At this moment, the director's camera also focused on Arteta's face. This decision truly surprised all the fans.
He, who always sought victory through stability, dared to call Messi, who had just joined the team and hadn't been there long, onto the field at such a time.
This was too unexpected.
The current score was 3-1. After Ronaldo had just pulled one back, Arteta naturally knew that Messi would definitely be eager to play at such a moment, so he arranged this opportunity.
With less than 20 minutes left in the match, what issues could arise in such a short time? Since the fans wanted to see it, let them see their fill.
As Messi came to the sidelines to warm up, the players on the field gradually noticed this figure. When they realized that it was Messi warming up, they all broke out in a cold sweat.
For the Manchester United players, they themselves didn't know whether this was good news or bad news.
Messi's skills were evident to everyone. Being able to maintain such a high level of performance for over a decade and winning seven Ballon d'Or awards, such formidable strength naturally needed no doubt.
However, he had just joined the team, and perhaps he couldn't fully adapt to the team's original tactics. In that case, it might also create some new loopholes for them to exploit.
On the other hand, the Arsenal players were all very excited and enthusiastic about Messi warming up. They naturally hoped Messi would play. With such a big lead, it was impossible to lose!
However, some people within the team started to worry. Messi's position was mainly attacking midfielder to forward. If he were to play in the next ten-plus minutes, he would inevitably replace someone. Who would it be?
First of all, Cao Baming himself was a defender, so he wouldn't be substituted. Then the pressure fell on Henry and Martinelli.
Or perhaps Ødegaard. What decision would Arteta make? No one knew, but these players were all striving to show better form in the next few minutes.
At such a time, whoever was substituted off would be embarrassed. Wouldn't that mean they were worse than the other two?
The match time reached exactly the 80th minute. At this time, Maguire of Manchester United committed a foul on Henry during a tackle, and the referee awarded a free kick.
At the same time, Messi was preparing to come on as a substitute!
Although most of the fans in the stands were Manchester United fans and Ronaldo fans, a star like Messi naturally had immense popularity. The entire stadium instantly erupted with thunderous cheers and screams once again.
This historic moment would be remembered by everyone!
At this moment, the players on the field were preparing for this free kick. At this point in time, having such an opportunity on the left side of the penalty area, about 30 meters from the goal, was truly rare!
Cao Baming walked forward from the defense all the way to the front. According to the previous agreement, the second free kick was supposed to be taken by Henry, but to match the gaze of the old man, Cao Baming also stood by the ball.
Cao Baming and Henry stood on either side of the ball, one on the left and one on the right. At this moment, the human wall seemed like nothing. Everyone knew that these two were capable of shooting directly!
And it was difficult to defend against the shots of either of these two.
At this moment, De Gea's psychological shadow had already surpassed the entire stadium. He had never seen such a powerful free kick. Even with ten more years of skill, he would find it hard to defend against this shot.
He even shivered just thinking about the goalkeeper who was previously injured by Cao Baming.
Who dared to catch this ball? Catching it was directly life-threatening!
This was an experience that everyone had witnessed. Cao Baming had only been playing for one season, and no less than three goalkeepers had been incapacitated by him. Some had broken arms, some had fractured fingers, and some had even suffered concussions.
Arteta on the sidelines knew that this free kick was to be taken by Henry, but the Manchester United players did not. So, one by one, they all looked nervously at the ball. They couldn't be sure if the ball was going to be shot directly or if it would be passed through the wall.
The referee quickly walked up to the two of them, brought the whistle to his lips, and prepared to blow. At this moment, all the fans held their breath and focused their gaze on the ball!
Direct shot! Direct shot! The fans shouted in their hearts!
The referee blew the whistle. Cao Baming made a feint and ran forward. In the next second, Henry immediately took a shot, a long-range curler!
All the fans watched the ball intently as it gradually approached the goal, flying forward like a crescent moon!
De Gea, completely undisturbed, reacted in time and made a save, successfully catching the ball. All the Manchester United fans gave a thunderous applause for De Gea's heroic save.
The nickname "Manchester United's Goalkeeper God" wasn't just for show. There was a reason why so many people called De Gea "Daddy." This was skill.
Henry shook his head in frustration afterwards, a look of guilt on his face.
At this moment, Messi had entered the field. For the next kick-off, he would be replacing Ødegaard. The assistant referee on the sidelines had already displayed the jersey numbers of the two players.
"Ah, what a shame, it was just a little bit short. De Gea is too strong!"
"If you ask me, the free kick should have been given to Cao Baming to take directly. Even if De Gea reacted quickly, he wouldn't be able to save Cao Baming's free kick!"
"Yeah, yeah. To block that shot, you'd have to lose at least one hand!"
At this moment, the fans were discussing heatedly. It seemed that Cao Baming's reputation had directly surpassed Henry's.
The success rate of free kicks was generally not high, but with these two taking the free kicks, the fans' expectations were raised to the extreme. If the ball wasn't kicked into the goal, they would be extremely disappointed!
Messi's gaze was as calm and composed as ever. He walked forward, observing his surroundings.
The players were walking back to the kick-off spot, preparing to restart the game. The eyes of the entire stadium, many people's eyes, were drawn to that figure.
"That's right. If Messi had come on two minutes earlier, perhaps the chance of scoring would have increased quite a bit by having him take this free kick!"
"Messi is a free-kick master, that's universally acknowledged, absolutely no doubt. Maybe if he was on the field, those two wouldn't have gotten the chance to take the free kicks!"