Ibrahimovic seemed somewhat surprised to hear the Arsenal fans chanting "Rey!"

If he remembered correctly, this guy had just come to the Premier League from Ligue 1 this season, but he never expected to be so popular here.

Looking back on his past refusal of the professor's invitation, he felt a little regretful, but he did not regret his decision.

The second half had just begun when Arsenal made a substitution, replacing their veteran captain with Giroud.

Mourinho looked at the substitutions with some surprise and glanced at Wenger not far away, who simply smiled at him.

It was obvious that they knew exactly what the other person was thinking.

This puzzled Mourinho, who couldn't understand what the guy was up to.

To think that we would have to fight a direct offensive against them at a time like this.

Before leaving the field, the veteran captain Mertesacker walked over to Lei Ming, put his captain's armband on him, and patted Lei Ming on the shoulder: "Lei, do your best and bring the victory back."

"Don't worry, Captain, watch me."

Mertesacker really didn't want to be substituted, but unfortunately, the game had taken its toll on his stamina as he was defending against Manchester United's two main strikers, so he had to raise his hand to signal the coach to make a substitution.

Mertesacker was actually filled with reluctance and unwillingness; he really didn't want to leave the stadium he loved.

However, he had already given his all to defend against Manchester United's two center forwards, which led to his rapid depletion of energy.

At this moment, he had no choice but to raise his hand to signal the coach for a substitution. Although he knew he could grit his teeth and hold on for a while longer, he was even more aware that in the crucial center-back position, any mistake could have disastrous consequences.

Even with Lei Ming's exceptional individual skills, it would be difficult for him to withstand the fierce onslaught of the opposing marksman on his own.

At that moment, Arsenal fans stood up and gave the team's legendary captain a heartfelt and enthusiastic round of applause.

Moreover, even some Manchester United fans were moved by Mertesacker's tenacity and gave him the same enthusiastic applause without hesitation. Such a player, even as an opponent, deserves everyone's respect and admiration.

After Mertesacker was substituted, Arsenal's formation was actually subtly changing. Mustafi's drop back turned Arsenal's midfield from four to three, creating more space.

After Mertesacker left the field, the situation on the field changed subtly in an instant.

In fact, Arsenal's formation is quietly changing its layout, with Mustafi's drop back reducing the team's original four-man midfield to a three-man configuration in the blink of an eye.

The direct impact of this change is a significant expansion of the stadium space, making the entire field more open.

After the match started, Arsenal's attack almost broke through the Red Devils' defense, but fortunately, Manchester United's goalkeeper De Gea also performed brilliantly in this match. Facing Lacazette's header, he miraculously saved the ball, which made the few Manchester United fans' hearts jump.

The subsequent corner kick opportunity also failed to break through De Gea's defense.

This match truly lived up to its reputation as a highly anticipated contest. Although the score remained 0-0 so far, the game was anything but dull. On the contrary, both teams' attacks were back and forth, but the goalkeepers of both teams seemed to have a tacit understanding and didn't want to concede a goal.

This resulted in exciting attacks and equally impressive saves from the goalkeepers.

However, upon closer comparison, it becomes clear that Arsenal's defensive system is more comprehensive.

After Mertesacker was substituted, captain Reming clearly gained more command. Under his leadership, the team's defense became rock solid, and neither Lukaku, Ibrahimovic, nor Lingard could find any good opportunities.

In the 78th minute of the match, when Ibrahimovic heard the opposing goalkeeper call for his teammates to come and defend him again, he was instantly enraged. Facing Mustafi, who came to defend him, Ibrahimovic directly knocked him to the ground.

"Hey kid, come on, get up and keep defending me!"

After Mustafi fell to the ground, he clutched his chest in pain and rolled around a few times.

The referee on site also cooperated by blowing the whistle to indicate that Ibrahimovic had committed a foul.

To be honest, the referee sympathized with the opponent's situation, since Ibrahimovic had hardly had any decent opportunities after coming on in the previous match, all thanks to the good command of the opposing goalkeeper.

Despite his sympathy, he still had to react to Ibrahimovic's deliberate foul. However, to his surprise, just as he was about to give the other player a verbal warning, the opposing goalkeeper came up to argue with him.

"Sir, didn't you see? This was a very serious malicious foul. My teammates can't even get up."

Manchester United players tried to go over to check on the situation, but were blocked by Arsenal players from getting close.

“Outrageous, absolutely outrageous! According to the rules of football, his foul was enough to warrant a red card. I believe you are a very professional referee and you will make the right decision.”

The referee was clearly taken aback when he heard what the other side said.

Manchester United captain Carrick, seeing the situation was turning against him, stepped forward to negotiate, but could only watch helplessly as the referee pulled a yellow card from his pocket and showed it to Ibrahimovic.

Yes, after hearing the Arsenal captain's protest, the referee rescinded the verbal warning. He knew very well that the foul was indeed egregious, and the yellow card was merely to prevent the game from losing its suspense too early, as a way to balance the match.

Lei Ming smiled and gave the referee a professional thumbs-up.

"This works???"

This scene instantly widened the eyes of many spectators and fans, leaving them in disbelief!

To be honest, even the professor himself didn't expect the referee to be so easy to talk to today!

Not far away, Mourinho appeared very dissatisfied with the decision. He walked towards the third referee to protest, but the third referee said that there was no problem with the decision.

........

"Hahaha, brothers, look! Another iconic moment for our CEO Lei has been added to his repertoire. I can't stop laughing when I see this!"

"This referee is quite obedient; he actually gave Mr. Lei some face!"

"Although I don't know what Lei was saying to the other side, in my personal opinion, this foul is really ridiculous and laughable. It's amazing that Lei was able to persuade the referee to issue a card!"

Lao Jiu's cheerful laughter could be heard in Lao Jiu's live stream room.

Viewers flooded the chat with support: "Lei Zong is awesome!"

"When CEO Lei appears, it's bound to cause a stir!"