"Hahahaha, this is absolutely... absolutely going to be one of the funniest matches I've ever commentated on in my life!" Eddie Gray was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. He tried to make his commentary flow smoothly, but it didn't work. "Norman, I have to say, it has to be Emmanuel! I'm so touched. Even after leaving Leeds United for so long, his heart is still pure. Hahahaha!"
Norman was also helpless; it was the first time he had ever seen a player inexplicably give up such a close one-on-one opportunity in a match.
"Well... perhaps, as you said, he doesn't want to be too harsh on his former team..."
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Thanks to Adebayor's efforts, Arsenal wasted their most threatening attack of the 45 minutes, and a few minutes later the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, with both sides entering a 15-minute halftime break.
The atmosphere in the home team's dressing room was a bit strange for Arsenal.
One group of people would occasionally glance at Lehmann out of the corner of their eye, while another group, specifically Van Persie, was arguing with Adebayor with an unfriendly expression.
"Emmanuel, can you explain to me why you jumped up from the spot just now?"
"Robin, I thought you were going to shoot the goal yourself, so I wanted to celebrate for you in advance..."
"Bang!!!"
A loud crash from the doorway interrupted Adebayor's feeble explanation.
Arsène Wenger entered, and it was clear from his movements that he opened the door with his foot.
"Smack."
Wenger slammed the tactical plyboard in his hand to the ground, and the aura emanating from him was enough to drop the temperature in the locker room by two or three degrees.
He first looked at Adebayor with icy eyes, his voice revealing his barely suppressed anger: "Emanuel, I need an explanation."
Adebayor knew he was in the wrong and didn't dare look Wenger in the eye. He simply lowered his head and explained in a low voice, "Sir, I thought Robin would shoot himself, so I wanted to celebrate a little earlier..."
"Idiot! Moron!" Wenger couldn't hold back any longer and burst out in anger after hearing Adebayor's explanation. "This is the first time I've ever seen such a ridiculous performance from you in a professional match! Your teammates are running hard to equalize the score, and you choose to jump from the spot?"
"I......"
"Stop talking!" Wenger waved his hand to interrupt Adebayor, then fixed his gaze on a small bald boy in the corner of the locker room. "Theo, you're coming on in the second half. Go warm up now!"
Walcott, who will turn 18 next month, pointed at himself in disbelief, his eyes wide: "Huh? Me?"
"What? You don't want to?!" Wenger's eyes widened.
"Yes! Yes!"
In response to Wenger's comment, Walcott was overjoyed, as if springs had been implanted in his buttocks. He jumped up from his chair, grabbed his vest, and ran out of the locker room.
Walcott, who never expected such a good thing to fall into his lap, would certainly not refuse. He simply hadn't expected it!
Since joining Arsenal last year, Walcott has been Wenger's fourth striker. He has basically been a substitute in the Champions League and the league, and can only get more playing time in the League Cup or FA Cup.
Adebayo could only watch Walcott's retreating figure, leaning helplessly against his own wardrobe...
This isn't over yet.
Having dealt with Adebayor, Wenger turned his attention to Lehmann on the other side.
However, being a seasoned player, Lehmann, sensing the situation was turning sour, took the initiative to apologize to Wenger: "Sir! I know I was wrong. Didn't I play much more steadily in the later matches?"
Compared to Adebayor, Wenger treated Lehmann slightly better, after all, he was a veteran who had followed him for many years.
"Composure? Does that word even apply to your professional career? I'm warning you, Jens, if I see you dribble the ball in the penalty area for even a second longer in the second half, I'll have Almunia substitute you immediately! Understand?"
"I understand!"
Despite Wenger's usually mild-mannered demeanor, when he gets angry, he can be just as formidable as Ferguson. So, after hearing Wenger's warning, Lehmann nodded in response hastily.
"OK! Come over here. We're only down by one goal now, and there are still 45 minutes left in the game. It's not impossible for us to come back!"
After dealing with the two matters, Wenger pulled over the whiteboard and began to arrange the tactics for the second half of the game for his players.
On the other side, the atmosphere in the away team's locker room was much more harmonious. Li Shiguang gave full affirmation to everyone's performance in the first half. After secretly checking the players' stamina in the system, he decided to keep the tactics unchanged and still emphasized to the players to maintain the intensity of their pressing in the opponent's midfield and backfield!
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"Alright, welcome back, everyone. The 15-minute break is over, and both teams' players have returned to the pitch. We see Arsenal made the first substitution. It seems Wenger couldn't stand Adebayor's high jumps and had to shut him down at halftime. He's been replaced by the 17-year-old Walcott! Norman, what are your thoughts on Wenger's decision?"
"Walcott? I don't have any opinion on that, it's just a normal substitution."
"I think Leeds United really need to pay attention to Fabregas. Did you see him? He dropped back in position after the start of the second half..."
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