In the 35th minute of the match, Arsenal finally got a counter-attack opportunity. This time, Willian got the ball, but unable to move forward himself, he passed the ball to Lin Hao on the left wing.
Lin Hao and Saka darted out like arrows released from a bow.
Saka is actually quite fast, though not among the fastest players, but he's not slow either.
Lin Hao received the ball first and quickly dribbled forward, while Saka moved inside, ready to support Lin Hao at any moment.
He also warned Lin Hao that they were about to be caught up, and the one who would be caught up was undoubtedly Walker, who was very fast.
Lin Hao slowed down slightly and saw out of the corner of his eye that a figure lightly touched the ball with the outside of his foot. Lin Hao had to say that this time he was definitely not doing it on purpose. He wanted to pass the ball to the right before Walker could stop, so that Walker would not have time to stop and would cut inside to the right.
This was his plan, but who would have thought that Walker would directly try to surpass him? He had no idea what Walker was up to. In terms of defense, he should have just kept up and used his physicality. Maybe he was thinking about the loss in the last game.
Just then, Lin Hao swerved to the right, and the ball passed right between Walker's steps. Lin Hao unexpectedly completed a very beautiful nutmeg. Lin Hao then moved inside, and Saka immediately changed course to the outside.
Lin Hao's high-speed dribbling is truly enjoyable; there are very few people who can dribble like that.
Arsenal had few chances in this match, but Lin Hao didn't waste any of those few opportunities that came his way.
Guardiola watched from the sidelines, a thought running through his mind: the world is still underestimating Lin Hao!
He had already shown Lin Hao considerable respect, by immediately double-teaming him.
But it's still not enough.
Lin Hao advanced along the inside line to the edge of the penalty area and passed the ball to Saka. Saka received the ball and moved it towards the byline, slightly outwards, preventing Lin Hao from directly entering the penalty area and creating a dangerous situation.
At the edge of the penalty area, Lin Hao ran to the ball, and a player followed behind him. Lin Hao twisted his body to pass along the baseline, but Walker immediately stretched out his leg to block it, and was very confident that he could stop it because he had intercepted the last bit of space.
Lin Hao turned and cut into the penalty area from the other side.
"Is it even possible to pass that way? I'm a human, can I twist my body to pass the ball at that angle?"
Lin Hao dribbled past Walker, leaving behind a sarcastic remark, before unleashing a curling shot. Ederson leaped high, his fingertips brushing the ball, slightly altering its trajectory. The ball struck the junction of the crossbar and post, rebounding and being cleared by a Manchester City player.
When the throw-in was discovered, the ball was passed back to Lin Hao, who was now facing three defenders: Walker and Cancelo double-teaming him, with Mahrez behind him.
That last attack was Lin Hao's last chance to contribute to the team.
Guardiola instructed his players to mark Lin Hao with three defenders during a dead ball situation. Of course, this was not the norm. He felt that Lin Hao had attracted three defenders, and Arsenal still couldn't create any passing opportunities when passing the ball, so he adopted this method.
His judgment proved to be correct.
Furthermore, given Arsenal's already limited attacking opportunities, they are even less likely to have any chances left.
For most of the match, Manchester City dominated possession, with a ratio of 80% to 20%.
However, Arsenal's defense was indeed quite good. Finally, in the 70th minute, Cancelo assisted Sterling to score a goal, after he had wasted quite a few chances.
In the end, Manchester City defeated Arsenal 1-0, and Arsenal suffered another defeat.
Then came the European competitions.
Lin Hao believes that he has finally achieved stability, with a stable income and a secure position on the team.
Lin Hao finally had the mood and time to do something he liked. He found a place in London and opened a shop.
If Lin Hao hadn't played football, he would have become a repairman in a small repair shop. He loved studying these things and had been doing so since he was a child. He helped his classmates repair their appliances and earned a lot of pocket money. That's how he earned his first pair of football shoes.
However, from the time Lin Hao opened the door until he went on a business trip to participate in the Europa League match, he did not receive a single guest.
They won 2-1 against Rapid Vienna in the Europa League.
Then, in the sixth round against Leicester City, Vardy scored the winning goal in the 80th minute.
Lin Hao scored the equalizer in the 89th minute, making it 1-1.
Therefore, the individual competition between the two can be considered a draw.
Then, in the second round of the Europa League group stage, Arsenal defeated Dundal 3-0.
Entering November, the first match was another crucial game, an away game against Manchester United. A week earlier, Rashford had already launched a challenge against Lin Hao, which was this match.
It's still the Theatre of Dreams, just like it was two years ago, the Old Trafford stadium.
Arsenal have switched to a 3-4-3 formation again because David Luiz is injured and they don't have enough reliable defenders.
Gabriel is in the center, with Tierney Holding on either side.
The midfield was led by Patiène, with Saka and Bellerin on the left and right, respectively. Up front, Lin Hao and William were on the left and right, respectively, with Lacazette in the center.
And the manager standing on the sidelines at Manchester United is no longer the "Special One".
The formation is 4-1-2-1-2. In goal, it's still De Gea. The center-backs are Maguire and Lindelof. The left-back is Luke Shaw, and the right-back is Wan-Bissaka.
Defensive midfielder, Brazilian player, Fred; in front of him, Pogba and McTominay; attacking midfielder, Bruno Fernandes.
Further ahead, there's Green and Rashford.
With this lineup, the players are definitely capable enough, and they can all perform to their full potential, so Manchester United would never have ended up in that situation.
Perhaps we should give Solskjaer, the current manager, a little more time? Yes, he has his problems, but doesn't Arteta have them too? This Arsenal team is even worse than Manchester United. Why is it that Arteta can lead Arsenal to compete for the title, while Manchester United, under a new manager, continues to create numerous shameful records?
Even assuming he continues to manage Manchester United, how bad could things get? Could it get any worse than what followed?
The players from both sides took to the field at Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, for a crucial match. The game began with the referee's whistle.
At this time, Manchester United mainly relied on counter-attacks, while Arsenal kept trying to play possession-based football. They could be said to be the best training partners for each other.
Arsenal kicked off and advanced forward. Saka dribbled down the wing and attempted a breakthrough, but instead passed the ball to Lin Hao, who was positioned in the flank. Saka then made a run forward.
This is Arsenal's consistent style. Lin Hao has strong breakthrough ability, but at the beginning, he needs to try to break through the defense through the cooperation of his teammates.
Saka made a run to the byline to receive the ball and cut across, Lin Hao made a run in front of the goal to get a shot off, Elneny moved to the position Lin Hao had just been in, ready to receive the ball from his teammate!
This Arsenal team has already begun to take shape with possession-based football, but at this moment, no one knows whether they are on the right track!