When the whistle blew, the atmosphere at Wembley Stadium reached its peak!
"The match is over!!! The match is over!!!" Amidst the loud cheers of the surrounding fans, WrightAtkinson stood on the trembling stands, clutching the microphone and roaring madly.
"Luton!!! Luton has reached the final!! They are the biggest dark horse in FA Cup history!!!!!"
"Even if they lose to their opponents in the final, it will not diminish their dark horse status in the slightest!!!!!"
A League Two team reaching the FA Cup final sounds like absolute fantasy now.
Gao bo rushed onto the field the moment the whistle blew, running wildly with his hands raised.
Luton's players also followed behind him, whether they were on the field or on the bench...
John didn't follow them in; he looked somewhat disbelieving, staring blankly at the big screen at Wembley Stadium.
Three to one!
The bright red score gradually blurred before his eyes.
"The final.... the FA Cup final..."
Mel, standing beside John, muttered as he put a hand on John's shoulder...
Arsenal players collapsed onto the ground, Walcott's last shot having seemingly drained all his strength. The 'Little Tiger' lay on the grass with his hands covering his face, and beside him was Van Persie clutching his thigh.
The Dutchman had cramped up again.
Luton's players were running and celebrating wildly, while for many Arsenal players, they barely had the strength to move a finger...
Young Luton faced a relatively young Arsenal, but in terms of stamina, Luton had the last laugh. Even after one hundred and twenty minutes of play, they still had the energy to run around and celebrate on the field.
Wenger remained seated in the dugout, the celebrations of the Luton players gradually blurring before his eyes. Finally, the old French coach stood up and walked onto the pitch.
Fabregas, who was lying on the ground crying, was pulled up by Wenger.
"We'll come back next year, Fabregas..." Wenger embraced the young Spanish player, who was in tears, and patted his back.
Afterward, Wenger walked over to Van Persie; this was his favorite player.
"You did well enough, Robin!!" Wenger opened his arms and embraced the Dutchman.
"We have a young squad, and the Premier League title should return to our trophy room next season!!" Wenger said.
Arsenal's luck wasn't great; they had incurred huge debts due to the new stadium, forcing them to cut expenses. However, with Arsenal's heritage, they could still be competitive in the Premier League, but Chelsea had risen with money, and now Manchester City seemed to have found an even bigger backer...
The Premier League title... seemed to be getting further and further away from Arsenal.
Without increased investment, buying various young players like scratching lottery tickets, it would be difficult for such a team to maintain stable and sustained competitiveness throughout a long season. Wenger was well aware of this, but he didn't believe Arsenal had no chance of winning the title.
Who says you can't win trophies with young players?
Wenger lifted his spirits and comforted his players one by one.
Gao Bo's celebration didn't last too long. Once he had calmed down a bit, he saw that Wenger was still on the field.
Gao bo walked over proactively.
"Mr. Arsène!!" Go extended his hand.
Wenger, despite losing the match, was quite gracious; he also extended his hand.
"Congratulations to your team on advancing!!" Wenger extended his hand, "We were unlucky."
Wenger wouldn't admit that Arsenal was eliminated due to a lack of strength.
"We were quite lucky..." Gao bo grinned; he didn't argue with Wenger about it.
"I think I'll see you in the Premier League soon,"
Wenger said.
Given Gao bo's achievements this season, Championship teams and some lower-to-mid-table Premier League teams would surely welcome him if they were looking for a new manager.
"Perhaps..." Gao Bo, however, had no interest in this topic at all.
His gaze was fixed on Wilshere, who was sitting on the Arsenal bench.
"Wilshere is a good player..."
Wenger raised an eyebrow; he immediately knew what Gao bo meant.
"No chance!!!"
Wenger flatly refused.
Wilshere was Wenger's treasure; he wouldn't let him leave the team, not even on loan.
Gao bo clicked his tongue; he hadn't really expected to get this talented midfielder whom Wenger regarded as Arsenal's future. The reason he said that was to test Wenger's stance and see if there was any possibility of a loan, after all, Wilshere was only seventeen and certainly wouldn't be a starter at Arsenal for the time being...
However, judging by Wenger's tone, this matter was completely non-negotiable..
Gao bo wasn't too disappointed; he was just trying his luck. If Wenger had agreed, it would have been a stroke of fortune, and if he didn't, Highbury had nothing to lose...
The two didn't exchange many pleasantries. Having lost, Wenger was naturally in a bad mood; he quickly turned and walked into the players' tunnel, while Highbury was immediately pulled away by his excited players...
....
Reporters in the press box were either writing furiously or typing on their laptops.
For the media, time was money.
This match had definitely made history! A League Two team reaching the final – there was so much news to be made from this!
Look at the journey this team took to reach the final.
They defeated Chelsea two-nil and eliminated Preston two-nil.
What was breathtaking was that they faced Manchester City in the fifth round, and the result was astonishing! Luton humiliated Mark Hughes' team four-nil at home!!
In the quarter-finals, they defeated Coventry two-one with a last-minute goal. After reaching the semi-finals, Luton continued to create miracles; they pushed Arsenal into extra time at Wembley and finally wore them down with their physical advantage, winning three-one!! This score ultimately sent them to the final!!
If Luton were to lift the trophy in the end, it would be the biggest legend in FA Cup history! A legend created by a team from League Two.
"We don't know who our opponent in the final will be yet, but whether it's Liverpool or Everton, they are both incredibly strong opponents for us..." Gao bo said into the reporter's microphone in front of a backdrop full of sponsor advertisements.
"We will focus on doing our best, and then we'll see what happens!"
When Gao bo returned to the locker room after the post-match press conference, the team's celebration was still ongoing.
The locker room was a mess. Vardy was shirtless, awkwardly dancing with Drinkwater, while the rest of the team was gathered in a circle cheering them on.
Kante didn't join in the fun; he was comfortably soaking in the pool with hot water.
Gao bo tapped the tactics board.
"Alright everyone!! Come over here now!!!"
The players immediately stopped and gathered around Gao bo; they knew Gao bo definitely had something to say.
"N'Golo, put on some pants and cover yourself up!!! This isn't a size competition..."
The players laughed.
Kante got Dressed, giving Gao bo a rather eye-watering sight.
"Alright everyone, the final!! We've reached the final!!! You all did a great job!!!" Gao bo said.
The players cheered; reaching the final was indeed enough to make them happy.
"In my country, there's a saying that goes, if the journey to your destination is one hundred kilometers, then you've only reached the halfway point when you've walked ninety kilometers!"
"We've reached the final, but that's only half the task completed!"
"I believe you've all heard the saying, the runner-up is the biggest loser! Since we've reached the final, we are going for the championship!!"
"The final hasn't been played yet, and it's far too early to relax!!"
Gao bo's tone became somewhat stern. The players were celebrating too much, and he needed to rein them in; after all, their goal was the championship!
The players gradually understood. This was only the semi-final; strictly speaking, they hadn't won any honors yet!
"We should save the celebration for after the final!!!" Kevin Keane was the first to stand up and respond to Gao bo.
Soon, other players also voiced their agreement.
Gao bo smiled and nodded, satisfied with the captain's work.