A moment ago, hitting eight out of ten balls, Messi even felt he had performed exceptionally and was quite satisfied with the result. Yet, merely two minutes later, during his next attempt, he felt a pang of regret when he achieved the same score.
As Cao Baiming was taking his shot just now, Messi watched from the side. Experts see the skill, while laymen enjoy the spectacle. Messi was by no means a layman.
During his shot, his movements were fluid and natural, and one could tell from his gaze how effortless this challenge was for him.
Another opportunity arose. Cao Baiming walked forward with a glint in his eyes, reaching the shooting position. At this moment, everyone truly believed that hitting only nine balls last time was an anomaly, and that this time he might even achieve a perfect score of ten out of ten!
Arteta watched patiently from the sidelines. At this point, some of the players had already noticed his arrival.
He hadn't seen all of Messi's challenge with the eight balls; he only arrived midway and witnessed the latter part. Therefore, he hadn't counted, but the experienced Arteta could naturally tell what the players were doing on the field.
They were competing in a shooting challenge where hitting the goalpost counted as a score.
Though he hadn't counted, seeing Cao Baiming standing at the shooting spot inevitably sparked his curiosity.
Given Cao Baiming's shooting technique, this should be a trivial matter, shouldn't it? It should be effortless for him.
As expected, just as Arteta had predicted, Cao Baiming effortlessly shot the ball directly towards the goalpost.
Although the first ball didn't rebound directly to his feet, the subsequent balls were all steady. Each one struck the center of the crossbar precisely and accurately rebounded back to his feet. This feat alone left Arteta at the sidelines stunned.
In all his years of coaching, even including his playing career, he had never witnessed such a terrifying scene.
Several consecutive shots targeting the crossbar, and the ability to control the ball's trajectory and spin so that it would accurately return to his feet upon rebounding.
What terrifying control, what frightening accuracy and shooting technique! Perhaps only an alien could achieve this in the world!
At this moment, even Ronaldinho, watching from nearby, would likely be awestruck and hang his head in shame.
Cao Baiming wasted no time with his ten opportunities, quickly hitting all ten targets.
Compared to his time at Paris Saint-Germain, his shooting technique was now extremely refined, and his abilities had comprehensively improved. At this distance, hitting a goalpost was incredibly easy.
The surrounding crowd had already begun to clap by the time Cao Baiming took his last shot, because they knew that regardless of whether he hit the target or not, Cao Baiming had decisively defeated Messi.
This also underscored a deeper truth: Cao Baiming was the strongest striker in the entire Arsenal team. Although Henry hadn't participated in this challenge, he clearly understood his own position standing by, frankly admitting that his shooting skills were not even comparable to Messi's, let alone Cao Baiming's.
Just then, Cao Baiming gathered his strength and unleashed a thunderous shot, sending the final ball towards the goal to conclude the competition.
The sound was so loud it startled many onlookers. Even Arteta, standing far across the field, felt the deafening roar. This powerful shot flew directly towards the goal with a very small arc.
The sheer power and speed of the ball meant that wind resistance was irrelevant. This shot squarely hit the crossbar, emitting an even louder clang.
The entire goal frame began to shake, as if this single shot could send it flying away.
Only after witnessing a thunderous shot, and Cao Baiming's thunderous shots, could one truly understand the meaning of the term "thunderous shot."
Compared to his shots, any "thunderous shot" or "powerful ball" they had previously understood was insignificant, appearing meaningless in comparison.
As the goal frame stopped shaking, his teammates offered a second round of applause. This applause was not only to celebrate Cao Baiming's victory over Messi in this challenge but also for the last, breathtakingly powerful shot.
Arteta slowly walked over, clapping. Some who hadn't noticed him before were startled.
"Can this money be settled now, then!" Henry was the first to bring it up, and everyone chuckled.
Many of them had actually believed Messi's shooting skills surpassed Cao Baiming's. Now, they had learned a harsh lesson, losing money and imprinting it in their minds. From this day forward, it was clear who the boss of the team was; no one was in doubt!
Subsequently, those who had enthusiastically signed up became hesitant. Although they were eager to try themselves, after the near-perfect performances of the two, they felt too embarrassed to go up and make fools of themselves.
Ultimately, they had overestimated their own thick skin.
However, others didn't give them that leeway.
"Who was it that wanted to go up and try just now?"
At this moment, the head coach was also standing by, observing. From his expression, there was no intention of reminding the players to start the next training session.
Saka hesitantly stepped forward, then mustered his courage, setting an example for the others.
"It's okay, we're just playing around!"
Despite saying this, his hands were trembling, and he was extremely nervous. After all, so many pairs of eyes were watching him!
After a five-second preparation period, he finally kicked the ball, aiming for the crossbar. Ultimately, the ball struck the goalpost.
Arteta applauded from the sidelines, feeling that the others didn't want to expose him and were giving him face.
The subsequent attempts all failed. It was only when they tried themselves that they realized how strong the wind was today, significantly affecting their shots!
And yet, those two individuals had performed at such a level under these conditions!