Matt and Adam had been warming up on the sidelines for quite a while as the first half neared its end.
"It looks like Luton Town won't be making any changes before halftime," Letkinson remarked from the commentary box.
Ethan had no intention of substituting anyone yet — especially not Hassan Ali.
The young winger had recently begun showing signs of confidence on the pitch. If Ethan were to pull him off now, it might shatter the progress he had worked so hard to nurture.
In fact, it was Ethan's own tactical decision to push Hassan Ali higher up the pitch, tasking him with pressing Arsenal's technically gifted players. Even though it hadn't gone entirely to plan early on, Ethan recognized that the struggle wasn't Hassan Ali's fault — it was a result of the manager's tactical gamble.
And Ethan was not the kind of coach to lose faith in his players because of his own misjudgment.
Fortunately, after adjusting Hassan Ali's role, things had started to look up.
Showing impressive stamina and agility, Hassan Ali clung to Fabregas like glue, disrupting the Spaniard's rhythm. One of Arsenal's most dangerous playmakers, who had bossed the early stages of the match, was now struggling to find any space.
Across the pitch, Luton's players showed great resilience. Even under Arsenal's relentless pressure, they fought hard, demonstrating real grit and character.
When building his team, Ethan had always prioritized mental toughness alongside skill. Today, that philosophy was paying off: Luton weren't easy to break down.
Wenger had expected Luton to push forward in the dying moments of the half, but surprisingly, they stayed compact.
The Frenchman was slightly disappointed — he had prepared for a counter-attack — but with Arsenal still in control of the match, he wasn't overly concerned.
The final minutes of the first half saw Arsenal probing once again. They tried to break through Luton's defense with sharp passing and quick movement, but couldn't carve out another clear chance.
At the other end, Luton struggled to transition into attack. Vardy found himself isolated and tightly marked, sandwiched between Kolo Touré and Silvestre, barely able to get a touch on the ball.
Luton were simply outmatched in individual quality.
On the bench, the atmosphere was heavy — except for Ethan.
Despite the scoreline, Ethan saw reasons for hope.
Several successful tackles from his midfielders, particularly from N'Golo Kanté, gave him optimism.
Ethan had equipped his squad with a "steal success rate" bonus card from his tactical system, and it was clearly working — the number of interceptions and clean tackles had increased significantly.
As Van Persie fired a long-range shot over the bar, the referee blew the halftime whistle.
"Halftime at Wembley! Arsenal lead 1–0 over Luton Town," Letkinson announced excitedly. "Luton, the giant-killers of this season's FA Cup, are trailing for the first time in this magical run. Can they turn it around? We'll find out after the break — stay tuned!"
Could Luton pull off another miracle?
Even their most die-hard fans weren't sure.
Yet there was no sadness among the traveling Luton supporters.
As the players trudged toward the tunnel, the fans stood and roared in support, chanting and applauding their heroes.
The players' faces were serious and tense, but they still raised their hands to acknowledge the fans' unwavering encouragement.
Among the crowd sat a group of Chinese journalists, watching with keen interest.
A Chinese coach had led a second-division English side to the FA Cup semifinals — a story that had set off a media frenzy back home.
Who exactly was Ethan?
The Chinese football community desperately wanted answers.
Whichever media outlet could land the first exclusive interview with him would rake in enormous traffic — and in the internet age, traffic meant money.
Unfortunately, none had succeeded yet. Ethan, focused solely on preparing his team, had turned down all interview requests from both English and Chinese outlets alike.
"What's the big deal? He's just a coach from the lower leagues," a middle-aged journalist scoffed as he turned to his younger colleague. He shook his head dismissively, but even he couldn't hide his curiosity.
They were reporters for the widely circulated Sports Daily in China. A few days earlier, they had tried to arrange an interview, but Luton had turned them away.
"You can't say that, Editor Zhang," the young reporter said. "I heard they're close to promotion. And it's not just luck that got them to the FA Cup semi-finals. They knocked out Chelsea and Manchester City to get here! That coach clearly knows what he's doing."
"Hmph... knowing what he's doing, my ass..." the middle-aged man muttered. "You think I don't know the level of football back home? In this kind of broken football environment, you think someone can just become a famous coach? Even if Luton somehow made it to the FA Cup semi-finals, they're still small fry in England. And their coach? He's just lucky."
"Let me tell you something, Little Liu," he said, shaking his head, "a coach who doesn't know how to handle people won't last more than three years. Mark my words — once they're knocked out tonight and the hype dies down, who's even going to remember his name?"
Xiao Liu, however, quietly disagreed. He had done his homework. He knew how Ethan had turned things around after taking over at Luton — how the team had been struggling near the bottom before he arrived. But he didn't dare argue too loudly with his senior. After all, his colleague had been in the newspaper business for nearly twenty years, while he himself was just a junior reporter, barely a year into the job. Better not to cause trouble.
That said, there was one point where he did agree: Luton's chances tonight were slim. After Arsenal took the lead in the first half, if Luton wanted to equalize, they'd have to press hard — and pressing aggressively would leave even more space for Arsenal to exploit. With Arsenal's firepower, grabbing another goal or two in the second half would be child's play.
Of course, the reporters' conversation had no effect on Ethan's halftime plans.
After consoling Hassan Ali, Ethan announced two substitutions at the start of the second half: Adam and Matt would be coming on for Hassan Ali and Lewis Emanuel.
The players naturally thought that the coach was preparing to go all-out on offense. But Ethan's instructions were a little different.
"Look for Ebb whenever you get the ball," Ethan said, pulling Adam aside. "Their full-back likes to press high — draw the foul if you can!"
Adam nodded firmly. He hadn't had many starts lately, mostly used as a second-half substitute due to his limited stamina. A player who could only go 45 minutes wasn't cut out to be a regular starter. Ethan hoped Adam could improve his fitness over time — maybe by next season he could last 60 or 70 minutes — but for now, he had to be used strategically.
"We need to win more free kicks in the second half!" Ethan shouted, addressing the whole team. "Get them rattled! Target their heads!"
The players nodded, fired up for the second half.