Chapter 41: A Big Test from the Champions League (Transitional Piece)
The goal came at 91:34!
Stoppage time was three minutes; in fact Chelsea still had about a minute and a half left.
Frank Lampard urged Chelsea to get back to play quickly,
but Arsenal's players were in no mood to hurry.
Only Xia Qi walked coldly and upright toward the center circle like a "traitor" in plain sight.
Fortunately, teammates and fans were used to his style by now and knew that in match mode he follows reason, not people.
They ignored him and did their own thing.
They brought the match-winner Diaby down to the Arsenal fans' stand to receive their cheers.
Chelsea's players were foaming with rage and found Xia Qi increasingly insufferable.
So correct, so proper, and so capable!
Lampard confronted the referee and demanded the whistle immediately.
The referee, perhaps to compensate for having ruled out one Arsenal goal earlier, waited until time nearly elapsed before ordering the teams to resume.
Chelsea players had already returned to position, while Arsenal's players ambled back as if on a stroll.
Chelsea fans went berserk and unleashed their loudest boos at the Arsenal players.
Despite the delay, the whistle eventually blew.
Chelsea kicked off; Lampard passed directly to Eden Hazard, who trapped the ball and in a Marseille turn used his broad backside to shove Mikel Arteta down.
Arteta, falling, pulled Hazard down as well.
He thought: better to concede a free kick than allow a counterattack.
But Hazard refused to accept the foul; in a flash he was up and, after spotting the referee's play-on signal, quickly restarted the ball.
Tonight's referee was firmly pro-City, and any talk of anti-City bias in English football was rubbish.
He'd ruled out Arsenal's goal earlier and then allowed Chelsea to "steal one" — how adorable!
The ball flew forward and Torres peeled out of the crowd to beat the offside trap.
He chested the ball into space for a one-on-one with the keeper, but the referee's whistle blew — the decision was reversed for an Arteta foul and Chelsea were awarded a free kick.
What a long, winding reversal — it could rival Balotelli's antics.
(Eye-note from the author.)
Hazard was stunned; a moment ago he'd been praising the referee and now he stormed to shout at him…
Di Matteo immediately appealed to the fourth official; seeing no response, he swore at the top of his lungs.
Chelsea fans, enraged, tried to invade the pitch to confront the referee but were held back by security.
Chelsea took the free kick and the match ended.
A glorious North London derby was marred by a referee who was like a speck in the dish.
Arsenal's last-gasp winner took the match but left the team with little joy; they made brief contact with fans and quickly went down the players' tunnel.
The referee was escorted away hastily by the police.
Angry Chelsea fans rioted afterward; sirens blared in North London until well after five in the morning.
In the post-match fallout the referee became the story.
Di Matteo: "I never realized Premier League referees could be this amateurish. In Italy, refs of this standard wouldn't even officiate Serie B."
Wenger: "The result is fair; as for the process, everyone saw it. Arsenal didn't benefit from the decisions — we had a wonderful goal ruled out."
Sir Alex Ferguson: "This is the stupidest decision I've ever seen; some people, for politics, region or stance, are ruining football. I think 3–3 would have been the fair score."
After six rounds of the Premier League,
Manchester United lost 2–3 to Tottenham,
so Arsenal leapfrogged Chelsea and Manchester United to become league leaders.
Arsenal's next match was another London derby — an away trip to West Ham United.
But before that they had a Champions League group match at home against Olympiacos, a big test for Xia Qi and Arsenal.
...
After the match Arsenal, Xia Qi and the referee dominated the headlines.
"Four straight wins! This summer's most valuable transfer!"
"Overtaking Chelsea and United — that Arsenal is back!"
"Ferguson lashes out: 'Stupid! 3–3 would be fair!'"
"Miracle boy creates another miracle — the Champions League will be his real test."
Xia Qi became the media's darling and the internet's favorite; every topic about him drove traffic.
"Amazing — Arsenal 14 points, Chelsea 13, United 12, City 11. Arsenal finally won't worry about top four."
"Come on, come on, we'll give you fourth place — you're coming down from first."
"Arsenal are in a hype phase. Once the Champions League knockout rounds start, Arsenal's bench depth will be exposed and falling from first is inevitable; at least this season top-four will be easier."
"I only care about Xia Qi's form. Four games, 14 goals, leading the Premier League Golden Boot race — could he realistically challenge for the European Golden Shoe?"
"Messi has 12 league goals so far and 2 in the Champions League; Ronaldo 13 in LaLiga and 3 in the Champions League. Xia Qi has 14 in the league and 0 in Europe. To compete with Messi and Ronaldo for the European Golden Shoe you need at least 50 league goals (putting the Champions League aside). Last season Messi 50 in 37, Ronaldo 46 in 38… Xia Qi's scoring rate is a bit higher than theirs so far, but can he sustain it?"
"Messi and Ronaldo aren't human — fighting for third would be fine."
"If you can fight for first, why settle for third? Xia Qi's scoring rate is higher; if he lasts the season, he could knock off Messi and Ronaldo."
"To last the season, use Nanfu batteries!" (joke)
...
After the Chelsea game Arsenal took a day off.
Admittedly Arsenal managed player recovery better than Manchester City.
They have a whole scientific management system and process.
Yet ironically, this scientific, academy-minded club is the Premier League's largest casualty ward.
Is that not poetic?
When Xia Qi rested that night the system helped repair his body so he had no word for "rest" in his dictionary.
The next day he arrived at the Colney training base as usual.
He found Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczęsny warming up under Pat Rice's supervision.
Xia Qi had played one match with Szczęsny and they were reasonably familiar; Wilshere he knew by reputation.
"Hi! Voy, Vo, Wil — good morning."
Wojciech Szczęsny's full name is Wojciech Szczęsny; teammates called him Voy or 3C.
"Voy, all healed up?"
"The club doctor said I'm fine."
"Welcome back, you and Wil."
"Xia, you came at the right time. 3C in goal, Wil on the pass, you shoot."
"No problem, but when I train I'm intense — no mercy."
While answering Pat Rice, Xia Qi's eyes drifted toward Wilshere.
Xia Qi worried the AI might make him clash with the pampered prince — as had happened before; after the Manchester City match some small internal frictions had resolved.
Men must shoulder the burden together to form true friendship.
"I'm fine…"
The referee blowing his whistle to disallow a goal at the moment of a breakthrough — that happened for real!
It happened in the Premier League's 14th round match Manchester City vs Tottenham.
Both sides were 3–3, and near the end Erling Haaland was fouled but got up and quickly played on — a sneaky smart move!
The referee initially signaled play on; then when Harry Kane broke one-on-one he blew and awarded City a free kick...
Haaland later wrote a long piece blasting the referee.
(END CHAPTER)
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