Chapter 69: To Wear the Crown, One Must Bear Its Weight (Part 1)
Online:
"Football is always so unpredictable — maybe that's why I love it."
"This is the real derby. What I watched before were all fake."
"Wenger's Arsenal seems always to be missing something. Watching Spurs fight back to level, I think I knew what was missing, but I still don't really understand."
"Beautiful in the front, tofu in the back... except for Xia Qi there's nobody who can really fight."
"Plenty for top-four, struggling for the title..."
Netizens are harsh-eyed. Though the score was level, the reality was that Spurs had torn apart Arsenal's right side.
If it weren't for Xia Qi, who knows how badly Arsenal would have been bullied.
In the Arsenal dressing room,
Wenger's face was stern. The bravado built up from recent consecutive wins had been drained away in the first half.
Thinking of a tougher opponent to come in the Champions League knockout stage, his desire to buy players in January to plug weaknesses grew even stronger.
The players, seeing him silent, assumed he was angry: being pegged back despite having a man advantage was indeed...
The dressing room chilled to the bone.
Bacary Sagna and Santi Cazorla slumped, hiding at the far edge of the room.
After collecting his thoughts, Wenger unexpectedly praised Cazorla, Thomas Vermaelen and Sagna's performances.
"Walcott! You'll go on in the second half."
"..."
Wenger adjusted the lineup first.
In the Spurs dressing room,
André Villas-Boas castigated Lewis Holtby, then praised the other players one by one, especially Gareth Bale.
Bale's left-sided runs had ripped through Arsenal's right flank.
At the break,
Villas-Boas noticed Arsenal had changed shape: the organizing core Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey had been substituted.
Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on.
It still looked like a 4–4–2 but who would lead the front organization now?
Arteta or Xia Qi?
Seeing his plan, which he'd tinkered with late at night, so easily nullified, Villas-Boas felt annoyed.
He cursed to himself: "Always squeezing the star player — where's the tactical genius I was promised?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the 2012–2013 Premier League Round 11, Arsenal at home vs Tottenham Hotspur. We resume the second half with the sides level at 2–2.
"At halftime Arsène Wenger brought on Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey…"
"Wilshere had been tightly marked by Spurs in the first half and offered little. Wenger brings on the faster, more direct Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain — not only to check Bale and Lennon, but maybe also to charge at the opposition defense.
"Arsenal's question is: with Wilshere off, who will organize the attack? Xia Qi or Arteta? Both have done organizing roles before — I'm eager to see Xia Qi in the number 9½ role..."
Beep!
The second half began!
Spurs had possession.
Mousa Dembélé passed to Scott Parker, and Tottenham's forward and midfield players surged upfield.
Xia Qi and company spread out to press them.
Bale received Parker's pass and was immediately double-teamed by Xia Qi and Walcott.
Bale's dribbling relies mainly on speed and changes of rhythm — those are both Xia Qi's strengths too.
With and without tricks, the odds change.
Without tricks, midway you lose!
Xia Qi poked the ball to Walcott.
The double-pin worked!
Arsenal's stand erupted with victory cheers.
"Arsenal should have been playing like this from the start — the first half wouldn't have happened like that."
"Wenger must have a purpose; we can see the problems, and he must too. If he hasn't fixed them, he must have his plan."
On the pitch,
Walcott received the ball, Xia Qi made an underlapping run, and the two essentially swapped positions.
Xia Qi came to the right flank and collected the ball.
No sooner had Xia Qi touched the ball than Mousa Dembélé blocked like a highway robber, standing in Xia Qi's way.
Gareth Bale chased in from behind.
They thought to give as good as they got — double-team Xia Qi!
But Xia Qi didn't give Bale a chance. Facing Dembélé's block, Xia Qi drove the ball into the middle.
Seeing Xia Qi try to "escape," Dembélé instantly dug his studs into the turf so hard a divot flew up.
But at that moment Xia Qi whipped a sudden hard brake!
He stopped the rolling ball with the toe of his left foot, flicked it to the inside of his right, and the instant the ball arrived he sent it a touch to the right-front.
His body stopped abruptly and pivoted,
slipping past Dembélé by a whisker — the two had effectively swapped places.
Bale arrived and stabbed at the ball; Xia Qi dragged it away, and Bale stuck tight but had overestimated himself.
Xia Qi stepped over the ball in a Marseille turn and, on the rotation, used his hip to nudge Bale out of play.
Bale didn't expect that move nor the power stored in Xia Qi's hip.
He was unprepared and fell backward toward the advertising hoardings.
The CEO of the company on that hoarding laughed on the spot.
"Xia Qi Marseille turn — Bale's gone flying out."
"No foul; the referee signals play on."
The decision frustrated Spurs fans, who booed the referee loudly.
Arsenal fans roared with delight and applauded Xia Qi.
Online:
"Flying pig Bakley! Steel-hip mastery!"
"Feel sorry for Bale — after this match he won't shake off the 'paper man' tag."
"Clearly the big brother let the little brother have a go — brotherly love, you know?"
"King wants to earn ad revenue — play football and make money at once. He's the smartest."
On the pitch,
Dembélé's marking was not useless; he bought time for Dembélé's teammate Nabil Bentaleb? (note: text references Dembélé's partner) — in any case, he delayed Xia Qi.
Dembélé looped from the inside and continued his promising "robber" work.
This time he learned: ignore Xia Qi's feints, keep a safe distance, defend the inside and prevent Xia Qi from cutting in.
"As long as I don't try to intercept, I won't be tricked. If I can hold the inside, it's a success. Dembélé's defensive thinking is clear."
"That's fine too! If he defends like that, Xia Qi's shooting is neutralized; only crosses remain and he's pushed to the byline — Xia Qi's influence shrinks. Dembélé's defense would be a success."
Xia Qi was eventually forced toward the byline.
Spurs fans cheered and even started dancing a little disco; the earlier grievances about Bale being bullied had dissipated.
Arsenal fans chanted a song created for Xia Qi — "The Ice Cream Prince" — in reality just new lyrics to the tune of "Tsar's Song."
On the pitch:
Xia Qi didn't quite understand the AI's choices.
Though he didn't know what the AI intended, he knew Spurs fans were celebrating too early.
Human thinking: Xia Qi now only has the option to power through.
Given his speed, bulldozing past Dembélé wouldn't be hard, but the ball carried out by that charge would likely be intercepted by Dawson.
Just like when Bale bulldozed past Santi Cazorla only for the ball to be cut out by Vermaelen.
So Arsenal's attack would end!
Dembélé didn't rush because victory seemed near; he kept a sensible distance from Xia Qi.
Bale came charging toward Xia Qi from behind; Dembélé didn't dare move recklessly for fear of being beaten by a trick.
So this was Bale's moment to restore pride: if he could charge in and destroy the ball under Xia Qi's feet he'd be the winner.
As Bale lunged toward Xia Qi, Xia Qi moved.
He dipped slightly on his left shoulder and with the inside of his right arch just nudged the ball.
Everyone watching thought: Xia Qi is going to power down the line and crash inside?
Dembélé closed in on the byline but kept a reasonable distance — he feared Xia Qi's turn or spin would undo his work.
Just when everyone was convinced Xia Qi would run along the byline and drive into the box,
Xia Qi acted — and he did charge, but not as expected.
Instead Xia Qi stood on the outside right and played a half-height pass toward goal.
Dembélé saw Xia Qi's intention and sprinted at the ball; he couldn't allow a cross into the box. All the defending he'd done would be for nothing if Xia Qi got in and delivered a cross!
He moved — and fell into the trap.
Xia Qi swiftly hooked the ball back with his right foot.
This move sounds simple but is extremely difficult: it demands exquisite ball feel and eye-foot coordination.
The ball sat on Xia Qi's ankle; his right leg had not yet landed when a twitch sent the ball behind Dembélé.
Right leg planted and together with the left they exploded — Xia Qi's whole body shot past Dembélé like a cannon.
Dembélé tried to recover and return to the line but couldn't; he had used so much force in the interception he couldn't turn back.
Bale charged after Xia Qi but missed.
Everyone was stunned; the move echoed Ronaldinho's shoulder-led dribble — exceptional ball feel — and Xia Qi's was even harder.
Dawson, who was tracking back behind Dembélé, reacted half a beat too late due to shock.
That half-beat was fatal.
Xia Qi reached the ball first, burst past Dawson with the ball, slowed, and then unleashed a left-footed curling thunderbolt.
Only then did Vertonghen arrive and slide in, but it was too late.
The AI that finished the shoot sequence didn't bother to dodge; in Xia Qi's mind he screamed about his fragile ankle, then collapsed.
From the edge of the six-yard box: a curling thunderous strike!
Lloris knew Xia Qi was trying to end him.
He threw his fists at the ball.
But the strike was so powerful that, although he altered the ball's direction, its inward trajectory didn't change enough.
The ball smashed the top of the net so hard that the net bulged upwards, forming a small tent — evidence of the shot's power.
Emirates fell into a weird silence.
Everyone held their positions and stared dumbly at the ball bobbing in the net.
Even commentators Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun were so engrossed they were silent.
Finally, the referee's whistle — "Beep!" — woke them all.
Emirates exploded again; fans roared the name in a tearing cry, "Xia...…Qi…!" which pierced everyone's eardrums.
Then Zhan Jun leaned forward, almost touching the microphone, and rasped: "Goal!"
"Scorer: Xia Qi!"
"Football is a man's game; on the pitch I must stand up at critical moments to lead my team to victory."
"This is Xia Qi's proclamation — a ruler's declaration: To wear the crown, one must bear its weight! Whenever Arsenal needs him he steps forward; this is the king of Emirates Stadium promising his subjects."
"This time their king did not disappoint — he led them back into the lead."
"This goal was beautiful! The moment he beat Dembélé I was awestruck not only by his skill but by his imagination."
"Not only was I shocked, the Spurs players were too — Dawson and Vertonghen's reactions were a beat slow."
On the pitch,
Xia Qi spread his arms and sprinted to the Arsenal fans, miming an embrace under the stands.
Arsenal supporters, practically berserk, used every breath to shout, "Xia…Qi!" (voice breaking)
Xia Qi brought his arms slowly together over his chest as if drawing them into his embrace.
"Ah…"
"Xia…Qi!" (breaking voice)
On the touchline only Wenger remained calm; this goal wasn't the one he wanted.
He'd prefer to see Xia Qi score as an organizer's contribution.
Unquestionably, in a tight match a star's explosive performance can decide the game, but Wenger wanted to see an even better Xia Qi.
On the other side, Villas-Boas clawed at his hair, thinking how to limit Xia Qi.
He thought he'd vaguely found a solution — but couldn't put it into words just yet. If only he'd secretly kept Mourinho's notebook back then.
On the field,
Arsenal players rushed to embrace Xia Qi; they lined up on his sides and together made a "6 + 1" hand sign toward the fans.
The supporters knew that sign meant: "I love you."
So the stands replied: "I love you too!"
Spurs players' morale, so buoyed by the equalizer, was crushed again by Xia Qi's go-ahead goal.
Especially Dembélé,
who tried to copy Xia Qi's hook-and-return move but failed each time.
This isn't a yo-yo — the ball sent outward won't automatically come back. It's not a bouncy toy.
The more he tried, the less confident he became; he realized the gap between him and Xia Qi was huge.
Besides Dembélé, Lloris — having been beaten three times by Xia Qi's shots — was also very down.
Jan Vertonghen rose and shouted: "We've come back twice from behind before; we can do it again."
"Think about it — what a feeling to beat them here at Emirates."
"I want you to feel what I felt: to beat them, to sing, dance and party here..."
"Beat them!"
"Beat them!"
"Beat them!"
"..."
(END CHAPTER)
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