Chapter 46: Win Is My Fortune, Lose Is My Fate
Norwich City Football Club is in eastern England, nicknamed the "Canaries." Their home is Carrow Road — a Premier League club that every year fights to avoid relegation, hovering on the edge of the drop zone.
In Arsenal people's eyes they're basically easy points.
Arsène Wenger's announced squad was mainly for rotation: Olivier Giroud, who still hadn't scored, and the occasionally "mislabeled" Johan Djourou (note ①) were both on the traveling list.
For such a foregone-match, even Penguin Live was too lazy to broadcast it; despite thousands of "Xia Qi" fans protesting, they still chose to air Tottenham vs Chelsea instead.
Xia Qi set off with the team in that relaxed atmosphere.
…
The gap in quality between the two teams did not dampen Norwich fans' joy; Carrow Road was full of laughter and cheers.
While Xia Qi was warming up, several Norwich female fans called him over for autographs.
That wouldn't happen in London, Manchester, or Liverpool.
Maybe here you could find the purest form of football; football isn't simply club antagonism by nature.
"Xia, will you play?"
"Probably not."
Before the game Wenger had already announced the starting XI — Xia Qi and Jack Wilshere were both on the bench. Wenger brought them to guard against the unlikely, to make sure of three points.
Hearing Xia Qi would not start, the girls were a little disappointed.
"Aren't you cheering for Norwich?"
"Of course we are!"
Maybe sensing Xia Qi's doubt, one girl added, "You don't actually think we came to cheer for you, right?"
Xia Qi smiled awkwardly, understanding what they meant — loving your club and admiring a star aren't mutually exclusive…
"Of course we cheer for Norwich, but we want to see you play. We believe you'll become a big star."
"Thank you!"
"We're a small club; maybe next year we'll be in the Championship, and we won't get to see stars like you anymore…"
"No, there's pure football here. The Premier League needs it."
"Hehe, I didn't expect you to be cold on the pitch but warm off it…"
…
Carrow Road is a small stadium; the stands are close to the pitch and the seating is built steeply. From a distance the terraces look like they might collapse.
Players feel suppressed on the field because of the small size and steep stands; cries, applause, and cheers from every direction pierce the eardrums.
Arsenal players were shocked by such an intense home atmosphere, even a little shaken.
If this were a game UI, every Norwich shout would reduce Arsenal players' "HP" by -1, -1…
So at kickoff the entire Arsenal starting lineup seemed half-asleep, wandering the pitch like sleepwalkers.
Just over two minutes in, Norwich's midfield core Alexander Tettey from the edge of the box unleashed a worldie that pierced Wojciech Szczęsny's goal with ease.
1–0!
The whole of Carrow Road erupted.
Norwich's anthem reverberated around the stadium in male and female call-and-response — perhaps something unique in the Premier League and maybe the world.
Wilshere leaned close to Xia Qi and said, "I like this football atmosphere. I wish the Emirates could ever feel like this."
"Our home atmosphere isn't bad — it's just not as pure, not as happy. These fans: win is my fortune, lose is my fate. We care too much about victory and are too utilitarian."
"Right, right, right. Win is my fortune, lose is my fate. Xia, did you really never attend full-time secondary school?"
"…"
Neither of them panicked over Arsenal conceding.
That was how all Arsenal folks felt — it was just an accident in their minds.
Five minutes later, having adapted to Carrow Road's atmosphere, Arsenal began to counterattack.
Under Norwich's stubborn defending, Arsenal created chances, but Giroud and Lukas Podolski seemed to have forgotten their shooting boots.
Both sides traded attacks merrily, and when the halftime whistle blew it was still 1–0.
During the fifteen-minute interval Wenger dissected Norwich's tactics into small sections and assigned players to handle each link.
From start to finish he barely glanced at Xia Qi or Jack Wilshere.
Perhaps in Wenger's mind the adjusted starters could take the game.
The match resumed.
Arsenal continued pressing, while Norwich resisted doggedly with the cheers of their home fans.
Unnoticed, time reached the 65th minute. Wenger paced the touchline with a frown; after a full minute he made up his mind and looked toward the bench.
Xia Qi shot up.
But Wenger's gaze passed him and landed on Jack Wilshere.
"Wilshere, go warm up!"
Wilshere patted Xia Qi's shoulder: "Five minutes — no, three minutes later you can be here cleaning my boots."
Ignorance is scary — isn't that like "slicing wine to defeat Hua Xiong"? All talk.
Xia Qi shoved him with mock irritation and replied, "Don't ask me to wipe your butt. I don't want to be anyone's dad."
Wilshere stuck up a middle finger and grinned as he went on, replacing Aaron Ramsey.
Three minutes passed,
five minutes passed,
ten minutes passed.
Wilshere had his moments, but his teammates' final touches were amateurish!
By the 76th minute it was still 1–0.
Wilshere grew anxious and was nervy with every chance.
Arsenal not only failed to score, they lost their rhythm.
In the 80th minute Norwich hit on the break and nearly doubled the lead.
Wenger finally remembered Xia Qi.
"Xia, warm up!"
Xia Qi immediately took off his coat and put on the yellow bib…
Norwich fans loudly breathed "huff huff…" and welcomed him.
When Xia Qi stood by the touchline ready to come on, the boos hit a boiling point.
That familiar sensation made Xia Qi reflect.
In May of this year he'd been on the bench at Manchester City, similarly booed by the entire stadium — he vaguely remembered his legs trembling then…
Now it wouldn't happen again!
This was growth.
"Ding dong."
"Host, please select 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Please select pitch position: A Striker, B…"
"A."
"Detected the team is currently in trouble. Matching host with the [Box Fox] attribute."
"The more defenders in the box, the more at ease the host will be — like a fox, cunning in lethal spots."
"Choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode'."
"Friendly tip: During AFK the system will automatically complete various actions for the host."
"One-Click AFK!"
"Relaxed AFK: one-click auto-complete, free your feet and bring the host a relaxed and joyful match experience! Match experience starts now."
Xia Qi's whole temperament settled into a CEO-like aura,
and nearby girls cried out: so handsome!
Note ①: "Djourou" is a centre-back, Black, born in Ivory Coast; "Giroud" is a striker, white, French.
So the author didn't make a typo — one moment it's Giroud, another Djourou.
Djourou came from Arsenal's academy and carried fans' hopes, but defenders are born to take the blame.
Like Maguire, many jokes have been made about him.
To be honest, his ability isn't bad — he was captain at Hamburg on a permanent transfer; if he were poor they wouldn't have taken him.
Who dares ask a centre-back to be "admiral"? That's a meme like Maguire's carrier turn — now Maguire's reputation is recovering, right?
Norwich 4-4-2 lineup
Goalkeeper: 1 John Ruddy
Defenders: 5 Sébastien Bassong, 6 Michael, 18 Javi Garrido, 2 Martin Olsson
Midfield: 4 Johnson, 27 Alexander Tettey, 12 Pilkington, 17 Ryan Bennett
Forwards: 9 Grant Holt, 14 Wes Hoolahan
Arsenal 4-4-2 lineup
Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczęsny
Defenders: Kieran Gibbs, Per Mertesacker, Johan Djourou, Carl Jenkinson
Midfield: Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby
Forwards: Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski
(END CHAPTER)
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