Chapter 16: Yes, I’m Sure!

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Chapter 16: Yes, I’m Certain!

Mancini was brimming with confidence.

Unlike Arsenal, Manchester City had opened the season with three consecutive victories.

Among them were a last-gasp win over Liverpool in the second league round and a resounding six-nil triumph over Queens Park Rangers in the third—both classic performances.

Manchester City had indeed begun to cast off their reputation as nouveau riche—because they had won a championship.

The Premier League title from the previous season.

With Agüero’s goal in the ninety-third minute and twentieth second of the final match, Manchester City overtook Manchester United and claimed the Premier League trophy in historic fashion.

That trophy alone was enough to ensure Mancini would leave a mark of distinction on Manchester City’s history.

Their fourth-round opponents were Arsenal, who would face them at the Etihad Stadium.

Mancini was not taking them lightly.

As soon as Arsenal’s squad list was announced, he immediately studied it with the members of his coaching staff.

Before long, they had identified Arsenal’s most likely starting lineup.

As for Li Mo, in Mancini’s eyes, he was merely a youngster who had just made the matchday squad. Most likely, he would spend the afternoon watching a high-profile Premier League clash from close range on the substitutes’ bench.

The Etihad Stadium had already descended into madness.

The match had yet to begin, but songs, shouts, applause, and cheers rolled on without end.

Combined with the short distance between the stands and the pitch typical of English stadiums, the noise made everyone inside feel as though their very chests were being shaken by it.

“Well? Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” asked Argentine reserve goalkeeper Damián Martínez with a grin, slinging an arm around Li Mo’s shoulders.

Li Mo gave a slight shake of his head. “It’s all right.”

It was not as though he had never witnessed a scene like this before.

After all, he had joined AC Milan’s youth academy at the age of seven. Being a ball boy at San Siro had long since become routine for him.

The substitute players made their way toward the bench.

The starters walked out onto the pitch.

After the two managers shook hands, they each headed for their respective technical areas.

Mancini wore a confident smile.

Arsenal’s starting lineup was exactly as he had predicted.

Compared with their lineups in the previous three league matches, Arsenal had made only one change to their starting eleven for this game: an adjustment to the front line.

Gervinho had been replaced by new signing Lukas Podolski.

Podolski moved to the left, Walcott shifted to the right, and Giroud led the line.

All of these changes were within Mancini’s expectations.

Manchester City had also made targeted arrangements of their own.

Mancini was not worried about Arsenal’s attack.

In his view, the key to whether Manchester City could secure a comfortable victory lay in whether the striking partnership of Džeko and Agüero could break through Arsenal’s defense.

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In the press box, the reporters were largely repeating the same predictions most media outlets had made in their previews of the match.

Nearly all of them believed that a draw at the Etihad would already be a respectable result for Arsenal.

The match unfolded much as people had expected.

The two sides traded attacks throughout the first half.

Arsenal had a few chances, but not many.

Manchester City, meanwhile, attacked in waves. Yet today, Džeko and Agüero seemed to have left their shooting boots at home.

The first half ended goalless.

At halftime, the key players returned to the dressing rooms. The managers had to make the most of those fifteen minutes, adjusting their tactics and raising their players’ spirits.

The substitutes, meanwhile, warmed up under the direction of the assistant coaches, preparing themselves to enter the match at any moment.

Not long after the second half resumed, in the fifty-third minute, Manchester City scored.

Inside the penalty area, Agüero controlled the ball and dribbled past Koscielny in one fluid motion. Facing Mannone, he coolly placed the ball into the top corner.

Agüero’s goal detonated the Etihad Stadium.

The entire ground became like a volcanic crater in eruption.

Manchester City’s players, coaching staff, substitutes, and supporters all celebrated wildly.

Amid that deafening atmosphere, Wenger stood on the touchline with his brows furrowed, staring at the pitch.

Then he looked toward the bench.

His gaze came to rest on Li Mo.

“Li! Go warm up!”

At once, Li Mo pulled on a training bib and ran toward the warm-up area beside the pitch.

The television cameras immediately locked onto him as well.

“Li Mo is warming up!” exclaimed Zhang Jun, the commentator for Xinglang Sports, his whole body seeming to jolt with excitement.

“Arsenal have conceded, and Manchester City may now sit back and play on the counterattack. What Arsenal need at this moment is a forward who can score. Under these circumstances, Wenger has chosen to send Li Mo out to warm up. That shows Arsenal’s coaching staff have faith in him!”

The Dragon Kingdom supporters watching the live broadcast grew excited too.

“They’re sending Li Mo on while they’re behind?”

“He’s only seventeen!”

“Just how much does Wenger love pretty boys?”

“Could he really be that good?”

For a moment, the cameras remained fixed on Li Mo as he warmed up with complete concentration.

In the press box, many English reporters looked astonished.

“I thought the talk of him being Van Persie’s replacement was a joke, but perhaps Mr. Wenger took it seriously.”

“Sending on a youngster who has never made a professional league appearance while trailing?”

“What exactly did Li Mo do to win over Arsenal’s coaching staff?”

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The English reporters began voicing their disbelief one after another.

In the stands, the section reserved for Arsenal’s traveling supporters produced only a few scattered cheers.

Most Arsenal fans sat in silence.

They were not familiar with Li Mo, but they understood that the team needed a goal. What could sending Li Mo onto the pitch possibly accomplish?

“Heh, what use is sending on a seventeen-year-old child? What good can he do? This season is ruined again! Another utterly disappointing season!”

DT was complaining loudly from the stands.

His words caused many Arsenal supporters to knit their brows.

Yet no one spoke up to contradict him.

Arsenal fans had been disappointed for more than a year or two.

It had been several consecutive seasons.

To be fair, Arsenal’s investment and their results were fairly well matched. In fact, considering the money they had spent, the achievements Wenger had led Arsenal to were still quite impressive.

But then, Wenger had once taken Arsenal to the summit.

Arsenal supporters who had witnessed those glorious heights would probably grow tired and frustrated with the current reality: fighting for fourth place and Champions League qualification every year, only to meet Bayern or Barcelona in the round of sixteen.

The Arsenal fans remained silent.

The Manchester City supporters, however, showed no such restraint.

The moment they saw Li Mo come out to warm up, they began singing at the top of their voices.

“Oh-oh-oh-oh, let’s see who it is! Is this one of your Van Persie replacements?”

“Oh-oh-oh-oh! Van Persie’s replacement is here!”

The simple melody, paired with the simple lyrics, was surprisingly catchy.

Even Wenger, standing on the touchline, frowned deeply as he listened.

His assistant, Bould, said helplessly, “Arsène, this really isn’t a good time for a debut.”

Wenger knew that perfectly well.

An away match.

Trailing on the scoreboard.

The media attention had placed Li Mo at the center of a storm.

The opposing supporters were openly taunting him.

And so on.

Even a seasoned professional might not have been able to withstand all that pressure.

How much less a seventeen-year-old youngster?

“Do you really think Li can cope psychologically if you send him on in a situation like this?” Bould asked.

Wenger was silent for a moment.

Then he turned to look at Li Mo, who was warming up calmly in the designated area, his expression seemingly unchanged from beginning to end.

For some inexplicable reason, Wenger felt a little more confident in him.

“Yes. I’m certain,” Wenger said.

End of Chapter