The entire Emirates Stadium fell silent.
Only the sound of the rain was audible.
At the front, Agüero, Yaya Toure, Bernie, Iheanacho, and Navas all looked toward Tang Long at the top of the penalty area arc!
At the back, Ranocchia, Kompany, Klichy, and Sagna stood frozen in place.
The furthest from Tang Long was Manchester City’s goalkeeper Joe Hart.
His view was obscured by the pouring rain. He could hardly see from afar, only hearing an earth-shattering thunder-like roar, and then, those moving suddenly stood still.
"Was it a goal? A shot in?" Hart wiped the rain off his face, trying hard to open his eyes to find the scorer in his blurry vision.
It wasn’t until Tang Long rushed into the goal, picked up the ball from the bewildered goalkeeper Cech’s side, and ran back to the center line shouting "There’s still time, keep playing" that everyone snapped back to reality—Tang Long had scored!
Shock, confusion, surprise, joy, madness—these emotions filled the stadium, temporarily suppressed as Tang Long quickly brought the ball back to the center circle, and the referee signaled Arsenal to restart the game.
Because the rain was still falling and the game continued!
In the Sky Sports studio.
Henry had been roaring for a full half-minute!
Although he was a legend of Arsenal, dedicating the most precious eight years of his career and youth to Highbury and the Emirates Stadium;
Although he hoped so much that the Gunners, once dominant in the Premier League, could once again clinch the Premier League title after eleven years;
Although, on the eve of this Manchester and London showdown, in the minute before the game, he fervently hoped this team that carried his dreams and expectations could deal a heavy blow to Manchester City, securing three points at home, and kicking the opponent back up north.
But when he saw Tang Long’s stunningly powerful shot.
Henry’s face actually showed undisguised delight!
"Goooooooooooooal!!!"
"Tang just unleashed such a wonderful long-range shot!"
"He leveled the score for Manchester City in the 84th minute!"
"It’s incredible; none of us expected him to score with a long-range shot!"
"The speed of the ball was so fast that I couldn’t even see the trajectory clearly!"
"I believe, standing in front of the goal with his vision blocked by rain, Cech couldn’t see it clearly either!"
At this moment, the broadcast showed the speed of Tang Long’s long-range shot.
"Absolute violence in speed, I remember the fastest long-range shot of my career was only 125 KM!" Henry was in sheer admiration for Tang Long’s powerful shot.
Compared to Tang Long’s unstoppable powerful long-range shot.
What shocked his commentating partner Keane even more was Tang Long’s confrontation before the shot, where he sent Iwobi flying!
Keane saw it very clearly.
Just the moment Ranocchia passed the ball to Tang Long.
Arsenal’s young player Iwobi, who was freshly substituted with no stamina issues, was chasing back rapidly.
His speed was significantly faster compared to Tang Long’s turn with the ball!
As Tang Long just touched the ball, Iwobi’s shoulder slammed over!
Keane thought at the time: "In terms of stamina, Iwobi is always healthy, while Tang Long just recovered from a back injury, far behind him. In terms of body strength, this Chinese player can’t compare to Iwobi! This shoulder bump will have Tang flying, directly knocking him into a water puddle for a bath, hahaha!"
But the next scene made Keane’s mind freeze, thinking he saw wrong.
It wasn’t Tang Long who was knocked flying, but rather Iwobi!
Iwobi stumbled and fell, hitting the ground ungracefully in the puddle;
Tang Long swayed but quickly adjusted his steps and continued dribbling forward.
Keane, a tough player with many years of Premier League experience and rich in physical confrontation tactics.
According to his understanding, if this was the result of the confrontation, it could only mean Iwobi’s physical strength was not in the same league as Tang Long’s.
But without delving into it, based on the apparent physical difference between the two, it shouldn’t have been this way!
"It must be a fluke, a fluke," Keane thought, "The ground was slippery; Iwobi might not have had a steady supporting foot, slipping, which gave Tang an advantage. Hmph, this kid is really lucky; if it wasn’t for that lucky win in the confrontation, there wouldn’t have been the subsequent long shot."
However, the two coaches on the sidelines didn’t share the frenzied roars and inner monologues of the two commentators in the Sky Sports studio.
They, like the players on the field, were intently focused on the match.
Tang Long’s equalizing long shot was a pleasant surprise for Pellegrini, who was now thinking about how to capitalize on the momentum to score another goal;
The goal concession was quite annoying for Wenger, and given the limited time and the subtle shift in morale for both teams, he promptly adjusted his strategy, increasing the defensive measure to secure the point!
The rain continued to pour down.
If the torrential rain had been at the start, the referee might have postponed the game.
But with the game already halfway through, it wouldn’t be easily interrupted.
Manchester City continued their aerial bombardment to attack Arsenal’s defense line.
The joy of the equalizing goal ignited the players’ inner determination to win, coupled with their desire for the Premier League title. Many players even felt that if they could win this game, luck would truly be on their side, and reclaiming the Premier League title after two years was highly probable.