Chapter 75: Are You Too Cocky, or Have I Lost the Strength to Wield the Knife?
Roberto Mancini sat on the bench watching Xia Qi, his mind full of feelings.
His tactics had been designed to stifle Arsène Wenger, but Xia Qi's improvisation ruined the plan.
Compared to half a year ago, Xia Qi had grown stronger.
If back then he had given Xia Qi a chance, perhaps he would have been giving himself a chance.
No wonder the Eastern proverb says: when you give someone a rose, your hand keeps the fragrance.
But for Xia Qi this was a good thing — when it comes to developing young players, Arsène Wenger is undoubtedly among the best.
…
On the pitch, Xia Qi still did not celebrate.
Play resumed quickly.
Manchester City didn't want to leave the season empty-handed; after kickoff they had to push everyone forward.
However, times change.
Being 1–0 and being 2–0 are entirely different mindsets.
Arsenal's midfield rose up and traded blows with City.
David Silva took the kickoff; after a few passes the ball reached Carlos Tévez, and Santi Cazorla immediately slid in to win the ball — a superb tackling retention.
The ball was played to Jack Wilshere. Wilshere drove forward — poke, poke, poke — and then delivered a scalpel-like through ball to the right channel of the box at Xia Qi's feet.
In the stands, Kevin De Bruyne let out a quiet "ah."
Mario Balotelli raised an eyebrow and said with pride, "Nice through ball, right? That's my little brother."
Kevin De Bruyne ignored the disappearance of his so-called little brother; what he cared about was Wilshere's passing point.
"No — if it were me, I'd thread it to the far post."
"There was no one there!"
"Isn't Theo Walcott behind Lescott? Run on, meet it, tap into an empty net. You didn't miss that gap, did you?"
Seeing Kevin De Bruyne's disdainful look, Balotelli swallowed his "I didn't see it" and, forcing a smile, said solemnly:
"Kevin, I'm going to sleep with you."
Kevin De Bruyne spat a mouthful of water onto the row in front.
After they apologized to the front row, they returned to their topic.
"When you say 'sleep,' you mean in life, right?"
"What did you say?"
"Physically!!?"
De Bruyne edged his body a little toward Samuel Umtiti to put distance between himself and Balotelli.
"My God — which academy did you train in? Didn't your coach make you share living and eating with the striker when working on forward–midfielder chemistry?"
De Bruyne breathed a sigh of relief: [Brother, chatting with you almost ruined my reputation.] But thinking of Balotelli's rumors, he relaxed.
Now he only hoped Xia Qi was normal — that's not asking much, right?
On the pitch,
facing the locked gate of Joleon Lescott and Vincent Kompany, Xia Qi curled a Quaresma-esque arc with the outside of his left foot: the ball threaded precisely above Kompany's right shoulder, drew a "C" and flew toward the far corner.
Just as everyone thought Xia Qi would complete a half-time hat-trick, Joe Hart rose and said: no!
He stretched to the limit to tip the ball off the post!
"Ah… ah… ah…"
Fans in the stands cried out in astonishment!
Some City fans were amazed that Xia Qi could bend such a Quaresma-like arc with his non‑favored foot,
and some Arsenal fans cheered Joe Hart's spectacular rescue.
On the surface Xia Qi walked back unperturbed, but inside he was furious.
If the heavens had hearts they'd grow old — see Hart make that save, who says?
Come out and I'll make sure I don't kill you!
Arsenal had a corner; Wilshere saw Xia Qi surrounded by three defenders, and the ball was lofted to Lukas Podolski's head, but Gareth Barry outjumped Podolski and headed it out.
Wilshere's second corner saw Santi Cazorla's header strike the crossbar.
Arsenal's two corners yielded nothing, but their attack had finally stirred.
Both sides exchanged play and the match settled into a stalemate.
In the 42nd minute James Milner grabbed Xia Qi's shirt — a tactical foul — and picked up the game's first yellow card.
In the 46th minute, deep in stoppage time, David Silva slipped a left‑side through ball; Edin Džeko received the ball on the edge of the box, turned nimbly to shake off Thomas Vermaelen and was through one-on-one on Martínez.
But Martínez rushed off his line quickly and used his foot to boot the ball out of the area.
That was City's best chance of the first half.
Vermaelen pulled Martínez up and gave him a hug.
City took a throw-in; Mikel Arteta intercepted Milner and cleared the ball, and the referee blew the half-time whistle.
Half-time,
both managers hurriedly made tactical adjustments while the players took the chance to rest.
Neither coach made a half-time substitution, but Xia Qi noticed two bodyguards beside him — James Milner and Gaël Clichy were shadowing him the whole time.
Roberto Mancini's tactical and technical level wasn't as poor as the media made out.
After tactical instructions at half-time, City quickly cut out Arsenal's pass at the start of the second half.
Using the penetration of Edin Džeko and David Silva through the middle to draw Arsenal's defensive bodies, Gareth Barry from about four or five meters in front of the center circle launched a long ball toward the near post. Carlos Tévez burst out of the mass, smashed a shot and scored.
2:1!
City pulled one back,
and the atmosphere tightened instantly.
Wenger saw Xia Qi being double-teamed and moved forward to signal him to drop back, but Xia Qi had already come back on his own.
Wenger showed a relieved smile; he thought Xia Qi's football IQ was high.
But in the stands Kevin De Bruyne frowned; he briefly wondered whether joining Arsenal had been the right move.
"Hey, cheer up. As long as you can deliver that kind of pass, the boss won't be mad. Xia Qi also often breaks tactical discipline."
"Really?"
"Of course. Remember to feed me first — you're my little brother."
"Aren't Wilshere and you both my little brothers?"
"That's distant — you're the real one."
Damn! Mourinho misreads people! Balotelli's head is actually world-class.
On Penguin Sports' broadcast,
"Xia Qi has dropped back; his task is now not only attack — Wenger wants him to curb David Silva and to link with Wilshere."
"Wilshere's frame is too slight — he should put on some mass this summer."
An extra man in Arsenal's midfield immediately made them more active.
David Silva wanted to suppress Arsenal's rising morale.
He stepped forward to press Xia Qi. Xia Qi didn't even look at him; instead he watched the space behind Silva, waiting for the exact instant Silva committed.
Xia Qi did no extra flourish — one small rhythm shift and he was past David Silva.
Clean and tidy,
David Silva didn't even make a ripple.
"What is David Silva trying to do?"
"Gift him a chance?"
"Are you too cocky, or have I lost the strength to wield the 40‑meter blade?"
On the internet, people who had seen David Silva's lunging thought there would be an epic one‑on‑one ready to screenshot, and mocked the anticlimax …
At that moment,
Xia Qi activated his trademark "one‑dragon-a‑game" mode.
"Quick! Double up on him!"
Roberto Mancini shouted in panic; City had just found a foothold and here came Xia Qi again.
They didn't need Mancini to shout — Milner and Clichy knew they couldn't allow Xia Qi to run free.
Both charged to double-team Xia Qi.
In the stadium, Arsenal fans screamed their lungs out for Xia Qi.
Balotelli feigned profundity and said: "Xia Qi is too selfish — he should pass."
Kevin De Bruyne shook his head: "He can't pass — City are cutting the connections around him. Unless Xia Qi's pass can bend around people." (an N-shaped pass)
"Who's pass can bend around people?"
"Mine!"
Balotelli turned and seriously measured De Bruyne.
"I can do it!"
De Bruyne repeated with emphasis.
Balotelli stopped doubting and tightly hugged De Bruyne under his arm, shouting: "Boss, take me flying. I won't be greedy — 30 goals this season is enough."
Who says Balotelli below the neck isn't world-class?
De Bruyne retorted: "Are you a traitor? Trying to kill a champion player?"
"…"
…
On the pitch, Clichy and Milner quickly charged to meet Xia Qi!
Before the two closed in, Xia Qi timed it perfectly, pushed the ball with his right foot and it zipped between them.
The ball sped past so fast they couldn't dispossess it,
and now there was only one choice:
Pass the ball,
don't follow the man!
They lunged at the now unoccupied Xia Qi — a tactical foul.
A free-kick in the back — the losers here would be not them but Xia Qi.
After releasing the ball Xia Qi immediately dashed off the touchline, ran two steps outside the field, looped behind the two and sprinted back onto the pitch.
This is a little trick used by very speedy players.
As long as I sprint fast, I can even stop for a smoke and come back. (Boss flies in the sky.jpg)
Clichy and Milner panicked and spun around.
When they turned, Xia Qi was already far away.
His lightning sprint thrilled Arsenal fans' adrenaline.
The chants of "Go Xia Qi" could be heard all the way up the slope.
In a blink Xia Qi had reached the edge of City's penalty area.
City's back looked like a bustling market.
Vincent Kompany shouted to his teammates, organizing the defense.
"Barry, you and García mark Xia Qi."
"Javier Zabaleta, keep an eye on Podolski…"
Barry and García immediately surged toward Xia Qi, fearing he might shoot from the edge of the area.
Barry lunged in for a tackle.
At that moment Xia Qi shifted his body and broke the pattern, taking advantage of City overcommitting to defense and laid a pass out.
In that position,
an unmarked Theo Walcott met the ball and unleashed a furious strike!
The ball zipped toward City's near post.
Joe Hart was focused on Xia Qi; García blocked his view.
The ball suddenly slipped past Kompany's side; Hart could only stare blankly and present another "background wall" picture.
Xia Qi felt sourness.
Why can everyone else get a lucky break on Hart but not me… this guy, he spares friends and not foes! Friendship ended!
The ball crawled the near post and into the net.
"Beep!"
A whistle!
The referee pointed to the center circle!
"3:1"
"Xia Qi gobbled three and assisted the little tiger."
"Walcott's goal came at exactly the right time and again knocked City's morale down."
After the goal Walcott sprinted away; all the Arsenal players except Xia Qi charged at him…
Mancini at the touchline looked utterly desperate. His setup had actually worked, but Xia Qi's rampage forced everything to be adjusted — and once those adjustments were made, the defense had a hole.
His CPU was burning!
Should he continue to send more players to mark Xia Qi?
It was turning into an unsolvable question!
At this moment Mancini deeply understood why Sir Alex had called him stupid: one, he shouldn't have sold Xia Qi; two, he shouldn't have sold Xia Qi to a rival.
I'm crying over my own stupidity!
Play continued!
Trailing again, City fought with their backs to the wall and intensified their attack.
But Arsenal didn't coddle them; they struck back as well.
The match became more and more exciting.
In the 58th minute James Milner suddenly burst forward on the left to meet a pass from David Silva, muscled past Arsenal right-back Carl Jenkinson and crossed across the middle.
Edin Džeko thundered into the middle at high speed, and Vermaelen rushed back to clear.
The two clashed, and the penalty area turned into a car-crash scene.
Martínez gathered the ball behind Vermaelen.
At that point the referee's whistle blew.
Džeko and Vermaelen rose to their feet and bumped foreheads.
Each accused the other of not getting out of the way.
Both were veterans; they argued but did not come to blows.
Players separated them quickly.
The crowd booed. City fans — who held half the tickets — didn't let Vermaelen take advantage of the home support.
The referee consulted the headset.
He showed Vermaelen a yellow card and awarded City a penalty.
A decision unpopular with both sides.
Mancini thought it should have been a red.
Wenger thought it was a fair call.
The broadcast cut to close-ups of both managers.
Mancini's emotions were more enraged than Wenger's; his body language was dramatic…
Wenger was much more composed.
The camera then showed the Arsenal newcomers in the stands, with Samuel Umtiti and Serge Aurier getting longer screen time.
The penalty incident first saw Jenkinson knocked aside by Milner, and Aurier was a candidate for the right-back slot.
Umtiti could play left or right center back, competing with Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker.
But Mertesacker's performance had been steady, while Vermaelen had shown age-related flaws.
Umtiti and Aurier smiled politely when they saw themselves on the LED screen.
Inside they were mentally cursing the broadcast director's family.
On the pitch,
Džeko didn't take the penalty; David Silva stepped up.
Whether because his clash with Vermaelen had shaken him or because David Silva was the team's primary taker, Silva placed the ball, wiped it on his shirt and set the valve stem on the turf.
He didn't look up at goalkeeper Martínez.
But Martínez strode forward to shake David Silva's hand very amicably, leaving Silva confused.
Then Martínez asked the referee to check the ball's placement.
Finally Martínez backed away slowly and nervously jumped on the goal line.
This was the chance he'd dreamed of.
If he could save this, he could cement the starting spot while Wojciech Szczęsny was injured.
Frankly, Mannone's level was just so-so; if Szczęsny weren't injured, Mannone would only have a handful of appearances in a season.
Martínez was confident he could replace Mannone.
Martínez's performance unsettled David Silva's focus and sapped some power.
The whistle blew,
the ball flew toward the bottom left corner,
Martínez dived and parried, then pounced twice and smothered the ball.
Džeko and Tévez lurked near goal but won nothing.
At the Emirates the name Martínez drifted across the stands…
(END CHAPTER)
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