Stoke City's manager, Mark Hughes, adjusted his gray tie and looked relaxed.

He was a true Manchester United legend, having come through the Red Devils' youth academy and played for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea.

His partnership with Cantona was known as the "Hughes-tona Era."

After retiring and becoming a coach, his most memorable moment for Arsenal fans was when his Manchester City team thrashed Wenger's Gunners on the manager's 500th game in charge.

He was the first manager hired by the Abu Dhabi group to usher in Manchester City's "golden age."

The match began.

Stoke City had possession.

Bojan passed the ball back to Imbula from the kickoff.

No longer was it the "sky is the limit" tactics of the Tony Pulis era.

In his three years as manager, Mark Hughes had been trying to make Stoke City's attack more three-dimensional, especially focusing on ground passes between the forwards.

Shaqiri was one of his most prized players.

"Stoke City advances from the right!"

"Shaqiri's style is out of sync with his teammates; he's too agile!"

"No wonder he's called the Swiss Messi!"

Shaqiri was perhaps the stockiest of all the "Messi versions."

Short and sturdy.

Incredibly explosive.

His 1.69-meter height gave him an extremely low center of gravity.

When he joined Bayern, club legends came out in support, saying his potential was second to none.

And so,

he became a member of Bayern's treble-winning squad.

But he had one bad habit: he hogged the ball.

Even more selfish than Sanchez.

Which led to Guardiola selling him as soon as he took over at Bayern!

Arsenal's half, thirty meters from the goal.

Two short, stocky bodies engaged in close contact several times! Eliciting cheers from the crowd!

Shaqiri was relentlessly harassed by Sanchez, who was tracking back, but he still refused to pass!

Unfortunately, after bulking up in the Premier League, his old skills had diminished significantly.

*Thwack!*

A figure darted in, tackling the ball out of bounds and taking Shaqiri down in the process.

Xhaka!

"Ouch!"

"That was a heavy challenge!"

"That's your national teammate, youth academy partner, and fellow Albanian! I heard Arsenal recently increased their win bonuses!"

"No big deal, Xhaka helped Shaqiri up."

Time slipped away unnoticed.

The match was a bit dull.

After failing to seize the initiative at the start, Stoke City couldn't create any more threats.

Li Kang was active in the back of the midfield.

He thought it would be another tough battle against a variation of Conte's three-center-back system.

He didn't expect it to be so easy.

The fighting style of some of Stoke City's players didn't quite match the most avant-garde tactics.

Arsenal controlled the game.

Their possession rate increased significantly over time.

15 minutes into the match.

Stoke City finally gained possession. Bojan, near the center circle, received a pass from a teammate and was about to seize the opportunity of Arsenal's disorganized defense to launch a counterattack.

He was just about to turn and accelerate.

*Thwack!*

Li Kang stole the ball.

A mismatch against a mismatch.

From a God's-eye view, Stoke City's defense was full of holes as they launched the counterattack.

He swung his left foot!

The ball skimmed along the grass, like a sharp blade, piercing the opponent's defense!

"A super long through ball!"

"Giroud!"

"One-on-one!"

"He's running slowly! Stoke City's three center-backs are turning quickly!"

"He shoots directly!"

"Wow! A world-class goal!"

"It's in!"

0-1!!!

The old workhorse, Giroud, sprinted excitedly, celebrating wildly.

In the live broadcast room.

-

[Giroud only scores wonder goals!]

-

[We're doomed, Arsenal's attack is going to tear us apart again.]

-

[It's been a long time since I've seen Li Mingdeng play as a deep-lying midfielder. The last time was in his early days at Leverkusen.]

-

[Arsenal doesn't have much offensive pressure in this game, so it's good for Little Li to fall back and switch back to the La Masia number 4 role. Most teams can't control the game so steadily against Stoke City.]

-

[If Wenger buys a winger with explosive individual ability this summer, Li Mingdeng will have more time to control the field, and Arsenal will become a complete team.]

-

[Stop dreaming, isn't the point of this game to save energy for Bayern?]

Most teams would attack when they were behind.

But not Stoke City.

Mark Hughes was very patient, telling his players to focus on defense and wait for counterattack opportunities.

36 minutes into the match.

Sanchez received a pass from Cazorla on the left side, outside the opponent's penalty area.

He immediately dribbled towards the center!

Preparing to cut inside!

A gasp suddenly went up from the four stands.

The Chilean star was brought down by a little black guy!

"Ouch! Indi is going to get a card!"

"Arsenal has a free kick opportunity!"

"The position is excellent!"

"It's not right on the edge of the box! The position isn't too close either, so the curve is easy to control!"

Indi helped Sanchez up and then pitifully explained to the referee.

He was a viral sensation from the 2014 World Cup.

His funny moment defending Diego Costa earned him the nickname "Stare Master"!

Not only that, but he also got into a fight with his national team senior Robben in a training match. Of course, he lost, even though he was bigger, because Robben had more fighting experience.

Stoke City goalkeeper Grant nervously directed the wall.

Li Kang, Cazorla, and Sanchez stood in front of the ball.

Since scoring that free kick against Croatia in the European Championship, Uncle Miha's phantom had rarely appeared.

This time was no exception.

In his vision, a short, stocky, yellow phantom appeared.

Extremely thick thighs.

Brazil number 6.

Carlos!

Powerful Golden Leg!

After a brief gesture exchange.

Sanchez and Cazorla quickly stepped aside.

Li Kang began to retreat.

Stoke City's wall couldn't help but tremble, players covering their crotches and hearts.

"The wall is still very high!"

"Let's see how Li Kang plays this."

"He's more likely to shoot himself!"

"Wow!"

"Curved run-up!"

"Here it comes!"

*Bang!*

Accompanied by a resounding explosion that echoed through the night sky!

The audience's eyes almost popped out of their sockets!

Horror.

Heart-stopping.

Arsenal's number 10 unleashed a cannonball of a shot with his left foot!

Fierce and domineering.

Incredible momentum.

Like a tiger descending the mountain.

Stoke City's wall felt like they had gone through a life-or-death ordeal.

They could even hear the sound of the air being torn apart!

Fortunately, the ball's curve was exaggerated enough.

It went over the top of the wall.

Goalkeeper Grant did not back down, did not freeze, but jumped up with all his might, trying to punch away the powerful shot!

He had a great professional attitude.

But he couldn't stop Li Kang's goal!

0-2!!!

"Beautiful!"

"Li Kang scores a free kick!"

"Arsenal scores another goal!"

"The ball was too fast!"

"By the time Grant's save was complete, Stoke City's net had already been lifted!"

"No problem now!"

"Incredible, words can't describe Li Kang's shot, I'm speechless!"

Li Kang staggered a couple of steps and clutched his left leg in frustration.

Carlos's explosive technique was still too much of a strain on his body unless his left leg could be trained to be as thick as his.

On the sidelines.

Wenger and Bould broke out in cold sweats, they quickly urged the team doctor to come on the field.

And told Ramsey to change his jersey as soon as possible!

And so,

38 minutes into the match.

Li Kang was replaced by Ramsey.

The rest of the match was uneventful.

Mark Hughes, down by two goals, lost his patience.

He took off the underperforming Bojan and brought on the 1.92-meter-tall Arnautovic to restart the "Tony Pulis Era" tactics!

This was a common sight for Stoke City.

When behind, they promote their fine traditions.

Beep! Beep beep~

Finally, the referee blew the whistle to end the match.

Stoke City 1:4 Arsenal.

Li Kang had a goal and an assist, Giroud scored twice, and Morata added the icing on the cake.

Arnautovic didn't let down the club's fine traditions either, seizing a set-piece opportunity in injury time to head in a consolation goal.

(End of chapter)