Chapter 460: Using Guardiola as a Towel

Chapter 460: Using Guardiola as a Towel

"Andy, why do you look like you're not surprised at all by Manchester City's goal?"

In the Sky Sports commentary box, after Martin Tyler had excitedly described Manchester City's latest goal, he turned to see his partner, Andy Gray, calmly sipping water, looking completely unbothered. This guy is supposed to be a Manchester City fan, right? So why is he so calm after such an important goal?

"Heh, of course, I'm not surprised. I knew Lin would step up!" Andy Gray had a "I told you so" expression on his face, leaving Martin Tyler speechless. But it was Agüero who scored the goal, wasn't it? Though, to be fair, Lin Quan did provide the assist. In fact, Lin could have taken the shot himself but chose to pass instead.

"Lin, thanks for that great pass!"

On the field, after scoring this crucial goal, Agüero ran over to Lin Quan, hugging him tightly in excitement. Agüero's recent injury had greatly affected his form, and he had struggled in the last few games. So, for him, this goal was incredibly important. Scoring it helped him regain some of his form and confidence.

"Hehe, you shot it well yourself!"

Agüero was known for his excellent finishing skills, rarely missing chances. This was something that set him apart from other forwards like Sterling, who had become infamous for missing easy chances. During De Bruyne's peak years, Manchester City's forwards frequently wasted his assists, which frustrated him greatly. Fortunately, things turned around when Manchester City signed a highly efficient, goal-scoring machine, putting an end to De Bruyne's frustrations. Otherwise, if he had to endure a few more years with players like Jesus and Sterling, De Bruyne might have lost his mind.

During the summer transfer window, Manchester City had sent scouts to assess Liverpool's star, Sterling, but they ultimately decided against signing him. There were two main reasons: first, Liverpool's asking price was too high—£50 million. Manchester City didn't think Sterling was worth that much and tried to negotiate it down to £30 million, but Liverpool refused. The second reason was that Manchester City had already signed Son Heung-min, and with Agüero and Lin Quan up front, they weren't in desperate need of another forward. So, when they couldn't agree on a price, they decided not to push the transfer through.

Looking at Sterling's performance this season, Manchester City was probably relieved they didn't spend that money. So far in this Premier League season, which has seen 16 matches played, Sterling has only scored three goals, with an average of less than 0.2 goals per game—far too low for a player of his caliber. Although he was still young at 21, his goal-scoring efficiency was even lower than Manchester City's backup forward, Iheanacho.

This season, Iheanacho had appeared in 13 games across all competitions for Manchester City, scoring five goals and providing two assists. Considering that Iheanacho had played far fewer games and minutes than Sterling, his efficiency was clearly much higher. For this reason, several teams had expressed interest in signing Iheanacho during the winter transfer window, hoping to bring him in.

External assessments valued Iheanacho at around £20 million, a very high price for a player not even 20 years old. Sitting on the bench, Iheanacho watched excitedly as Agüero scored, jumping up and celebrating with his teammates. After the celebrations, he silently prayed in his heart: "Please, just one more goal, Lin, Agüero. If you two can finish off the game, we substitutes might actually get a chance to play!"

After Agüero's goal, Guardiola applauded and smiled contentedly. Although the score was only 1-1, he had a feeling: this game was in the bag.

Sure enough, after Manchester City equalized, Arsenal seemed to revert to their usual selves, and internal disagreements began to surface. Some players thought they should attack, like in the first half, to regain the lead. Others felt that Manchester City was too strong right now, and they should first stabilize and wait for Manchester City's momentum to die down before attacking.

With the situation on the pitch unfavorable and the team's strategy divided, Arsenal's formation started to fall apart, creating big gaps in both attack and defense. In a match against a top team like Manchester City, exposing such weaknesses was asking for trouble.

Between the 71st and 73rd minutes, Manchester City executed two quick counterattacks after winning the ball in the front, with Lin Quan and Son Heung-min each scoring a goal. In the blink of an eye, the score was 3-1. Just ten minutes earlier, Arsenal had been leading, but now they were two goals behind.

The Arsenal fans in the stadium were stunned. Some held their heads in disbelief, their minds filled with questions: What happened to our team? Why does it seem like we're so fragile? The opponent hasn't even tried that hard, and we've already collapsed.

"Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have trusted Arsenal!"

"Sigh, it was unrealistic to hope Arsenal could stop Manchester City!"

Online, fans who had hoped Arsenal could stop Manchester City vented their frustration with curses after seeing Arsenal crumble so quickly in the second half. Many of these fans weren't Arsenal supporters; they were fans of Manchester United, Liverpool, or Chelsea. They supported Arsenal in this match simply because they didn't want to see Manchester City win. So, when Arsenal didn't live up to their expectations, they didn't hold back in their criticism.

"There it is, this is the Arsenal I know!"

"Heh, with this Arsenal squad, they were never going to be a match for our Blue Moon. I don't know what those other fans were expecting."

"Agüero played well today. He could have taken that shot himself but passed it to Lin instead—such a team player!"

"Yeah, seeing Agüero back in form makes me happier than winning the match!"

"Hehe, you're all praising Agüero and Lin, but let's not forget the new guy—Son Heung-min also played great today. Not only did he score, but he also posed a constant threat on the wing, keeping the opponent's defense busy."

"That's right. His dribbling may not be as good as Lin or Agüero's, but it's effective, and he's got a strong shot with great efficiency in front of goal!"

"I did some math—since joining, he's scored nine goals in various competitions, averaging 0.65 goals per game. That's pretty impressive!"

A Manchester City fan who had calculated Son Heung-min's goal-scoring efficiency since joining the team shared the stats, drawing gasps of admiration.

"Wow, with that efficiency, €30 million was a steal!"

"No wonder Guardiola always finds gems!"

"Apparently, we stole him from under Tottenham's noses. Seeing how well he's doing, Spurs fans must be crying in the bathroom!"

Over at Tottenham, chairman Daniel Levy was indeed fuming. Ever since Son Heung-min joined Manchester City, Levy had been closely monitoring his progress. While Levy had once been keen to bring Son to Tottenham, since he joined Manchester City, Levy had only one hope: that Son would fail to get game time, fail to score, and see his value plummet. That way, Manchester City would lose out on the £30 million transfer fee and a hefty wage bill!

But things didn't go as Levy had hoped. Since joining Manchester City, although Son hadn't secured a starting spot, he had repeatedly made an impact off the bench and performed well in the few starts he had. What was even more frustrating was that after watching Son closely, Levy noticed that he had improved since joining Manchester City. His dribbling and ability to beat defenders had noticeably progressed since his time in the Bundesliga! This meant that Son was still developing and growing stronger, and his future potential was even greater.

The thought of this outcome made Levy want to spit blood. All he could do was curse Manchester City again in his heart: Damn you, Manchester City!

"Damn it, Manchester City!"

"Why won't you just die?"

Arsenal fans shared Levy's frustration. In the bars of North London, after watching Manchester City score three goals in ten minutes, demolishing Arsenal, fans were furious, shouting curses. If it weren't for the glimmer of hope from that first-half goal, their reaction might not have been so intense! They had seen a glimmer of victory, only for it to be snatched away, leaving them feeling further from victory than ever.

What does Arsenal need to do to beat Manchester City? Wenger was also grappling with this question. After a few recent wins, he had begun to believe his team was back on track. But today's match made him realize that Arsenal was still a long way from being a top team, and the gap was significant. One comeback loss could be seen as a fluke, but if they kept getting overturned, it wasn't an accident anymore!

Arsenal lacked the ability to turn a lead into a victory. A one or two-goal lead wasn't enough to guarantee them a win. It seemed that his decision not to sign any players in the summer window was a mistake. With that realization, Wenger began to regret his inaction.

He thought of another world-class striker he had missed out on—Suárez. After moving to Barcelona, Suárez had shown the world his undeniable talent. As one of the top five forwards in the world, Suárez was a superstar. But Arsenal had missed out on him too.

When Suárez had been suspended by the FA for biting an opponent, his value dropped significantly. Arsenal was in negotiations with Liverpool at the time and had even reached an agreement with the player. However, in a bid to drive the price down, Arsenal offered £40 million plus one pound, thinking they could secure a bargain. Liverpool, feeling insulted, instead sold him to Barcelona.

Although £40 million wasn't cheap, it wasn't much more than the fees Arsenal had paid for Özil and Sánchez. If only Wenger hadn't been so stingy and had offered a little more, that transfer might have gone through. If Arsenal had a lineup with Özil, Sánchez, and Suárez, they would be much stronger than they were now!

What a shame!

After taking a commanding lead and seeing Arsenal lose all their fight, unable to pose a threat to Manchester City, Guardiola made a sweeping gesture, sending several substitutes out to warm up. Iheanacho was among those getting ready.

A few minutes later, Manchester City made another substitution, with Iheanacho coming on for the impressive Agüero. Even though Agüero's injury had healed, Guardiola didn't want to take any risks. With the game already decided, he preferred to rest Agüero to avoid any unnecessary accidents.

Seeing the substitution board, Agüero quickly ran off the pitch, high-fiving Iheanacho as he came on, and went straight to Guardiola for a hug. Some players might feel upset about being substituted and even take it out on the coach, but not Agüero. He knew Guardiola was genuinely looking out for him.

"Well done, Agüero. Go rest!" Guardiola had only planned to high-five Agüero, but when Agüero went in for a hug, he responded in kind, giving him a pat on the back.

A few minutes later, Guardiola made another substitution, bringing on Nasri for Lin Quan. As Lin Quan left the field, he enthusiastically hugged Guardiola, cheekily rubbing some sweat, dirt, and grass onto Guardiola's jacket in the process.

After Lin Quan left, Guardiola glanced down at his jacket and was surprised to see it covered in sweat, dirt, and grass. This kid, he thought, did you just use me as a towel? He shot Lin Quan a look, only to see him innocently chatting with Agüero as if nothing had happened.

The cameras caught this moment and broadcast it on the stadium's big screen, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.

"Hehe, Lin and Guardiola sure have a close relationship!" Martin Tyler chuckled.

"Of course they do. They're practically father and son! Father and son working together on the battlefield—of course they're close," Andy Gray said with an exaggerated eye roll, thinking his partner had just stated the obvious. If Guardiola could dote on a player without any familial ties like Messi, imagine how he must feel about his own son!

With both Lin Quan and Agüero off the field, Manchester City's attacking threat diminished somewhat. But Arsenal was now like a bird startled by the twang of a bow, too afraid to capitalize on this and mount a counterattack. Instead, Manchester City continued to pressure Arsenal's goal right up to the final whistle.

In the closing moments, Iheanacho was very active, and one of his flicks over a defender's head even drew gasps from the commentators. Unfortunately, his finishing wasn't quite there yet, and his shot was too tame, easily dealt with by Cech.

In the end, after a hard-fought battle, Manchester City came away with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates. However, with Leicester City narrowly defeating Everton 3-2 in another match, the points gap between the two teams remained at six, not widening any further. It seemed the two teams would have to settle matters in their head-to-head clash in the final match of the first half of the season.

(End of the chapter)

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