With maxed-out heading ability from the start, I became the king of Arsenal.

Having played the entire season so far, Sun Yu finally has the opportunity to witness Arsenal's legendary era.

Before Wenger arrived at the club, Arsenal was a true English team.

As Arsenal's legendary manager, Wenger not only transformed Arsenal into a stylish team, but also revolutionized English football in terms of player recruitment, training, and food culture.

Ferguson has repeatedly admitted that Wenger was his most formidable opponent.

Even though Arsenal had lost competitiveness in the transfer market due to the £3000 million annual debt from building their stadium, Ferguson still kept a close eye on Arsenal and would make sarcastic remarks at crucial moments.

£3000 million would likely only buy a second-rate player fifteen years from now, but in this era, it would be enough for the professor to buy the player he wants and even win the lottery.

Over the past five seasons, Arsenal have spent a total of £7800 million in the transfer market, while Manchester United have spent nearly £2.2 million.

Especially with Arsenal making a £5000 million profit in the transfer market, they have essentially lost the ability to compete with Manchester United for the Premier League title.

That's why Ferguson said in an interview when Arsenal were only 5 points behind Manchester United in the standings, no matter how strong Arsenal were in February, they would have nothing by April.

This shows how much he fears Arsenal under Wenger's management.

Even though Arsenal sells key players every year and struggles to make signings in the transfer market, their strength is still far superior to Stoke City's.

This Arsenal team has Szczesny in goal and Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, and Clichy in defense.

The midfield consists of Fabregas, Song, Wilshere, and Rosicky.

The attacking line includes Van Persie, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh, and Walcott.

No matter how Arsenal arranges their starting lineup, the cost of their two winter signings cannot compare to that of Liverpool.

If Senderos, Diaby and Ramsey can all grow up healthy, this Arsenal team will still be formidable.

Even if Wenger focuses on the league with this squad, Arsenal still have a great chance to challenge for the league title.

In the top four matchups, Arsenal and Chelsea each won one game, Arsenal had one win and one draw against Manchester City, and lost to Manchester United by one goal away from home.

Arsenal have a tough time against any opponent this season.

Many media outlets believe that Stoke City has a ruthless advantage over Arsenal, but that's not the case at all.

Arsenal have defeated Stoke City twice, winning each game by two goals.

Many people believe that Arsenal is afraid of purely physical teams, but this conclusion is not entirely accurate.

The Premier League is a league dominated by power-based teams, and Arsenal's ability to finish in the top four at least in recent years proves that they are not afraid of purely power-based teams.

To defeat Arsenal, intense clashes alone are not enough to win the game.

Judging from this season's trend, Arsenal are more afraid of Newcastle and Sunderland.

Newcastle's ability to come back from four goals down to defeat Arsenal at home was thanks to their midfield trio of tough play and passing prowess.

Compared to Sunderland and Newcastle, Stoke City lacks both speedsters and midfield maestros capable of passing the ball effectively.

Stoke City is more afraid of teams like Arsenal, who have both a midfielder and a speedster.

Especially after losing possession in the attacking third, Arsenal's ability to transition from the back to the front in just eight seconds struck Stoke City's weak point.

In the pre-match tactical briefing, Pulis first played a highlight reel of Arsenal's attacking and defensive transitions, then paused the game: "My first piece of advice to you is not to run back and forth with Arsenal. In such a game, it seems like both sides have chances, but in reality, they get a shot on goal every time."

"Even Manchester United have to slow down against them. Arsenal's defensive capabilities are stronger when they are not in position than when they are in position."

"Our chances only come from two situations: first, from set pieces, and second, from getting the ball into the penalty area and being one-on-one with their player."

"Don't assume that their instability is our advantage; we are more likely to lose possession in the attacking third under these circumstances."

While playing a clip of Arsenal players, Pulis reminded everyone: "Van Persie is a striker who is equally adept with both feet. We must defend his left foot tightly and also prevent him from using his right foot."

"Koscielny's heading ability is average, but his footwork is very fast. In the three months before he joined Arsenal, his one-on-one success rate in Ligue 1 was 100%."

"Sun Yu must not use the Cruyff turn in front of him; this guy is a master of steals."

"The same goes for everyone else. Our first priority is to keep the ball at our feet, and we shouldn't take any risks, even when passing safe balls."

Pulis repeatedly emphasized: "All of their midfielders are capable of through balls, and we absolutely cannot allow Fabregas to easily dribble forward, nor can we allow Wilshere to connect with other Arsenal players."

"If I had to choose, I'd rather let Song have the ball. We need to keep a close eye on the gaps left by the players in front of us."

"Our biggest advantage is that we can wear them down in the first game, as Walcott and Fabregas both have injuries."

"If they play in the league, we must provide them with sufficient intensity."

The tactical preparation session lasted more than two hours, during which Pulis analyzed Arsenal's tactics and strengths and weaknesses in almost every detail.

But football is not about theory; it's about adapting to changing circumstances.

Until a match is played, nobody knows what will happen.

Time quickly came to January 24th.

The first match between the two sides is a rescheduled game from the 18th round of the Premier League.

At the pre-match press conference, Wenger appeared quite candid: "The recent schedule has been a huge test for our squad depth, but we cannot afford to give up on any game."

"I know it's risky to do this, and I know we have no other choice. Life always gives us the toughest tests at crucial moments."

Despite Wenger's determined attitude, Arsenal still made three changes to their starting lineup.

The central defensive pairing was Djourou and Squillaci, while Bendtner was deployed as the center forward.

Stoke City, on the other hand, made four changes to their squad, with Sun Yu, Jones, Wilkinson, and Collins all on the bench.

Just eight minutes into the game, something happened that caught Stoke City completely off guard.

Arsenal's fourth center-back Squillaci capitalized on a free-kick to give his team the lead.

This is Stoke City's most effective tactic.

After taking the lead, Arsenal dominated Stoke City for the next five minutes with their brilliant passing and combination play.

The world-class midfielder Cesc Fabregas, forgotten by history, relentlessly tore apart the opponent's defense with his passes in the attacking third. Stoke City's only option was to build up a human punching bag in the penalty area.

Bendtner's two consecutive shots were blocked by Shawcross, and the Stoke City captain appeared very aggressive.

Sun Yu felt something was wrong the more he looked at it; he felt like he couldn't win at all.

but!

Just minutes after the Arsenal players thought they were enjoying a crushing defeat, an unexpected incident occurred on the field.

Fabregas and Whiteside both made sliding tackles during a dangerous play. Whiteside got up unharmed, while Fabregas lay on the grass looking pained.

The live stream immediately gave Wenger a close-up, and he helplessly spread his hands.

In the 14th minute, Arsenal substituted Arshavin for Fabregas.

Could it be that...?

Did Birmingham win the League Cup in the previous life because of Stoke City?

Judging from Bregas' appearance, it seems he only suffered a minor injury.

In any case, the opportunity has arrived!

The game restarted, and the Stoke City players were like they were on steroids, creating two very dangerous scoring opportunities in an unreasonable manner.

Upon seeing this, Sun Yu immediately stood up from the bench.

He took a deep breath.

Even before the finals, he felt his cells were already boiling with excitement.