Henry, with his head entirely bandaged like a mummy after being treated in the infirmary, emerged and saw another player being kicked off the field opposite him. He instantly felt better! This guy looked far more seriously injured than he was! For a moment, his wounds didn't even hurt. He strode towards the seats by the sidelines and sat down on the bench.
On the field, the referee quickly blew his whistle, and the game continued! The injury was legitimate, and Cao Baming had only made a normal shot! The score had already reached 4:0. Not only had the regular time of the first half passed, but it had also exceeded it by a full five minutes. With two injury stoppages plus a video review, the assistant referee on the sideline announced a substantial eight minutes of added time! Bournemouth had no choice but to make a forced substitution, bringing on their second-choice goalkeeper.
Mikel Arteta was secretly pleased. "You force me to make a substitution, and I'll do the same!" he thought. "This is just returning the favor!" Although the difference in skill between Bournemouth's two goalkeepers wasn't significant, for Arsenal, Henry's departure and the substitution of Bukayo Saka completely changed the rhythm of the game. Perhaps due to his recent arrival at the club, his coordination with Cao Baming wasn't as seamless, leading to frequent wasted opportunities in the final few minutes. Cao Baming was extremely frustrated, and the main referee soon blew the whistle to signal the end of the first half.
The fans were suddenly wrenched from a thrilling dream, as if waking up. Everything that had just happened was too dramatic. At this moment, Cao Baming wasn't thinking about any of that. His sole focus was the hat-trick, his objective for the match. But that last shot, despite having a 92% chance of directly entering the net, had been saved by the goalkeeper. His luck was truly terrible. He was forced to provide another assist, this time to Vinícius Júnior, who scored his first goal for Arsenal.
A 4:0 scoreline wasn't entirely a bad thing for Bournemouth. During the halftime break, from the top brass to the coaches and players, they had all given up. There was no hope for this match, so they might as well play recklessly.
Soon, the second half began. By this time, the opposing players had lost the initial spark they had at the start of the first half. They were even too lazy to specifically mark Cao Baming. Seeing this, he naturally wouldn't hold back. He transitioned directly from midfield to the forward position. He had to personally take charge in the second half, no matter what. Originally, Henry was up front, but now even Henry was gone.
In the 48th minute, Cao Baming received the ball in the center and unleashed a long-range shot, scoring! Another goal! The hat-trick arrived as he intended! This long-range shot was from over thirty meters away from the goal. At this position, the shot's trajectory had over 80% accuracy, something unseen in the first half. In the same position, the probability would have been only fifty or sixty percent in the first half, but now it was over eighty percent! The reason for this was naturally the impact on their mentality; the defensive intensity had greatly diminished. The numbers for the shot's trajectory were related not only to the current shooting attribute but also significantly to the current defensive intensity of the opponent's team. For instance, in the previous match against Manchester City, such long-range shooting opportunities were scarce, and the score for a shot from this distance would only be around 40%.
Regardless, he had secured the hat-trick. How much time was left in the match? There were still 40 minutes! Finally, it was time for the highly anticipated "play freely" segment! The score was now 5:0. Even Arteta couldn't say much. Even aiming for stability at this point felt excessive. Instantly, Arsenal switched to a three-at-the-back formation, with Cao Baming pushing up to the forward line.
Freed from his defensive duties, Cao Baming returned to his favorite role as a midfield organizer. Although Henry was no longer up front, this was where the challenge lay! Upon closer inspection, the numbers on the passing routes indeed appeared to have decreased significantly.
Five minutes later, Cao Baming spotted a very clear passing lane, directly towards Vinícius Júnior on the wing. He had already given him two chances earlier, but the passing success rate hadn't been as high as this time. Given this, he chose to trust him, as he was now the most likely to score up front. Cao Baming dribbled left from midfield, executed an elaborate skill to get past two midfielders, and then unexpectedly passed the ball.
At this point, Vinícius Júnior had a significant amount of space to receive the ball. Before passing, Cao Baming had even planned the scoring route for him: just one step forward and a shot to the front right of his body would be enough. However, to his surprise, Vinícius Júnior passed the ball back. Cao Baming looked helpless. After receiving the pass, he had no other choice but to take the shot himself.
"GOALLLLLLLLLL!!" A "curved moon knife" shot, the ball sliced through the air and found the back of the net! "Cao Baming! It's him again! No one can stop his scoring spree now!" "A brace... no, a quadruple!!!" Cao Baming let out a deep sigh. "It's still best to rely on myself!"
The players on the field celebrated the goal again. Even his teammates were getting tired, unsure how many times they had celebrated already! Bournemouth was completely demoralized, their faces expressionless. He recalled how they had been beaten by this very team early last season in the Europa League, with Arsenal suffering a humiliating 0-3 defeat! Now, Arsenal boasted a host of stars and was a completely different team. The humiliation of the past would be repaid tenfold! And it had now been achieved!
6:0! Double the score from the previous match, and they had kept a clean sheet! This was the best revenge, bar none! As an Arsenal fan, he felt extremely satisfied. But the slaughter wasn't over. There were still thirty minutes left until the match ended. Telling them this number would be like recounting a horror story, with the terror index maxed out!
In the 70th minute, Elneny made a diagonal switch. Cao Baming was the first to receive the ball, instinctively controlling it with a few touches, and then lofted a pass towards the wing. This time, the target was still Vinícius Júnior, although the distance was a bit further. After scoring that goal at the end of the first half, he had earned the fans' praise and was now brimming with confidence!