Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

Chapter 293: A Monster!

Bruno decided to follow his intuition and moved into the penalty area. He noticed the space between Di Natale and Adnan. Arsenal's center-back Mertesacker was focused on Di Natale, while right-back Bellerín was marking Adnan. This created a temporary open space between them. Koscielny, on the other hand, was wary of Widmer breaking into the box.

As Bruno accelerated into the box, Immobile passed the ball! Immobile didn't send a cross from the end line but angled the ball into the penalty area instead.

Di Natale had already started moving forward before Immobile made the pass, positioning himself perfectly behind Koscielny to receive the ball. At the same time, Mertesacker closed in, preventing Di Natale from shooting.

Simultaneously, Widmer burst into the box. Di Natale, seeing no good opportunity to shoot, passed the ball to the incoming Widmer. Koscielny tightly followed him, and Mertesacker quickly turned to block.

Widmer swung his leg as if to shoot, causing Koscielny and Mertesacker to dive and block. But instead of shooting, Widmer swept the ball to the other side!

"Widmer! Is that a shot? It's way off... No!"

The commentator's exclamations were nearly heart-attack-inducing. The camera followed the ball, which landed in the far post area where no Arsenal player was present—but it wasn't empty!

Arsenal goalkeeper Cech, who was almost deceived by Widmer's shot, turned back, lunging to save the ball.

At the far post was Bruno!

"Wow! Bruno!"

Bruno launched himself, connecting with Widmer's pass. Simultaneously, Cech spread his arms, appearing in Bruno's path. He made the right move but couldn't save the team as the ball slipped through the narrow space under his arm and crossed the goal line!

"What is this... Goal... Goal! The heaviest blow to Arsenal! Bruno! Bruno!! Bruno!!! Bruno scores his first goal of the match! A crucial goal! Udinese's brilliant play!"

The Emirates Stadium erupted. Arsenal fans furiously booed, while Udinese fans cheered and sang loudly. The commentator lavished praise on Udinese and Bruno.

"This is truly an 'abnormal' game! Udinese leads Arsenal 3-1 away! Just eleven minutes after Arsenal narrowed the gap to one goal, Udinese has stretched it back to two!"

"Udinese's performance is astonishing and respectable! They have achieved something many stronger teams couldn't!"

"Bruno's shot might have been his second of the match, but it resulted in a goal! He truly is Udinese's key player—this goal is crucial, stabilizing the team and hitting Arsenal's morale hard!"

"A brilliant attacking move, Arsenal's defense was completely outplayed by Udinese's players! Flamini made a critical error by not keeping up when Bruno accelerated into the box..."

Udinese's substitutes and coaches rushed to the sidelines, hugging and celebrating the goal. On the pitch, Udinese's players were even more ecstatic. As Bruno tried to get up and run to the corner flag to celebrate, Di Natale pulled him back to the ground.

"Don't run, kid! Stay here and celebrate in their penalty area!" Di Natale said, piling on top of him.

Widmer, Immobile, and Adnan also joined, burying Bruno beneath them. Bruno, pinned underneath, pounded the ground with his fist, either from excitement or being unable to breathe.

In contrast, Arsenal players stood in disbelief. They couldn't fathom how their team, having dominated the game, scored only once, while Udinese scored thrice.

What was happening? Why?

Nothing suggested Arsenal should lose to Udinese—they were stronger, playing at home, and had just defeated league leaders Leicester City...

This match should have been a sweet victory after a main course. Instead, the dessert was too rich, ruining their appetite. They could only look at the dessert, feeling powerless.

With seventeen minutes left, their defeat seemed inevitable.

"Bruno! Bruno's sliding shot! It's in! It's in! What a beautiful goal! This is a victory for Udinese's teamwork! They've given Arsenal a great lesson: nothing is more important than the team!"

"Udinese leads Arsenal 3-1. Today, Udinese seems invincible!"

"Arsenal might have to accept another early exit from the Champions League, marking six consecutive years of falling in the first knockout round..."

"Once, Real Madrid failed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for five consecutive years, earning the nickname 'Dream Eight.' Now, Arsenal has surpassed Real Madrid, becoming the true 'Dream Eight' team!"

"This result is stunning... A mighty Arsenal losing at home to a smaller team like Udinese..."

"Before Bruno's goal, Udinese's performance was near-perfect. Their teamwork outsmarted Arsenal's entire defense!"

On TV, Udinese players helped Bruno to his feet. Despite looking a bit disheveled, Bruno waved to the Udinese fans in the stands along with his teammates.

The 2,000 Udinese fans at the Emirates Stadium were the happiest people in the world at that moment.

"Bruno! Bruno!! Bruno!!!"

They chanted Bruno's name, expressing their love for him.

After Udinese's celebration, the game resumed. Wenger substituted the ineffective Sánchez with Welbeck, shifting Arsenal to a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Özil and Ramsey as the wide midfielders.

Sánchez walked off the pitch, displeased, perhaps upset about being substituted at a crucial moment or frustrated with his performance...

Welbeck's introduction aimed to boost Arsenal's aerial threat in Udinese's box, as Bruno had cleared several opportunities. Neither Sánchez, Giroud, Walcott, nor Ramsey had managed to win those aerial duels.

Seeing Arsenal's substitution, Guidolin made his own changes. He replaced the exhausted captain Di Natale with French striker Théréau and brought on Iturra for Adnan.

These substitutions strengthened their defense, acknowledging that Di Natale, with his energy spent, wouldn't contribute much. Fresh legs were needed.

Switching to a 5-3-2 formation, Guidolin positioned Bruno as a central defender, forming a three-man backline with Vidic and Maguire.

Leading by two goals with limited time left, Guidolin aimed to secure the victory.

Ramsey was relieved that Bruno had finally stopped marking him. He had been driven to his limit.

Initially, Ramsey thought the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner Bruno excelled at attacking and playmaking, as his stats showed he had produced more goals than Messi and Ronaldo over the past two years.

Everyone had weaknesses, Ramsey believed. Given Bruno's offensive prowess, his defense should be his weakness.

However, throughout the seventy-plus minutes, Ramsey saw a different Bruno. His defense was nearly flawless, regardless of Ramsey's tricks. Forced to the baseline, Ramsey's crosses were hurried and often unsuccessful.

He was on the verge of breaking down.

Scoring more than Messi and Ronaldo, surpassing Özil in playmaking, and defending like a top defensive midfielder—how could such a monster exist?

Relieved, Ramsey thought he was finally free of Bruno's shadow. He was wrong. Widmer and Badu teamed up to mark him, making a 2v1 situation no easier.

Arsenal's attack quickly shifted to Özil's side.

When Özil's cross reached the goal, all eyes were on that area.

Giroud didn't take the shorter Bruno seriously. Although Bruno had just won the Ballon d'Or, Giroud believed he could out-jump him by a wide margin, given his ten-centimeter height advantage.

But in the next second, as Giroud began to jump, he realized Bruno was already in front of him!

Bruno, leaping high, headed the ball away before Giroud could reach it.

Giroud, astonished, watched Bruno's retreating figure. He never expected his sure goal to be intercepted.

"Okay, I admit I underestimated him. Next time, I'll show my real skills..." Giroud told himself.

(End of Chapter)

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