Chapter 11: Can He Replace Van Persie?
Chapter 11: Can He Replace Van Persie?
“Who? Wenger?!”
Inzaghi’s mouth dropped open.
“What’s wrong, uncle? Is there something strange about it?” Li Mo asked.
“Strange? That’s Wenger himself calling you—of course it’s strange!”
“He specifically asked for me as a player. And he told me that as long as I don’t get injured, I’ll have at least 20 appearances this season!”
Li Mo held up two fingers to emphasize.
Inzaghi clicked his tongue in admiration, a smile spreading across his face. “Looks like Mr. Wenger really wants you to join Arsenal. That’s good news. By the way, you don’t have an agent yet, right? I can recommend one. Besides being my agent, he represents a lot of big names in Italy, like Pirlo.”
Inzaghi’s agent, Tulio Dindi, was a well-known agent in Italy.
His agency had signed many Italian national team players.
Compared to another famous Italian agent, Mino Raiola, Tulio Dindi had a good reputation among top clubs. He balanced the interests of players and clubs, helping players maintain a good image and promising career prospects.
Naturally, Li Mo chose to trust his uncle.
The meeting with Arsenal’s representatives took place in a private room at a high-end Chinese restaurant in Milan.
Accompanying Li Mo were Inzaghi and Tulio Dindi, who had just signed as his agent.
They finalized the details of the contract.
For Li Mo, Arsenal couldn’t offer a very high salary at the moment.
So there was nothing particularly tricky in the contract—except one point: Li Mo insisted on including a high goal-scoring bonus clause.
With Li Mo agreeing to transfer, AC Milan and Arsenal quickly exchanged the transfer documents.
They wanted to complete the last-minute signing before the transfer window closed.
The earlier, the better, to avoid any unforeseen complications.
What if the fax machine broke down?
Then the transfer would fail.
September 2nd.
The final day of the 2012 summer transfer window.
On this day, major media outlets closely followed the transfer developments across Europe’s top leagues.
Last-minute big-name signings were commonplace in every transfer window.
In England, Arsenal fans eagerly awaited the signing of a star player.
A true star.
Someone who could replace Van Persie.
However, they waited in vain.
Instead, at 5 p.m. on September 2nd—likely just before Arsenal’s transfer staff left work—
Li Mo’s transfer documents were all signed.
Shortly after, Arsenal announced simultaneously on their official website and social media:
“The club has signed forward Li Mo from AC Milan. Welcome Li Mo to Arsenal!”
The announcement stunned the English media.
Arsenal fans were equally stunned.
English media had spent over three months pontificating during the summer window.
Li Mo’s name had never appeared on any English media outlet.
Yet, silently and unexpectedly, Arsenal had completed a transfer?!
After reviewing Li Mo’s background and profile, the English media dismissed him as just another youth academy player.
Not worth paying attention to.
That was until the media uncovered the transfer fee!
“Who is Li Mo? Only seventeen and worth two million?!”
“Arsenal’s last-minute signing in the transfer window?!”
“Is he Van Persie’s replacement?!”
English media were advanced but shameless.
Did they not realize how much pressure calling a 17-year-old “Van Persie’s replacement” would put on the player?
Of course, they knew.
But who cares?
It’s the media.
Now, only clicks matter.
If they say it, it will generate traffic.
Especially when Arsenal fans were all expecting a big-name striker.
Instead, the club spent two million euros on an unknown youngster.
This shattered the morale of many Arsenal fans.
One of the most popular Arsenal fan channels immediately released a satirical video.
In the video, Robbie Lyle, the lovable host of the Arsenal fan channel (AFTV), wore a goofy expression and held a microphone up to the famous “Angry Arsenal Fan” Liam Goodenough, nicknamed DT, a man with a thick London accent.
“Hey DT, the transfer window’s closed. How do you rate Arsenal’s summer window this season?”
“Trash! A pile of trash! All trash!” DT snapped angrily.
“I can’t understand why they sold Van Persie to Manchester United! Why? Why? Why? He still had one year left on his contract, right? One year! One year!!”
DT held up one finger toward the camera.
“He had one year left. Even if we didn’t sell him, what would it hurt? Just over twenty million pounds, right? Just over twenty million! What’s wrong with keeping Van Persie for one more year? And if he really wanted to leave, why sell him to Manchester United? They’re our rivals! Selling our star striker to a rival? I can only say—it’s trash! Trash!!!”
DT’s angry London accent added to the effect.
Many Arsenal fans watching the show joined in shouting “Trash!”
“But we did bring in some forwards, didn’t we?” Robbie Lyle asked. “Like Giroud, Podolski?”
“Trash! Do you expect Giroud or Podolski to replace Van Persie? Can they score 30 goals in a season?” DT shook his head.
“What about Li Mo then?”
“Ha!”
DT sneered outright.
“No offense, okay? Li Li Mo? Whatever that name’s pronunciation is, I bear no ill will. Because he’s just a 17-year-old kid. Wenger buys some Li Mo at the last minute of the transfer window? God, we haven’t scored a goal in three consecutive league games! Three in a row!”
“Do you really expect a seventeen-year-old kid to help Arsenal score?”
“He’s still a kid! Maybe he hasn’t even grown his full beard yet!”
“Hahaha!”
Behind Robbie Lyle, the studio audience burst into laughter, playing along perfectly.
“Isn’t that right? We need a real star player! Damn it!!”
DT ranted furiously at the camera.
The Arsenal fan channel was an online channel.
In recent years, it had become very popular among Arsenal supporters.
Because Arsenal’s results had been poor, the channel’s “angry mad dog” style resonated well with fans.
They just wanted to vent.
Under AFTV’s influence, Li Mo became famous even before arriving in London.
“Do you expect a 17-year-old kid to replace Van Persie?”
On the internet,
Mockery from fans of other teams left Arsenal supporters speechless.
So, when Li Mo was still on the plane and heard the system’s voice, he was somewhat bewildered.
“Ding! [Football Bond System] activated. You have gained a new module. Please check the fusion training plan!”
Li Mo opened the system.
Rival Bond: What? A seventeen-year-old kid is Van Persie’s replacement?
Acquired Module: Van Persie Volley Strike Module
Fusion Difficulty: A
Fusion Progress: 10% (Control? What is control?)
Estimated Full Fusion Time: 5–13 days (Without hard training, complete fusion may never be achieved)
Fusion Training Plan Phase One:
Note: Completing full fusion of this module will trigger system upgrade conditions.
(End of chapter)