Chapter 12: The Media Landscape in England

Chapter 12: The Media Environment in England

“Volley module?!”

Li Mo was somewhat surprised and then a little disappointed.

A volley shot—indeed, when executed, it looks incredibly impressive.

But even Robin van Persie wouldn’t score such spectacular goals regularly.

If given a choice,

Li Mo would certainly prefer to possess van Persie’s golden left-foot shooting ability.

As a striker, van Persie’s shooting skills are world-class.

If Li Mo could master van Persie’s shooting technique,

he could confidently claim to be one of the Premier League’s top-tier forwards: having Inzaghi’s instinct and van Persie’s shooting would set the benchmark so high that to be considered top-class without those skills would be almost impossible.

Li Mo carefully reviewed the training plan for the [Van Persie Volley Shooting Module].

“Maybe this can somewhat enhance my shooting sense?”

Li Mo wasn’t entirely convinced.

This system didn’t provide any attribute values or stats.

But he had noticed something during his previous training with the [Andrea Preferred Foot Module].

During the training process,

his left-foot technique indeed improved steadily.

What excited Li Mo even more was that after fully integrating this third module,

the system would undergo its first upgrade.

What new features might emerge after the upgrade?

With eager anticipation,

Li Mo stepped out of the airport.

A crowd of reporters awaited at the airport entrance.

Their presence startled both Li Mo and his agent, Tulio.

“Do you feel pressured joining Arsenal?”

“Rumor has it that Mr. Wenger personally invited you, but you’ve never played in a professional league before?”

“Are you Italian or from Longguo?”

“Can you solve Arsenal’s current problems?”

“Hey! Hey! Li! Do you think you can replace van Persie?!”

Reporters swarmed Li Mo, microphones thrust forward.

“I didn’t come here to replace anyone!”

Li Mo replied firmly while walking forward.

The so-called “van Persie replacement” was merely media hype concocted to create a splashy story.

Yet, Li Mo benefited from the attention.

So he found these swarming reporters somewhat interesting.

“Go ahead, hype me up.

Might as well label me Henry’s successor,”

Li Mo thought to himself.

But regrettably,

although he wished it so,

no one was currently drawing parallels between him and Thierry Henry.

Surrounded by the throng of reporters,

Li Mo struggled to get into the car sent by Arsenal to receive him.

“Li, do you feel the difference between England and Italy?”

The team’s logistics manager, Enna, sat in the passenger seat, turning to smile at Li Mo.

“A bit too much enthusiasm,”

Li Mo said.

“You’ll have to get used to that, Li. I’m sure you’ve heard about the media environment here—they’re not very friendly to players.”

Li Mo nodded.

There were indeed many adjustments to make when playing in England.

Climate, diet, playing style.

And the media environment.

All vastly different from Italy.

The climate went without saying.

No normal person would likely enjoy England’s damp and chilly weather.

As for the diet,

comparing English and Italian food was asking for trouble.

Especially since Li Mo often returned to his hometown in Longguo.

Being served by two great culinary cultures—Italy and Longguo—was a blessing few could claim.

Of course,

these were minor issues.

For foreign players arriving in England,

the real challenge was adapting to the Premier League’s playing style.

Compared to the continental leagues of Italy and Spain,

the English league was generally rougher.

Physical confrontations were intense.

The pace of the game was extremely fast.

Moreover,

the English media was something that required special attention when playing here.

“The media here is different from back home,” Tulio said. “Their media is highly developed.”

“And they don’t really take sides.”

Tulio spoke diplomatically.

But Li Mo understood his meaning.

In Italy,

media outlets had clear allegiances.

This was because many Italian football clubs were entwined with politics.

For example, AC Milan’s owner, Berlusconi, was a well-known Italian politician.

AC Milan had its own “mouthpiece media” in Italy.

What was a mouthpiece?

It was an outlet that always spoke in your favor, no matter what.

But in the Premier League,

while some media leaned towards certain clubs,

the league was purely a “business league,” unlike Serie A.

The relationship between clubs and media was not as close-knit as in Italy.

In Italy,

no matter the situation,

there was always media on your side.

But not in England.

Here, the media valued only one thing: traffic.

If you performed well, they’d praise you to the skies.

If you faltered, they’d drag you through the mud.

To grab attention and boost sales,

the media would go to any lengths.

Even spreading rumors!

“I un... I understand,”

Li Mo almost said what was truly on his mind.

That was close.

He looked out the window.

London was truly a big city.

“Li, today you’ll stay at a hotel. In a few days, we’ll arrange a place for you. Since you’re not yet eighteen, you’ll temporarily live with one of our senior fans to make it easier to look after you. Do you have any objections?”

Enna asked.

“No objections, Mr. Enna,” Li Mo replied.

This was normal procedure.

For clubs,

managing young players was always a challenge,

especially as young people became increasingly independent.

Enna nodded: “Mr. Wenger suggests you rest for two days. During that time, you can explore London—Big Ben, the Thames, whatever you like. But it’s fine if you don’t. You’ll be here for a while anyway.”

“I don’t need rest, Mr. Enna. I want to join training as soon as possible,” Li Mo said. “I can’t wait for a chance to play.”

Enna was momentarily taken aback,

then smiled.

“No problem. The Colney training ground is always open to you.”

Arsenal had arranged for Li Mo and Tulio to stay temporarily at a hotel near the Colney base.

Li Mo was now truly famous in England.

“I didn’t come here to replace anyone!”

This phrase appeared on nearly every English sports news broadcast.

“You have to admit, this young lad from Milan looks confident. But I don’t think Wenger brought him to London to replace van Persie. He’s only seventeen and is just part of Arsenal’s talent pool,”

said Gary Neville, Manchester United legend, on Sky Sports.

“I bet he won’t start a first-team game in the next half-season!”

Neville declared.

Another guest on the show, Arsenal’s Martin Keown, immediately objected:

“The media linking Li Mo to van Persie is utterly irresponsible. He’s just a kid!”

“So you think Li Mo probably won’t get many chances this season, right?”

“That depends on his training performance. I hope he can showcase his talent well; after all, he is a young player Wenger values.”

“Enough of that. Do you dare to bet with me whether he’ll start even once this year?”

“He might not start, but I believe he’ll get his opportunities.”

Keown rolled his eyes, unwilling to bet on such a losing proposition.

Gary Neville laughed heartily, feeling victorious.

(End of chapter)