into his own penalty area!"
"This tackle is dangerous. Lin isn't a professional defender, and his tackles could injure the opposing player or get himself booked!"
Seeing that the tackler was Manchester City's number 10, Lin Quan, Wenger was shocked, and the TV commentators were surprised and worried.
Özil sensed someone rushing at him from the side and instinctively glanced over, seeing Lin Quan sliding in for the tackle.
He was startled and didn't dare to receive the ball, instinctively jumping to avoid the tackle.
The opponent's move was clearly unorthodox. If he got tackled, he could be seriously injured.
He was still young, just entering the prime of his career, with limitless possibilities ahead. He didn't want an injury to ruin his career.
On the field, such a choice couldn't be said to be wrong. After all, not everyone could risk everything.
However, this was the Premier League! Seeing Özil give up the ball for self-preservation, Manchester City fans at Etihad Stadium mocked him.
"Haha, Özil chickened out!"
"Coward! Go back to your mommy for milk!"
"This weakling, I don't know what Wenger saw in him to spend 50 million euros!"
Premier League fans love intense physical confrontations and fearless players.
They despise players like Özil, who avoid physical battles.
Even Arsenal fans couldn't help but shake their heads after seeing this.
"Can this guy really become the team's leader?"
"Who knows? But I'm sure he can't be a leader like Vieira!"
"Sigh, I don't know what the professor saw in him to spend so much money."
Before Özil, Arsenal's most expensive signing was 16 million euros. Özil's transfer fee was three times that record.
Considering he was Real Madrid's number 10, who had proven himself in La Liga and the Champions League, the price wasn't outrageous, though Arsenal did get overcharged by Real Madrid.
When this transfer was announced, Arsenal fans felt the pinch but thought they were getting value for money. They had high hopes for their record signing.
But now, Özil's performance didn't match his price or high salary.
Many Arsenal fans began to see this as a failed transfer, thinking Wenger might have misjudged, having never spent so much on a single player.
Wenger's style was to buy young talents with great potential at lower prices and develop them.
Like Manchester City's number 10, who perfectly fit Wenger's standards.
Very young, great potential, and immediate impact.
Most importantly, he didn't cost a transfer fee, making him ideal for Arsenal!
If only they had bought Manchester City's number 10 back then!
On the field, seeing Özil scared to receive the ball, Lin Quan unceremoniously took possession.
Seeing Lin Quan pull back his tackle, Özil realized the opponent just wanted to scare him. As Manchester City's core, Lin Quan wouldn't typically tackle.
Realizing this, Özil felt both ashamed and angry.
Watching Lin Quan dribble away, Özil clenched his fists, a crazy idea flashing through his mind.
Lin Quan didn't know what Özil was thinking. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly passed the ball to a teammate, aiming to catch the opposition off guard.
Arsenal's players, seeing the ball intercepted, immediately retreated to defend.
But human speed is no match for a moving football.
Lin Quan passed the ball to David Silva. Silva didn't dribble, immediately finding Aguero.
Aguero's run was sharp, breaking the offside trap and receiving the ball.
It was a one-on-one opportunity.
Szczesny charged out, and Aguero chose to shoot for the far corner.
In their duel, the Argentine had the last laugh.
The ball brushed the far post and rolled into the net!
3:1!
Manchester City extended their lead again!
"Damn it!"
"I've had enough of this foolish guy!"
"Ha! Are we playing with one less person? It feels like the other team has 12 players."
"What is Wenger doing? Why isn't he taking that guy off?"
After seeing Manchester City's goal, Arsenal fans couldn't hold back anymore.
Their patience with Özil had completely run out. Because of his fear of physical confrontation, they had conceded two goals.
If it weren't for these two goals, the score would still be 1-1!
Even if they couldn't win, they could at least secure a draw.
But now, forget about winning, even a draw seems like a luxury!
And if Arsenal lose this game, they will miss out on being the mid-season champions and will fall nine points behind Manchester City.
With such a large gap, it would be hard to catch up in the second half of the season, right?
After all, Arsenal's trademark is their habitual collapse in the second half of the season.
"Coach, we need a substitution!"
Assistant coach Steve Bould couldn't stand it anymore. He even wanted to rush onto the field himself to replace Özil.
"The first half is almost over. Let's wait until halftime to make the change."
Wenger was also very disappointed in Özil. He didn't expect Özil to become a tough leader like Vieira, but this was just too much.
However, seeing that the first half was almost over, making a substitution now would greatly impact Özil's confidence and mentality.
So, the professor decided to save Özil's face and wait until the last few minutes of the first half were over before substituting him.
However, this hesitation from the professor led to a disaster.
In the last minute of the first half, as Lin Quan prepared to break through with the ball, Özil suddenly rushed in from the side and tackled Lin Quan.
It was clearly an act of revenge.
He was getting back at Lin Quan for the earlier embarrassing tackle!
With a loud bang, the two players collided hard and fell to the ground.
Lin Quan's tackle on Özil was in front of him, giving him time to react.
Özil's tackle, however, was purely aimed at fouling, and Lin Quan didn't notice it in time to react.
Seeing Özil's foul on Lin Quan, the crowd was in an uproar.
Manchester City fans stood up in tension, craning their necks to look at the pitch.
Özil's tackle was substantial, and since Lin Quan didn't have time to avoid it, he might be seriously injured!
The referee quickly stopped the game and ran to the scene.
He saw clearly that Özil hadn't even touched the ball but had kicked the player.
This was obviously a foul, and a serious one at that.
So, without hesitation, he showed Özil a red card, sending him off the field directly.
Özil, clutching his foot in pain, rolled on the ground, not even caring about the referee's decision.
He felt like he had kicked an iron plate during the tackle, and his opponent's ankle was unbelievably hard.
He didn't know if his opponent was injured, but he was sure he was.
So, even if the referee hadn't shown him a red card, he wouldn't have been able to continue playing.
Seeing Özil rolling on the ground, the referee initially thought he was faking it to gain sympathy.
So, while signaling for Manchester City's medical team to come and treat Lin Quan's injury, he coldly watched Özil's performance.
Seeing their teammate's poor acting, Arsenal players were embarrassed and didn't go to help Özil up.
On the other hand, Manchester City players rushed over as soon as they saw Lin Quan injured and on the ground.
"Lin, are you okay?"
"If Lin gets hurt, I'll take down a few Arsenal players myself!"
"Stop talking, get the medical team here!"
Manchester City players were all very concerned.
If the referee hadn't been standing right next to Özil, they might have grabbed him and given him a beating to vent their anger.
The referee, watching Özil for a while, saw him sweating in pain and realized he wasn't faking it—he was really injured.
So, he signaled for Arsenal's medical team to come on as well.
Manchester City fans cursed Özil while anxiously watching Lin Quan, who was still down.
If Özil injured himself, Lin Quan's injury might be even worse!
Manchester City's medical team rushed onto the pitch with all their equipment, their faces serious.
But before they could reach the scene, Lin Quan stood up...
"Lin, don't move, you might worsen your injury!"
The medic was startled and quickly tried to stop Lin Quan, making him lie down again.
"Uh, I'm fine, really!"
Lin Quan earnestly explained, but the medic didn't believe him.
Fine? How could that be? Özil got injured, how could you be okay?
However, after a thorough check, the medic was puzzled.
He was really okay?
Was this a joke?
He started doubting his skills, wondering if he had made a mistake.
So, he looked at Arsenal's medic, who was checking Özil's injury.
"Hey, can I ask you for a favor..."
Fans in the stadium and viewers on TV were puzzled, not knowing what the medics were doing.
"What's going on with Lin? Why did he lie down again after getting up?"
"Why is Arsenal's medic checking Lin?"
"Manchester City's medical team isn't good enough, so they asked Arsenal for help!"
"Uh, Lin's up again. So, he's not injured?"
"Good thing he's not hurt. If he was, he might have to be out for months!"
"Lin's physique is amazing. He gets targeted and fouled every match but never gets injured!"
"Now that you mention it, Lin hasn't missed a game this season!"
"Not exactly, he didn't play in the League Cup fourth round, but it wasn't due to injury!"
"Still, that's impressive. He's been present for every Premier League and Champions League match. That's a remarkable consistency!"
"I remember he missed some games in the Bundesliga due to injury, but not in the Premier League. It's strange!"
"Maybe it's because he's physically stronger and more experienced, knowing how to protect himself better!"
"Less injury is a good thing. Many players dream of that kind of resilience!"
"Reus would agree!"
"Messi, Robben, Kaka, and Ronaldo would be jealous!"
"If Messi could stay healthy, his stats would be even better this season!"
On the field, Arsenal's medic, after examining Lin Quan, started doubting reality.
He really wasn't injured?
How could this be?
He looked back at Özil, being carried off on a stretcher, and felt a strange illusion as if it wasn't Lin Quan who was fouled but Özil.
Otherwise, why was Özil the one being carried off while Lin Quan was fine?
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