Team Spirit

Chapter 105 (1 words, please subscribe) Water the vegetable patch and the pitch more, Arsenal issues a missing person notice.
[Ding! You have won the inaugural Golden Boy Award and received the following reward:]

[Backer - Iron 3]

[Fast Horse on the Sidelines - Bronze 2]

[Card Dealer - Bronze 2]

[Shoulder Depression Feint - Ironman: Your balance and flexibility receive a slight improvement]

[Shadow Striker - Iron: Your off-the-ball movement has been slightly improved. When positioned between other forwards and midfielders, your acceleration, speed, shooting, and passing abilities have been slightly improved.]

[Cruyff Turn - Silver: Your dribbling skills are improved. Your turning speed is improved. After using this move to dribble past an opponent, your acceleration and shooting ability are briefly improved.]

[Ding! Elite Path career total goals reached 100, completed, reward received:]

Kaka's Sun Protection Sleeves: Player Item. Silky Material. Protects against direct sunlight and prevents contact with others' skin; suitable for sensitive skin. Charm +5.

!!!

Feints, like acting skills, require talent.

Some players are so realistic in how they do things.

Some players just act fake no matter what they do.

Master-level midfielders are often full of feints. Marking them for one minute is equivalent to marking someone else for five minutes—it's exhausting.

【Shadow Striker】is a very powerful status buff skill. To put it simply, the trigger condition is that there is a striker marking you in front of you, and other midfielders cannot be positioned further forward than you.

It is well-suited for strikers, attacking midfielders, or forward-moving midfielders who like to drop deep.

The Cruyff turn, on the other hand, is quite spectacular.

This skill is commonly used on the wing to get rid of opponents chasing from behind, and can also be used to shake off defenders in front of you before passing the ball or shooting.

This move itself isn't particularly powerful, but it's highly versatile; different techniques can be seamlessly integrated to create a qualitative leap.

Unbeknownst to many, Lu Kai finally broke the 100-goal mark in the first half of his third season.

Although goals scored below the professional level were not counted in the early statistics, this is no longer a problem once Lu Kai becomes great enough.

Pele's "The Thousandth Goal" actually includes various friendly matches, invitational matches, exhibition matches, and non-professional matches.

He scored only about 750 goals in official matches, and even fewer in professional matches.

So now I'm roughly equal to one-seventh of Pele!

【Kaka's sun protection sleeves】are actual equipment, just like the headband on Lu Kai's head.

However, the colors, logo, and even the style can be customized for each game.

It will not be damaged.

Many people will remember Kaká's long-sleeved jersey look from Milan, which is very classic.

Even in his white jersey and long sleeves at Real Madrid, he looked equally dashing.

In competitive sports, physical contact is unavoidable, but sometimes it can feel uncomfortable, or even disgusting, to touch an opponent covered in sweat.

This is especially true for basketball.

Sleeves, to some extent, solve this problem for football players.

Because the upper limbs are the part of a football player most likely to make physical contact.

Suarez: Isn't it a tooth?

However, this arm sleeve equipment is not just for a look or psychological effect.

What's truly impressive is the phrase "silky smooth material".

This means that once Lu Kai puts it on, it will be much harder for his opponents to defend him by pulling his arm.

Slippery and slippery, you can't catch it, aren't you angry?

Of course, the most awesome character in this series has to be Adama Traore, the future "Devil Muscle Wolf".

Before the match, he would apply lubricant to his arms, making them sparkle and glisten, which made it impossible to catch him at all.

However, lubricant also has a side effect, which is that it may arouse the interest of some players with special fetishes. Hey, they just like this kind of feel!

……

November 26th, English Third Division, Round 19.

People are in high spirits when they have good news, and Lu Kai completed a goal and an assist in the away game against Cheltenham.

They defeated a strong opponent ranked sixth 2-0.

November 29th, League Cup Round of 16.

Dartford will travel to face League One relegation-threatened Port Vale.

The bad news is that Barton is suspended because of the red card he received in the last match against Liverpool.

The good news for Dartford is that they are currently in the relegation zone.

In addition, their main center was injured just a week ago and is expected to return in the second half of the season.

Therefore, Dartford insists on using a five-man defense as the core of their defensive tactics.

In the 17th minute, Lu Kai launched a counterattack with a long pass.

Xiao Li flew up from the left wing and delivered a cross.

The ball was grazed by the opponent; it wasn't a serious incident.

However, Eastwood made a run and turned to shoot at the ball.

Like spinning a top, it hits the magic ball.

This helped the team take a 1-0 lead.

Honestly, this kind of goal is a complete violation of the basic principles of football.

But that's Eastwood.

The Green Guns then fought back with all their might, winning the game despite receiving six yellow cards.

They've reached the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup!
While continuing to break club records, they also became one of the few teams in EFL Cup history to reach the quarterfinals from the lowest level!
What's even more outrageous is that Dartford's quarter-final opponent is... Dartford, oh wait, Arsenal!
When the draw results were announced, the whole of England was in an uproar!

It's coming, it's finally coming!
Gunners derby, a clash between red and green!
Sky Sports: "At first, it was just a regular serious injury, a regular demotion, a young academy player being abandoned, and a ninth-tier relegated team."

BBC: "Despite their constant attempts to provoke Arsenal, no one ever imagined they would actually meet a wealthy heiress."

The Times: "Arsenal fans have never taken Dartford seriously because there has never been any competition between the two sides, with the latter being like an ant."

The Manchester Evening News reported: "Even if they jumped two levels in one year and five levels in two years, the red-coated gunmen did not realize that the crisis had already arrived!"

Les Echos: "Until... Oh no! I've become a stand-in?"

Kent Post: "From now on, London is our Dartford's territory!"

The Sun: "League Cup, finally meeting, Arsenal turns green! Wenger and Henry, a showdown at the Royal VCD!"

Dongqiudi: "The Red Gun is dead, the Green Gun must rise!"

Related pre-launch hype surged instantly.

Public opinion is surging.

They completely disregarded whether Arsenal was involved in the EFL Cup match.

Anyway, if you lose this time, your junior sister will be with me from now on!
Arsenal, who have been dominated by Manchester United in the Premier League for three consecutive years, have finally seen a glimmer of hope this season.

Unexpectedly, they got stuck with this leech again in the EFL Cup.

This prompted Arsenal fans to petition Wenger to field Arsenal's starting lineup and utterly defeat Dartford!
Forget red guns and green guns, there will always be only one Gunner, and that is our invincible Arsenal!
Conversely, Dartford fans, who usually enjoy trolling Arsenal, are understandably nervous now that the imposter has suddenly met the real deal.

Everyone can only prepare themselves mentally in advance.

A moment of silence for Green Gun.

On December 16, Dartford defeated Mansfield Town 2-1 at home.

December 9th, FA Cup second round.

Dartford were unfortunately drawn against Bournemouth, a team in the third tier (League Two).

Playing on the opponent's home turf.

But they didn't get much, because only four thousand people came to Bournemouth's game.

It's not as lively as Dartford Riverside Stadium.

Even Port Vale, which played in League One in the previous round of the EFL Cup, only had about 6,000 fans in attendance, despite playing at someone else's home ground.

The returns are very limited.

These are all rubbish compared to Liverpool's game.

Dartford maintained a defensive stance against Bournemouth.

But as they continued kicking, they realized something was wrong.

It seems like they can put up a fight?
Moreover, the opposing goalkeeper is a typical English goalkeeper, whose basic skills are not very solid. Although his reactions are quick, he is not good at saving long-range shots.

In the first half, Brad scored a stunning long-range goal.

In the second half, Lu Kai scored with a powerful, tiger-like shot.

Despite Bournemouth pulling one back, Dartford still advanced 2-1 to the third round, equaling their best FA Cup result in history.

December 11th, English Third Division, Round 21.

Dartford will host Leyton Orient.

This is the former team of the team's left-back, Sherry.

Shore's transfer also caused some unpleasantness with Dartford.

Furthermore, Dartford and Leyton Orient are both ranked high teams.

Dartford are currently eighth in the league, just one step away from seventh.

Leyton Orient is currently fifth in the league, giving them a greater advantage.

As a result, in the course of the match, Sherry, relying on his familiarity with his former team, provided two assists and scored twice.

Helped the team achieve a 3-0 victory over Leyton Orient.

It seems that this team lacked the qualities of a strong team before Guo Nu took over as coach of Leyton Orient.

Tough battles won't work.

After this match, Dartford climbed back to seventh in the league, returning to the promotion zone once again.

The next match is the EFL Cup quarter-final against Arsenal!

……

[Ding! You have achieved the following in the competition:]

[A nobody on the court - Iron 2]

Shadow Striker - Iron II

[Berlin's Kneeling Tackle - Silver: Your tackling ability has been improved. Your tackles now include a leg pull-back, making you less likely to get a card. Your tackles deliver the ball with precision. You get up faster after a tackle.]

A small improvement.

The phrase "【Behring's kneeling tackle】" does not refer to a flying tackle, but rather a half-kneeling tackle while running, which can also be understood as a poking tackle.

Bellingham, Marin's son, was also known as Bellingdeer. He actually had excellent physical abilities, but he would fall over at the slightest touch during a match.

This reflects his football intelligence and playing style.

He rarely engages in unnecessary head-on confrontations, but in crucial moments, whether it's running, tackling, or shooting, he is incredibly tough.

Moreover, his softness is often based on the premise that he has already achieved his goal of passing the ball.

He often uses a half-kneeling position to make a smack tackle and pass the ball, then immediately gets up and moves forward to score.

If the traditional English midfielder follows the path of the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

Bellingham's approach follows the path of the Nine Yin Manual.

Boom boom boom!
Alfred stormed into Lu Kai's office, furious: "It's outrageous! Those damned parasites, they take the money and do nothing!"

"Lu! We must have our own stadium someday! We definitely will!"

Lu Kai quickly asked Jiang Mengyun to bring Alfred a cup of milk tea to calm him down, and to get the most expensive family bucket, since people don't look at the labels when they're in a rage.

Sure enough, after Alfred took a sip and looked at the price tag, his heart sank instantly.

"Now you can talk slowly, right?" Lu Kai helped Alfred pull out his chair.

Alfred then poured out his grievances.

The problem lies with the riverside sports field.

In European football, a large portion of club expenses goes towards stadium maintenance, specifically the maintenance of the turf.

Top-tier stadiums often need to replace their turf more than once a season.

While a regular stadium may not need to be replaced during a season, it still requires careful maintenance.

Dartford has leased Wellington United's Riverside Stadium, so the latter naturally needs to provide a suitable stadium environment.

However, the Riverside Stadium is now hosting matches for two teams, and the condition of the turf is far from ideal.

Furthermore, for commercial purposes, they even take on other commercial activities in their spare time, further worsening the condition of the turf.

Alfred has been very dissatisfied with the recent matches and has approached Welling United to have the pitch improved.

"And now look what's happened! They haven't even bothered to maintain it! The field's turned into a vegetable patch, how can anyone play football there?" Alfred said, as if he wanted to smash the bucket of milk tea in his hand.

But considering the price, I still slurped down a few mouthfuls.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Kai's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Really?"

Alfred was completely dumbfounded.

what's the situation?
This is our own sports field.

It's rotten to the core, why do you look so expectant?
“No. Our game against Arsenal will be broadcast live all over Europe!” Alfred thought Lu Kai was unaware of the implications. “Then everyone in Europe will know what our home stadium looks like.”

"It was our Green Guns guys who lost it, not Wellington Union. Nobody cares who the landlord is."

"Moreover, the poor condition of the field makes it easy for our players to get injured."

As Alfred spoke, Lu Kai became more and more excited: "Is there really such a good thing? Let's go, let's go, I have to see it with my own eyes, otherwise I won't feel at ease."

Lu Kai pulled Alfred along, called Daniel, and headed to the riverside stadium.

Daniel is a rich guy; he drives nice cars that are comfortable to ride in, and Lu Kai always goes to him when he needs to go out.

Coincidentally, Daniel also didn't want to train. Why not take advantage of the opportunity to slack off?
Upon arriving at the riverside sports field, Lu Kai looked at the vegetable patch and said, "What kind of event could possibly ruin the sports field like this?"

Daniel quickly answered, "A music festival! There was a music festival here a couple of days ago, and it was so much fun!"

Well, it seems that Brother Fu was there too.

Alfred frowned. "Lu, what do we do now? How about... we hire someone to maintain it ourselves? Then we can slowly talk to Wellington Collaboration and see if we can get them to reimburse half of it?"

Lu Kai nodded: "I'll have to spend some money myself."

“The person who went to contact their manager and asked for two water carts... never mind... in case they're not efficient, it's best if we go ourselves.”

"Hey, Aunt Jiang, you're the one who contracted with Dartford Municipal Engineering... yes, yes, send two water trucks over, I need to thoroughly water the stadium."

"The water supply must be plentiful... Yes, that's what I mean."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Kai smiled slightly.

This is what they call "every loss has its gain".

The loss was definitely due to Dartford's bad luck; they drew the match against Arsenal on their side of the pitch.

More than 6,000 people, the ticket price is meaningless.

If you were drawn to play at Highbury Stadium, with the hype surrounding the Arsenal derby, wouldn't it be packed with 40,000 people?

With ticket prices in London and Arsenal, plus various broadcasts, they made significantly more money than the Liverpool game.

such a pity.

If we bring it all over here, Dartford will be lucky to get 100,000 pounds.

The bulk of the revenue still comes from broadcasting fees.

But since it's our stadium, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the home field.

Dartford probably doesn't have much of an advantage in terms of home atmosphere.

Arsenal fans had a very easy time getting there from the city of London.

If things don't go well on-site, it's a 50/50 chance.

But this place...

That afternoon, the riverside court was transformed into the "river pond court".

Alfred and Daniel both felt pain when they saw that place.

Their pond stadium isn't that bad, is it?
Let alone the League Cup or the Third Division, even the ninth tier has much better pitch quality than this place!
That evening, after Lu Kai and his team returned, they specifically emphasized the precautions for the field to the players.

Fortunately, everyone here has worked their way up from the bottom.

Having eaten bran, one naturally learns how pigs run.

Adapting to this terrible stadium shouldn't be a problem.

Tomorrow evening, the riverside golf course will likely be an absolutely terrible course with a lot of mud and sand, extremely poor turf, an uneven surface, a soft exterior and a hard interior, and inconsistent levels of dryness and wetness.

For Arsenal, the only Premier League team known for its beautiful passing and possession football, this presents an extremely difficult challenge.

For Dartford, who are accustomed to a defensive counter-attacking style, long balls, powerful shots, and aerial attacks, the impact is very limited.

"By the way, Daniel, have someone send over a batch of tackling shorts tomorrow." Lu Kai placed an order with Daniel on the spot, factory direct sales, talking to the boss directly, Boss Recruitment, "I know nobody likes wearing these."

"But you have to wear them tomorrow, otherwise I'm afraid your thighs will be disfigured!"

"The team will cover the expenses."

"Everyone, do your best!"

"As I always say, a team winning is the only true victory!"

"Don't be intimidated just because they're Arsenal. They might not be any better than us in the EFL Cup!"

The players nodded.

After everyone had left, Alfred still felt a little uneasy: "Lu, this... after Arsenal finds out about this, they won't refuse to play, will they?"

Lu Kai shrugged: "I don't mind if we advance directly."

Alfred: "But what if Wenger criticizes us through the media?"

Lu Kai said, "But I haven't seen Celtic replace their problematic flooring... Besides, although this move is underhanded, its impact on the League Cup is limited."

"Only if this is actually used in the Champions League will it be etched in the pillar of shame."

"Don't worry, there are experts to handle the harsh insults."

A sneeze!

Far away in Portugal, Leiria's head coach Mourinho felt a chill run down his spine.

Could it be that those idiots in Barcelona are talking behind their backs?
Hmph, once Porto confirms their invitation, he can prepare to teach those guys a lesson!

……

December 15th, the day of the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

Wenger was devastated at the pre-match press conference.

In front of dozens of reporters, Wenger bluntly stated: "I don't think this match should have existed at all. The problems are too big. I have never seen such a terrible stadium!"

Alfred smiled slightly: "We don't mind Arsenal withdrawing from the competition."

Wenger: "This is a disgrace to English football! With so many spectators at the stadium, everyone will see that this is the state of a stadium in a high-level English match!"

"It is these phenomena that lead people to always look down on English football."

Alfred slightly flipped his hand and looked at the cheat sheet on it. He could only call himself the "King of Exam Prediction," or more accurately, the King of Exam Prediction!
"The Celtics didn't change their problematic flooring during the Finals, did they? But they still won the championship!"

"People have never looked down on English football for any reason other than winning championships."

"Winning is the greatest principle in football!"

"From Professor Wenger's complaints, I can only see Arsenal's lack of confidence in this game."

Wenger is about to vomit blood.

I'm number one in the Premier League standings, what confidence do I need to beat you guys?
Wenger: "Datford Stadium is irresponsible towards all the players! It has no social conscience whatsoever! How many players get injured every year because of the pitch? How many players are ruined or even forced to retire because of injuries? You are the sinners of football!"

Alfred's expression changed, and he turned to look at Lu Kai beside him.

Teacher, on which page is the key point of this question again?

Lu Kai cleared his throat, put his hand to his ear, and asked, "Did everyone hear that?"

Reporters at the scene shook their heads.

What did you hear?

Lu Kai said, "The sound of crying from afar!"

“You can’t hear it because you’re too low-level.”

"But Professor Wenger heard it; he heard the suffering in football. Only someone of such high caliber, refinement, and so on can see these problems."

"Personally, I think Professor Wenger is too underutilized as the manager of Arsenal. He should become the president of FIFA and promote the entire sport of football in a higher, faster, stronger, more humane, and more humanitarian direction."

"I absolutely support it!"

"But... I wonder if Mr. Wenger realizes that you are facing a League Three team! A fourth-tier team! A team with nearly seven million pounds in debt and a profit of less than one and a half million pounds last year and less than two hundred thousand pounds the year before!"

"You can hear the cries in the distance, but why can't you see the suffering right in front of you?"

"This stadium is our home ground. We spend half the season here. Don't we want it to be even better?"

Alfred: I really don't want that.

Lu Kai lamented, "We've raised the issue of the pitch with Wellington United many times, but they haven't done anything. What can we do?"

“We even discussed replacing the turf at our own expense in an internal club meeting, but the calculated amount was beyond what the team could afford.”

"Even if Arsenal is generous enough to help us with the money, the Riverside Stadium won't have the time to be renovated because Wellington's owners have already filled their schedule with commercial activities."

"So when Professor Wenger is questioning us here, I find it absurd."

"Don't just talk the talk, okay?"

"Go do it, do what you think can change this pitch, put your lofty ideals into practice, start with small things with a small club like Dartford, instead of talking about the whole football world, the world, the whole world, okay?"

Wenger blushed.

A small portion of it was anger.

Most of it was shame.

Because he really hadn't considered these issues before.

Did Dartford really have such a miserable life?
I've always opposed Dartford riding on Arsenal's coattails; I'm such a terrible person.

"I'm sorry, it was my oversight." Wenger admitted his mistake, which is also a virtue of the French—they're good at surrendering, bah... in modern humanities, art, and philosophy, they're at the forefront of the world.

This is the case all over Europe. You can call them hypocritical, but their spiritual realm is indeed (unintentionally) higher.

But if it's too high, it easily becomes detached from reality and thus ridiculous.

“It’s alright, it’s not your fault. People can only see what they are capable of.” Lu Kai expressed his forgiveness for Wenger. “There is no such thing as true empathy in this world, only mutual sympathy.”

When Arsenal's stadium construction began, Wenger already knew how to buy players.

How should the captain sell it?

How should the turf be replaced?

Thus, the entire Arsenal team arrived at the Riverside Stadium with anger, yet felt guilty before the match began.

It's as if I've done something wrong.

In terms of morale, there was an initial setback.

As the match date approaches, the media is reporting more and more news, which is becoming increasingly focused on the players and lineups of both sides.

Sports Weekly: "Starting lineups for the Red and Green duo revealed! EFL Cup features an Asian derby! Anki vs. Inamoto Junichi!"

The Times: "Datford to stage a London derby for the second year in a row! Last year it was Chelsea, this year it's Arsenal!"

Manchester Evening News: "The Gunners derby is about to begin, and the losing team can no longer be called the Gunners!"

BBC: "Golden Boy Derby! The world's only officially recognized Golden Boy, Lu Kai, vs. England's strongest Golden Boy, Pennant!"

The Echo: "Arsenal's derby of geniuses! The fateful duel between Lukay and Pennant!"

"In 1999, Arsenal's youth academy dismissed Lukay to save £200 a week in wages! But the first team spent a whopping £2.5 million to buy Pennant!"

"In 2001, Lu Kai, an Arsenal youth academy graduate, was playing for Dartford, while Pennant, who was not an Arsenal youth academy graduate, was playing for Arsenal."

"Is your own youth training system more effective, or is someone else's better? The ultimate battle of geniuses is about to begin!"

During the warm-up phase, Pennant and Lu Kai frequently appeared on the big screen.

The special bond between the two has attracted much attention.

The third most featured actor is another super genius – Francis Jeffers.

Like Pennant, he was born in 1981 and started playing in the Premier League at the age of sixteen.

He joined Arsenal this season for a record-breaking £10 million and will wear the number nine jersey!
This is the starting center's number.

Arsenal's key player Thierry Henry has only been wearing the number 14 this season.

This clearly demonstrates Wenger and Arsenal's expectations for him.

The hottest striker in football this year is Liverpool's Michael Owen.

Jeffers' technical characteristics, height, speed, and other aspects are exactly the same as Irving's, earning him the nicknames "Red Gun Irving" and "Arsenal's Fox in the Forbidden Zone".

He scored 12 Premier League goals before his 19th birthday, second only to Owen's 28.

The reason I say this is because there's another guy, "Green Gun Kyrie Irving," who's trying to scam me.

It used to be Marin, a nickname given to him by Dartford fans.

But the most recent "green gun Owen" is Morgan, who is being eyed by Liverpool.

The reason it's called a staged accident is because even Morgan is far inferior to Jeffers.

Furthermore, Jeffers, who came from Everton, is Rooney's senior, and his second-highest Premier League ranking before the age of nineteen will be overtaken by Rooney's fifteen goals.

"Hello everyone, this is Huang... We have obtained the starting lineups for both sides."

"Arsenal are playing a traditional 4-4-2 formation, with a squad consisting mainly of substitutes and academy players. Wenger is very committed to this; he won't start unless they reach the League Cup semi-finals."

"That's why Arsenal's young players get enough training and stand out from their peers."

"But this does not mean that they are not strong."

"The two strikers are Aliadière and Jeffers, the former is nineteen years old and the latter is twenty years old."

"The four midfielders, from left to right, are Maldondo, Junichi Inamoto, Gaspar, and Pennant, aged 19, 22, 24, and 19 respectively."

"The four defenders are Sward, Keown, Upson, and Tafralidis. Their ages are 21, 35, 23, and 22 respectively."

"Goalkeeper Taylor, 21 years old."

What is meant by "youth storm"?
Red Gun provided his own answer.

Captain Keown is the team's treasure; with him at the helm, the team is stable.

Dartford still used the 5212 formation:

Morgan, Holt
Brad

Lu Kai, Patton

Shore, Kevin, Williams, Duff, Williams
安琦
-

Williams, the future captain of Wales, has earned a place in tough matches thanks to his superior defensive abilities and impressive athleticism.

Morgan Stanley has been in good form recently, and with the need to sell, they have made many initial offerings.

Therefore, Ashley Young has already switched to playing as an attacking midfielder to replace Brad.

Or it can't be said that they changed to fighting; it's more like job rotation training.

Ashley Young is not the kind of player who can dominate in one position.

However, once he becomes familiar with the offensive and defensive requirements of all positions, he is very likely to become an all-around player. And with his understanding of all positions, he can then make a breakthrough in a particular position and reach a top level.

If you lack talent, make up for it with experience.

However, in comparison, Arsenal's "fan seats" are quite luxurious.

Henry, Bergkamp, ​​Vieira, Pires, Adams, Ashley Cole, and many others were all there.

Before the game, Cole gave Lu Kai a warm hug.

But they won't be able to fight each other this time.

Wenger brought them here to reminisce about the past, not to actually put them on the field. They need to focus all their energy on the league and the Champions League.

This year is Wenger's last chance to beat Ferguson, as Ferguson is retiring.

Arsenal's bench also boasts many renowned players, such as Ljungberg and Van Bronckhorst.

In short, it instantly kills the green gun!

……

With a whistle, the game officially began.

As Lu Kai predicted, the venue caused Arsenal a lot of trouble.

In the 14th minute, Pennant broke through on the wing and scored, but the ball went out of bounds due to the uneven ground.

The football suddenly bounced to the right as it was moving forward, heading straight for Wenger.

There are tracks on the ground, and even the best dribbling player can't break them.

Pennant looked at the referee in disbelief, only to be called out of bounds by the referee.

Pennant felt like dying, and complained, "What a piece of crap this stadium is!"

In the 29th minute, Gaspar delivered a brilliant through ball that was absolutely lethal.

Jeffers' positioning was phenomenal; he created absolute opportunities in the penalty area, truly a fox in the paint.

As a result, his foot went weak before he could shoot, and the ball slowly rolled into An Qi's arms, as if it had been passed back to him.

Jeffers fell to the ground.

The ground there was soft and slippery.

It looks like he twisted his ankle.

Arsenal's team doctor rushed onto the field.

Wenger was furious again.

Thankfully, Jeffers was alright and stayed on the pitch to continue playing; otherwise, Wenger would definitely have written a long post criticizing Riverside Stadium and Dartford after the match.

In the 32nd minute, Dartford launched a sharp counter-attack.

Morgan dribbles down the left flank and advances at high speed.

But Tafradis made a flying tackle, destroying the ball.

After a successful one-on-one defensive play, the defending player will immediately stand up and raise their arms in celebration to boost morale.

This is especially true for young people.

However, Tafradis let out a wail and lay on the ground clutching his thigh, screaming in agony.

Arsenal's team doctor rushed onto the field.

The camera also focused on Tafradis, showing a pool of blood on the side of his thigh.

It was scratched by the ground and has many small cuts.

It's not serious, but it hurts a lot!
Arsenal's team doctor could only disinfect him on the sidelines and then give him a simple bandage.

It does not affect his combat effectiveness.

But it's a lesson to be learned.

A badly damaged football field really shouldn't be tackled.

If you can't shovel it, it's really hard to defend against speed dogs.

The situation became somewhat tense for a while.

Arsenal dominated possession but failed to score.

For more than thirty minutes, the score remained 0-0.

But excellent players are able to adapt to different environments.

Thirty minutes is enough for Arsenal's players to get familiar with the pond.

In the 38th minute, Pennant again scored by cutting inside from the right side.

Lu Kai couldn't keep up with him.

boom!
Pennant makes a diagonal pass from the edge of the box.

Aliadière braked sharply on the left, turned, and received the ball to adjust.

Kevin leaned in and pushed Aliadire aside.

He dared not make any careless tackles inside the penalty area.

However, the opponent also took this opportunity to complete a shot.

The football went straight into the net.

A one-on-one magic ball.

An Qi was powerless to help.

"GOAL! 1-0! Arsenal take the lead away from home!"

Despite Dartford's various tricks, they couldn't hold out until the first half!

"This also reflects the relative strengths of both sides."

"So far, Dartford have conceded a goal in the first half of every match against a Premier League team!"

"Of course, Dartford fans shouldn't be discouraged, because Dartford's record against Premier League teams is far ahead of other professional teams in England."

"Three matches against Premier League giants, one win, one draw and one loss!"

In the 43rd minute, Gaspar played a one-two with Tafraidis and then sent a through ball down the right flank.

Pennant took off again and crossed from the right flank.

Xiao Li's attack is excellent, with superb footwork.

They are solid defensively and have good defensive awareness.

Unfortunately, his physical attributes, individual abilities, and speed are too ordinary. He can't effectively contain the opponent's explosiveness when defending, and he can't reach the sweet spot for passing when attacking.

System player.

If they find the right team, it would be Beckham and Neville on the left wing.

If your weaknesses are exploited, you'll be unable to attack or defend effectively.

Pennant beat him into complete incapacity.

Jeffers made a clever run, flanking Williams and successfully receiving the ball.

But his subsequent turn and dribble into the penalty area was thwarted by Williams' long legs.

The football bounced towards the top of the penalty arc.

Gaspar made a late run and unleashed a long-range shot.

Lu Kai was a step too slow again.

The football hits the net.

Arsenal have scored another goal.

“Lu Kai is always a step too slow,” Pire joked.

This was the second time they had been there in person to watch Lu Kai play football.

The last time was a year and a half ago in the FA Bottle final.

This team is completely transformed compared to before.

However, the core player lineup is basically the same.

This shows that these players are improving very quickly.

Vieira disagreed with Pires's joke: "It's not that he's slow, it's that there are too many areas where he needs to cover. If it were any other defensive midfielder, they probably wouldn't be able to keep up."

"He put some pressure on Gaspar with that shot; if Gaspar hadn't been so good, he might have missed."

"You offensive players can't assume we're doing a bad job just because our defensive players are always the backdrop."

"Being able to serve as a backdrop is itself a form of recognition."

Adams nodded vigorously.

On the field, Gaspar passed by Lu Kai after scoring a goal.

Who would have thought that this seemingly insignificant substitute would become Arsenal's first sporting director twenty years later?
Moreover, he is one of the very few visionaries who chose the path of the strongest football team.

Players generally have two paths after retirement.

One path is coaching. No matter what kind of coach you are, you're still a coach. At the top are world-class managers like Ferguson, Mourinho, and Guardiola.

One aspect is management, with the top level being the sports director and team director.

But there's something even more impressive than either of those: managing multiple clubs.

For example, when Klopp went to Red Bull, he took charge of a group of teams at once, creating a football matrix!
There are also city groups behind teams like Manchester City and Chengdu Rongcheng, as well as He Tianqi's Tianqi Football Empire, and so on.

In a perfect scenario, it's possible for one group to win all three UEFA tiers of titles: the Champions League semi-finals or even the quarter-finals; the Champions League, Europa League, and European Championship; or even continental club titles such as the Champions League, AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, and Copa Libertadores.

This will require a struggle between football capital and UEFA and FIFA over the rules.

But theoretically, this is possible.

After leaving Arsenal, Gaspar joined Marinakis's football empire, managing three teams: Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League, Olympiacos in Greece, and River Ave in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

I can be considered one of those people on this path.

In 2002, the era of big-spending football was still a year away.

The football world is about to transition from a period of diverse talents to one dominated by elite clubs.

But Lu Kai's gaze has already turned to the era after that.

Didi!

Two whistles sounded.

The first half of the game is over.

Dartford are down 0-2.

The riverside stadium fell silent.

Even though they are used to being at a disadvantage, there is still a sense of hopelessness in this game.

In contrast, the two thousand Arsenal fans on the "away" trip were very excited.

Because of this match, they finally punished that team that kept trying to gain attention!
Let's see if he can tell the difference between the king and queen in the future!

Forget green guns and red guns, England only has one gun, and that's Arsenal!
Forget AC Milan and Inter Milan... AC Milan fans should understand Arsenal at this moment.

One of the Arsenal fans who owns a printing shop made headlines.

He printed out a photo of Lu Kai with the words "Missing Person Notice" written on it!

Where is this player?

"Is he lost?"

Why couldn't I find him on the field?

"If anyone sees him, please tell him that Arsenal fans are getting impatient waiting for him!"

The most popular response was:
"He's in Arsenal's goal highlights! Hahaha!"

Arsenal fans... Happy New Year!

(End of this chapter)