Chapter 685 - 128: The Gunners’ Tyrant’s Rule: A Mix of Kindness and Power for the Bar Brawl

"But he realized what had happened and immediately sent the person to the hospital, so the matter was dropped. Who knew it would be dredged up again now, with them threatening to sue him."

Wenger rubbed his brow, looking extremely troubled.

"Professor, this is a minor issue. How come it wasn’t quashed earlier?" Wang Shuo asked, confused.

Forget about something this minor. How big was that whole affair with Giggs and his sister-in-law?

And wasn’t that kept under wraps for ages?

Back when I was at Dortmund, the team had plenty of incidents, and they were almost always handled before they could blow up.

As long as it wasn’t too outrageous, it would never make it to the papers.

This is a form of protection for the players.

"The Sun Newspaper didn’t give me any warning before they published it!" Wenger said, clearly annoyed.

Wang Shuo immediately realized the problem.

"And look at that article in the Sun Newspaper. It’s full of vague details, misleading statements, and it’s clearly trying to spin a narrative."

Wang Shuo had noticed that as well.

For example, the report said the female student went to the restroom, and her boyfriend went looking for her but was stopped by two security guards.

Based on Wang Shuo’s current understanding, if what Alexandre Song said was true, then the female university student must have heard that Alexandre Song was there after she left the restroom, so she ran over to get his autograph.

Her boyfriend came looking, saw her, and ran over as well, only to be stopped by the bodyguards.

But the problem is, the way the report pieces together all these vague fragments, it’s easy for people to jump to conclusions: the female student goes into the restroom, Alexandre Song follows her in to harass her, and has his bodyguards block her boyfriend at the door.

That changes the nature of the incident completely!

Is this just a simple assault case anymore?

And it fucking happened in Africa!

Also, it says it’s suspected assault, but at the time of the incident, the police didn’t even file a case, let alone arrest Alexandre Song.

But the Sun Newspaper said that if he is found guilty, he faces up to two years in prison.

What if he’s not found guilty, or if there’s no such charge at all?

They don’t mention that!

’These paparazzi have completely mastered the art of yellow journalism!’

’Leave it to the originators of the paparazzi!’

Before, Wang Shuo was just an ordinary player and didn’t need to worry about these things at all.

Besides, the media in Germany is actually relatively disciplined.

’Who would have thought that just a few days after coming to the Premier League and becoming captain, I’d be handed a welcome gift like this.’

"What do you make of it?" Wenger asked, his head throbbing.

"Public opinion is spiraling out of control. Someone is definitely fanning the flames behind the scenes. They’re trying to disrupt our team’s morale!"

"Will Saunders said the same thing."

After a pause, Wenger sighed. "Public opinion is heavily against us right now. Some fans are already demanding the club deal with this ’violent thug.’"

Wang Shuo thought for a moment before replying, "I think the most important thing right now is to first determine the truth of the matter."

Wenger paused, stunned, and looked up at Wang Shuo.

"If he genuinely did something wrong, then there’s nothing more to say. He should be punished accordingly, and we’ll accept the consequences."

"But if he’s truly been framed, then no matter how vicious the media gets, we have to stand by him and clear his name."

"Otherwise, the media will think we’re a bunch of pushovers. Anyone will be able to come after us looking for a payout, and we’ll be in for a world of hurt down the line."

Wenger nodded, "So you mean..."

"The top priority is to immediately send someone to Cameroon to investigate. We need to find out what really happened, contact those two university students, and get the most direct, solid evidence."

We won’t get to the bottom of something that happened in Cameroon by sitting here in London, United Kingdom.

If Arsenal rashly makes a public statement now and ends up backing the wrong person, the consequences will be disastrous.

As the team captain, Wang Shuo wanted to protect his teammate, but he couldn’t let it affect him personally.

What happens if he comes out in strong support of Alexandre Song, only to find out it really was a violent assault?

On the other hand, if Alexandre Song truly was framed, Wang Shuo felt this was a perfect opportunity.

’An opportunity to rebuild the locker room’s unity!’

It’s the same principle behind why Mourinho always creates an external enemy.

What’s more, the "enemy" Wang Shuo was targeting was a just cause, and his methods were completely aboveboard.

Everything would be built on the foundation of truth!

...

"I should go with Will Saunders myself!"

When Wang Shuo returned to the hotel and discussed the matter with Shen Qinghe, explaining his proposed solution and his concerns, Shen Qinghe volunteered to go.

"No," Wang Shuo blurted out, rejecting her suggestion.

"It’s a long journey from London to Cameroon, and besides that, Douala is a mess. You can’t go."

Wang Shuo’s tone was full of concern.

Hearing the concern in his voice made Shen Qinghe’s heart flutter, but it only strengthened her resolve.

"What’s there to be afraid of? Will Saunders is going, isn’t he? If I go myself, you’ll have more peace of mind."

Wang Shuo understood what she meant.

Ultimately, he was also worried that Arsenal might try to cover up the truth.

If that happened, things would be fine for the time being, but if the truth ever came out later, it would be an indelible stain on Wang Shuo’s reputation.

Most importantly, assaulting a Black university student, with potential sexual assault involved—if that were true, the nature of the act would be absolutely vile.

"Still no. I’ll have Thomas Essien go with Will Saunders."

After a pause, Wang Shuo added, "I really won’t be able to rest easy if you go."