Chapter 612: Chapter 611: Wenger’s Tribulation, Arsenal’s Battle of Destiny
"Bild: ’Maxa courts United calculating the welfare of the masses, the Manchester giants join forces to snipe the Frenchman!’"
"Torino Sport Newspaper: ’Calculated Maxa, cunning Ferguson; Arsenal caught like a fish in a jar, our Kai is set to nab the little golden man!’"
"Marca: ’The Oscars owe Deng Kai a little golden man! His deceiving acting skills fooled the entire world, perhaps the real goal of Manchester City has been the FA Cup and the League Cup since the beginning!’"
"Kicker: ’Arsenal, do not weep! For it is through hardship that legends are born! Overcoming the Manchester giants to grab both the Premier League and the FA Cup, the Gunners might achieve godlike status!’"
"France Football: ’Wenger fires the battle of destiny! If he wins this battle, Arsenal will be crowned kings on the spot, and the Premier League landscape will be reversed from then on! If he loses, Wenger will find it even harder to shake Manchester!’"
"Understanding Football: ’Next, please tune in to the international fantasy series—Wenger’s tribulation!’"
Pressure arrived at Arsenal.
...
April 18, Premier League, 34th round.
Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur two-nil away.
Deng Kai scored his 28th Premier League goal, completely widening the gap with Henry.
The fight for the Premier League’s top scorer, like the league’s structure, was nearing its end.
April 21, Premier League, 35th round.
Manchester City thrashed Sunderland three-nil at home.
Deng Kai scored twice, his firepower in full swing, reaching the 30-goal milestone!
Last season, Henry clinched the Premier League Golden Boot with 24 goals, followed closely by Hasselbaink, Alan Shearer, and Van Nistelrooy with 23 goals.
2000-2001 season, Hasselbaink won the Premier League Golden Boot with 23 goals, trailed by Stuart with 19 goals and Henry and Mark Viduka with 17 goals each.
99-00 season, Kevin Phillips took the Premier League Golden Boot with 30 goals, followed by Alan Shearer and Yorke with 23 and 20 goals, respectively.
98-99 season, Hasselbaink, Yorke, and Owen shared the top scorer title with 18 goals each, closely followed by Anelka and Cole with 17 goals.
1997, Owen and Sutton with 18 goals.
1996, Alan Shearer with 25 goals.
1995, Alan Shearer with 31 goals, Robbie Fowler with 28 goals.
1994, Alan Shearer with 34 goals, Robbie Fowler with 25 goals.
1993, Andy Cole with 34 goals, Alan Shearer with 31 goals.
It’s evident that for a long period of time, the goal tallies for top Premier League strikers weren’t very high.
Shearer and Cole’s 34 goals were scored in 42 and 40 matches, respectively.
Yet now the Premier League has only 38 rounds.
goals, even for the future, would mean a Premier League Golden Boot!
And for Manchester City, the Premier League Golden Boot is an honor even rarer than the championship itself.
And key to remember is that Deng Kai is just a midfielder!
West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, and Bolton, three Premier League teams, currently have less than 30 total goals as a team.
Deng Kai’s individual goal count is enough to crush these three teams!
And presently, the top three teams in the Premier League in terms of goals are Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United!
Arsenal with 81 goals, Manchester City with 80 goals, Manchester United with 71 goals.
That’s just 2.7 Kai’s and 2.5 Kai’s, respectively.
Suddenly, the English media began to fervently praise Deng Kai.
"Deng Kai is a phenomenon! The most goal-scoring midfielder in history! He shows Scholes, Lampard, and Gerard the ultimate form of a midfield player!"
"The real world’s number one! Conquering the Premier League without needing to adapt, Deng Kai’s achievements are something Ronaldo couldn’t even achieve!"
"Ronaldo stole the Golden Ball and World Footballer of the Year that should’ve belonged to Deng Kai from Matthaus!"
"This season, Deng Kai has completely surpassed Ronaldo’s performance! Manchester United stands a great chance to beat Real Madrid in the second leg!"
Ha-ha-ha!
English media is still very pragmatic.
They hype up Deng Kai, but they also have another objective, which is to create momentum for Manchester United.
The second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals match between Manchester United and Real Madrid is about to kick off.
In the first leg, Manchester United was behind by two to three and needed a big win at their home ground, Old Trafford Stadium, to turn the tables and enter the Champions League semifinals.
Deng Kai is stronger than Ronaldo.
If that’s the case, Manchester City wouldn’t be much worse than Real Madrid.
And naturally, Manchester United, being stronger than Manchester City, is obviously better than Real Madrid.
Have you learned this math problem yet?
On April 23rd, the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals concluded successfully.
For Manchester United, Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, and Beckham scored one goal each, like the three heroes battling against Lu Bu.
But the peerless Ronaldo performed a hat-trick, conquering Old Trafford Stadium and helping Real Madrid beat Manchester United six to five, advancing to the Champions League semifinals.
After the match, various media outlets vindicated Ronaldo.
"League strength doesn’t count for much, the Champions League is the real deal! Ronaldo is clearly better than Deng Kai!"
"Choosing Ronaldo for the Golden Ball was the right decision, he took on Manchester United’s three heroes single-handedly, and he’s about to face the three giants of Serie A, including his old club!"
"Back-to-back Golden Ball Awards! Ronaldo has done what Deng Kai aspired to do!"
"Talking about the Golden Ball is beneath the eleven names in the Premier League! Ronaldo and Real Madrid are the only answers to this season!"
The Champions League semifinals: Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan!
Serie A has shown a strong resurgence, demonstrating its dominance in European football.
It seems La Liga has still not completely taken the title of the world’s number one league from Serie A.
Unless Real Madrid becomes the ultimate winner.
The Champions League semifinal pairings are between Real Madrid and Juventus and the Milan derby featuring AC Milan against Inter Milan.
When asked by the media about his views on these four teams and to predict the eventual champion, Deng Kai said, "Real Madrid is strong, but Juventus is more unified, and I think the latter has better chemistry. So I favor Juventus."
"Inter Milan has become increasingly scientific in its structure and has unleashed a strong fighting capacity. AC Milan, on the other hand, has been reborn after a period of decline."
"Any of them could potentially make it to the end."
"If Inter Milan makes it to the final, I’ll console Kaká. If AC Milan gets there, I’ll call Viana."
Deng Kai has turned into a real diplomat.
The message is simple: aside from Real Madrid, anyone would do.
After all, if Real Madrid truly won the Champions League, Ronaldo winning back-to-back Golden Ball awards would be a given, and no one could challenge his status.
Not even Zidane.
Moreover, Deng Kai mentioned that Manchester United’s exit from the Champions League might not be a bad thing.
They would be able to concentrate better on the league.
Wenger expressed skepticism at this.
When Arsenal got knocked out of the Champions League, you said our morale was hit, we were unlucky, and it was only a matter of time before we lost the title.
Now that Manchester United is out, you bloody... talk about double standards!
On April 27th, in the thirty-sixth round of the Premier League.
Manchester City lost one to two at home to West Ham United.
But that’s not important.
What’s important is that an exhausted Manchester United achieved a one-zero victory against their opponent with a crucial header from Ronaldo, securing the valuable three points.
Meanwhile, Arsenal stumbled, drawing with Bolton and only gaining one point.
