September 13, 17:00, Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
Amid the boos of 50,000 Manchester City fans, referee Mark Clattenburg blew the whistle for offside.
Sturridge had made a sharp run in behind Arsenal's defense, but the linesman's flag went up—offside.
It had been a promising one-on-one opportunity, but he had started his run too early.
At this point, the match had reached the 60th minute.
The scoreboard displayed the current score: 1-1.
In the first half, Manchester City had seized an opportunity. Giroud met a pinpoint cross from Hazard and powered a close-range header into the net, breaking the deadlock. It was his first goal since joining Manchester City.
Arsenal's two center-backs, both around 1.8 meters tall, had no answer for Giroud's aerial ability.
Even Gao Shen hadn't expected this outcome, Giroud actually scored!
But City's joy was short-lived.
Just 22 minutes later, a defensive lapse cost them.
Adebayor outmuscled Cahill, controlled the ball, and played a perfectly weighted pass into Van Persie's path.
The Dutch striker took a touch, turned sharply, and curled a precise shot into the far corner.
Neuer could do nothing about it. Despite making several excellent saves earlier, denying Van Persie and Adebayor from close range—he was powerless this time.
At halftime, the score remained 1-1.
After the break, Manchester City pressed forward aggressively, looking to regain control.
But Arsenal weren't backing down.
Just as Gao Shen had predicted, Wenger set up with a three-defensive-midfielder system.
Arsenal Starting XI:
Goalkeeper: Almunia
Defenders: Clichy, Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna
Midfielders: Denilson, Song, Diaby (holding), Fabregas (advanced role)
Forwards: Van Persie, Adebayor
Gao Shen had read Wenger's intentions correctly—Arsenal had adopted a cautious approach.
Manchester City threw wave after wave of attacks at Arsenal's defense in the second half. But Wenger's side was disciplined, executing quick and resolute counterattacks whenever they had the chance.
Using Adebayor and Van Persie as focal points, Arsenal constantly harassed City's defense.
As the match approached the 60-minute mark, neither manager had made a substitution yet.
"Gao Shen is known for his tactical adjustments during games," the commentator noted.
"But tonight, surprisingly, he hasn't made a single change yet. With players like Robben and Suárez on the bench, you'd expect him to strengthen City's attack. But so far, no substitutions."
"This raises an interesting question, is there really tension between Gao Shen and Robben?"
Andy Gray took advantage of the break in play to discuss the rumored rift.
The speculation stemmed from an incident during the international break.
Dutch media had reported that Robben was originally on Van Marwijk's squad list for the Netherlands. However, he never joined up with the national team.
Van Marwijk later revealed that Gao Shen had personally requested that Robben stay behind for extra training, citing concerns over his recent form.
But the British media contradicted this.
During the two-week break, Robben wasn't seen training at Carrington. Instead, he had been on vacation.
Manchester City quickly clarified that this leave was approved by Gao Shen himself.
Gao Shen even addressed it during his pre-match press conference, explaining that he had advised Robben to take a break. But such situations were rare, fueling conspiracy theories.
The rumors suggested Robben was unhappy.
First, Gao Shen had positioned him on the right wing, a role he wasn't comfortable with.
Second, Gao Shen's demanding training regimen had frustrated him.
And now, after being blocked from national team duty, Robben supposedly left Manchester in anger.
"This isn't the first time something like this has happened at Manchester City," Gray continued.
"Earlier this year, Robinho left City's training camp in Spain without permission, creating a major controversy."
"The difference? Back then, Mark Hughes accused Robinho of going AWOL, while Robinho insisted he had permission. This time, it's the opposite, Gao Shen allowed Robben to leave, but people are questioning why."
"And now, with Robben sitting on the bench, and Gao Shen still reluctant to use him, it makes you wonder—are the rumors true?"
Wenger stood on the touchline, occasionally glancing over at Manchester City's bench.
Players frequently came out to warm up, including Robben.
But Wenger couldn't figure out Gao Shen's thinking.
Why wasn't he using a world-class player like Robben?
Was it because Robben's form was poor?
Or was there really a rift between them?
"It's almost 60 minutes," Pat Rice reminded Wenger.
Wenger nodded, but something didn't feel right.
He had a trump card—Rosický and Arshavin.
According to his plan, both would come on in the second half to improve Arsenal's ball retention and attacking firepower.
That was why he had started with three defensive midfielders.
There was no need to go all-out from the start at the Etihad. It was smarter to weather the storm and then strike late.
But something felt too smooth.
Football was never completely predictable. In high-stakes matches, no manager had total control. There was always a sense of chaos.
Yet tonight, everything was going exactly as planned.
Even Giroud scoring was unexpected. Wenger had never thought his fellow Frenchman would score a header against Arsenal.
"Maybe there really is tension between Gao Shen and Robben," Pat Rice speculated.
"You know how Gao Shen is, he wants full control of the locker room. Robben is proud, and after being forced to play right wing and struggling for form, he might have gotten frustrated. If he lost his temper, it's natural that they'd have a falling out."
This sort of thing wasn't unusual.
Even Wenger and Henry had clashed at times, especially during contract negotiations.
And this was Gao Shen's first season managing Robben.
Wenger clenched his jaw.
"Whether there's tension or not, we have to win tonight!"
With that, he turned and called out, "Thomas!"
Rosický immediately got up and started warming up.
"Wenger is making a substitution!"
From the home team's technical area, Carlo quietly reminded Gao Shen.
The Manchester City staff and players had already praised Gao Shen's tactical foresight, he had predicted Arsenal's lineup and formation with complete accuracy.
Wenger had indeed gone for a conservative three-defensive-midfielder setup.
But Gao Shen had miscalculated in one area.
Despite repeatedly warning his defenders to watch Van Persie, Cahill had been unable to contain Adebayor, and Kompany couldn't stop the Dutch striker from turning and scoring.
Had City still been leading, Gao Shen would have been more confident.
At 1-1, he was under real pressure.
"Rosický," Gao Shen muttered, watching the Arsenal bench.
No surprise there, Wenger was looking to strengthen midfield creativity.
The real question was—who would he replace?
Diaby? Denilson? Song?
The front two weren't changing, and Fabregas was untouchable.
So Wenger was sacrificing one of his defensive midfielders to add more attacking intent.
"If this works," Gao Shen speculated, "his next move will be Arshavin."
Wenger's substitution patterns were predictable.
"Should we make a change too?" Carlo asked.
Gao Shen thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Not yet. Let's wait and see."
Sure enough, Rosický replaced Denilson.
Arsenal's midfield shifted from three defensive midfielders to two, with Rosický and Fabregas focusing on possession and forward passing.
After the Czech midfielder came on, Arsenal's attack became noticeably sharper.
Within minutes, they launched a series of attacks deep into Manchester City's final third even pressing into the penalty area, forcing Gao Shen to react.
He immediately signaled his players to drop back slightly, tightening their defensive shape.
But this only fueled Arsenal's momentum further.
The Gunners were pushing hard, eager to find another goal and turn the game around.
If they could take the lead, the initiative would shift completely in their favor—and that was exactly what Wenger was counting on.
The match was beginning to tilt, and Arsenal's confidence was rising.
Their full-backs, Clichy and Sagna, both known for their attacking instincts, began pushing forward aggressively, providing extra width and overlapping runs.
But in doing so, they left gaps at the back.
Manchester City suddenly found themselves in a precarious position.
At this point, as the game approached the 70th minute, Gao Shen made his first substitution.
Robben is coming on!
(To be continued.)
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