Chapter 52: The Fierce Competition for the Chief Wingman Position

Chapter 52: The Fierce Competition for the Chief Wingman

“Lemo!! He’s scored a golden goal for Arsenal! Arsenal equalizes!”

Schmitz, the commentator on Germany’s Sports Channel One, frowned as he spoke.

“Lemo’s positioning is incredibly sharp. He timed his run almost perfectly, found the optimal path, and calmly slotted home that one-on-one finish!”

“Prior to this, reports from England described Lemo as a very mature player, possessing a maturity beyond his years. Now, it seems those rumors weren’t exaggerated at all!”

Schmitz is a well-known tactical analyst in German football circles. Before turning to commentary, he spent many years as a tactical coach for Bundesliga teams like Hamburg.

In other words, he’s an expert.

To many fans, Lemo’s composed chip shots might lack the spectacle of thunderous long-range strikes, powerful headers, or dribbling through multiple defenders to score into an open net.

But for coaches, aesthetics are irrelevant.

All they care about is goals.

Goals scored in the most efficient way possible!

Without a doubt, Lemo is the kind of striker every head coach dreams of having.

He is the cold, ruthless killer inside the penalty area.

Whenever he gets a chance, he can reliably put the ball into the net.

Compared to players who might take a dozen or twenty shots per match, holding over 70% of the team’s attacking resources but still manage to score, Lemo is a breath of fresh air—he demands relatively little tactical accommodation from the team.

“He might suit many Bundesliga teams very well,” said Kahn, the former captain of both Germany and Bayern Munich, now a guest commentator on Sports Channel One.

“Like Bayern, for example?” Schmitz joked.

Kahn laughed heartily.

“Maybe we really are lacking a player like that.”

“Well, can he score against your goal?” Schmitz teased.

Kahn blinked. “I won’t answer that.”

“What? Even the mighty Lion King Kahn dares not claim he can always stop Lemo’s one-on-one chances?”

Kahn shook his head. “I’m not a god. There’s no such thing as always stopping one-on-ones. Besides…”

He looked toward the pitch.

“That kid is the calmest young forward I've seen when facing breakaways!”

“If I had to face him,” Kahn withdrew his gaze, “to be honest, I wouldn’t be very confident.”

Schmitz was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Kahn to rate Lemo so highly.

Their banter irritated many Schalke 04 fans watching on TV.

Kahn is a Bayern legend, so it’s one thing if he doesn’t care about Schalke’s fate.

But Schmitz is Germany’s commentator.

To laugh and joke after a German team concedes? How unprofessional!

Where’s your loyalty?

Schalke fans watching at home angrily accused Sports Channel One of being too Bayern-biased and neglecting other Bundesliga teams.

Meanwhile, at the Schalke stadium, the home fans finally snapped to attention, drowning out the visiting supporters with boos.

On the sidelines, Wenger and his assistants rushed forward to celebrate.

Wenger began analyzing the entire buildup of that goal.

Giroud’s dueling, control of aerial balls, and his dropping back to link play as an attacking midfielder all impressed Wenger.

Especially Giroud’s ability to provide physical presence after dropping back, something neither Cazorla nor Wilshere could offer.

Wenger saw new tactical possibilities.

He turned to his assistant Bould and said, “Olivier’s effect after dropping back is quite good. I didn’t expect his scoring ability to be lacking, but his link-up play to be so solid.”

“Top-class, really!” Bould agreed.

“So maybe we can let him have a larger range of movement. He could drop back into midfield more often,” Wenger proposed.

“That reminds me of Fellaini,” Bould suggested.

The Belgian Everton midfielder—unstoppable in the air, excellent ball control, solid defensively, and capable of passing.

Perhaps Giroud is a defensive-weak but passing-strong version of Fellaini?

Wenger stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, deep in thought.

Since Diaby’s injury, the team has been experimenting tactically—because the defensive midfield position is a weakness, they’ve had to patch holes here and there, causing the whole system to falter.

For example, to protect Lemo, the team prefers to play two strikers.

But with two strikers, the midfield becomes thin.

Either the attacking midfield or defensive midfield position is short-staffed.

In short, every area seems vulnerable.

But now Giroud’s initiative to expand his range opened up a new possibility—could Giroud take on some of the attacking midfielder’s responsibilities?

His passing skills are quite good.

From this perspective, the idea might work.

With that thought, Wenger called Giroud—who had just finished celebrating and was heading back—over.

“Olivier, you did well!” Wenger said.

Giroud’s heart leapt. His approach was correct.

The coach clearly values how Lemo seizes opportunities, so Wenger needs someone to shoulder more of the physical dueling and link-up play.

In this regard, Giroud can definitely outperform Walcott!

In other words, Giroud now has a slight edge in the positional battle.

“So keep playing like this. Also, expand your range of movement, and push Lemo’s position further forward!” Wenger slammed his fist into his palm with a crisp clap.

“We need goals! We need Lemo’s goals! And we need two more!!”

“Understood!” Giroud shouted.

On the bench, Walcott frowned deeply.

He knew he had lost ground in the competition again.

Previously, his rival was Lemo.

They were competing for the role of the team’s primary shooter.

In that contest, Walcott had been defeated.

Now, his competition was for the role of Lemo’s wingman.

He originally held some advantage here, since he could operate on the flanks, providing tactical variety and options.

But now Giroud had demonstrated his own strengths—dueling, aerial prowess, and link-up play.

“Giroud’s passing is really quite good.”

“He and Lemo have great chemistry.”

“Looks like training together really pays off.”

The substitute players on the bench chattered excitedly.

Walcott’s mind stirred.

Chemistry?

Yes! Chemistry!!

I must build chemistry with Lemo, too.

I will be Lemo’s chief wingman!!

Walcott thought fiercely.

(End of chapter)