Chapter 23: A Perfect Debut—His Fame Resounds Across the Three Kingdoms.
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Chapter 23: A Perfect Debut—His Name Resounds Across Three Nations
The final stretch of the match.
Manchester City’s attacks became utterly ferocious.
But in the end, they still failed to breach Arsenal’s goal.
The ninety-sixth minute—
Considering that Arsenal had scored and made substitutions during stoppage time, referee Oliver had allowed more than an additional minute.
But when Mannone caught Manchester City’s cross and pulled it into his arms, pinning it securely against the ground, Oliver blew the final whistle.
“Full time! Full time! It’s over!! Manchester City had been the winners for the first eighty-nine minutes. You could say they had a ninety-three percent chance of winning this match. But in the dying moments, substitute Li Mo scored twice in succession and helped Arsenal complete a stunning comeback!!”
“Let us once again introduce the man who masterminded this astonishing turnaround: Li Mo, born in 1995, of Dragon Kingdom and Italian descent, and the nephew of Italian football legends Filippo Inzaghi and Simone Inzaghi.”
“Once again… welcome to the Premier League!!”
On the television screen, the broadcast camera remained firmly locked on Li Mo.
After scoring twice, there was no suspense whatsoever about Li Mo being named Man of the Match.
He wore a smile.
The seventeen-year-old’s cheeks still possessed a hint of baby fat.
Delicate features, with all the traces of childhood not yet faded.
At that moment, Vincent Kompany came over to exchange shirts with him.
“Very impressive debut, lad. Congratulations,” Kompany said graciously.
“Thank you.”
Li Mo smiled and pulled off his own shirt.
The lean, powerful muscles beneath it were proof of how hard he trained.
More than a few female supporters found their eyes sparkling at the sight.
A boyish young face above the neck, and a strong, well-built physique below it.
The contrast was striking enough to leave a deep impression.
When Li Mo and his teammates walked over beneath the visiting supporters’ stand, quite a few Arsenal women began screaming at him.
Several private items were even thrown down from the stands.
The two senior figures in the squad, Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta, immediately flanked Li Mo on either side.
They forcibly pulled him away from the stand as the crazed female supporters surged toward him.
“That was close!”
“Li, remember this: women are terrifying.”
“Exactly, exactly. Women aren’t fun at all.”
“You’re only seventeen. Some things aren’t suitable for you yet.”
“Women will only slow down the speed of your sword!”
The two veterans lectured him earnestly from either side.
Li Mo had barely escaped the wolf’s den before nearly falling into a tiger’s lair.
Not far away, a crowd of reporters came rushing over with microphones raised.
“Li! Hey, Li! Come and talk to us about the match!”
“Li! May I ask—”
Vermaelen and Arteta exchanged a glance.
Then they took a deep breath.
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They promptly put an arm around Li Mo and escorted him toward the players’ tunnel.
“The media are dangerous too, Li.”
“That’s right. Until you’ve completed the club’s media training, don’t have any contact with them!”
“They’re all villains!”
The two of them shielded Li Mo as they marched straight toward the tunnel.
Li Mo turned his head to look at the reporters chasing after them.
What a pity.
What was wrong with reporters?
They were all good people.
How wonderful it would be if they could stir up the love and hatred of every Premier League hero toward him.
Unfortunately…
The two veterans had been acting on Wenger’s instructions.
Li Mo was not to expose himself too much to the media spotlight.
Under their loving protection, Li Mo could only watch the adorable reporters grow farther and farther away.
Inside the dressing room, everyone came over to congratulate Li Mo on his performance.
In a single match, the team had not only achieved a dramatic victory, but also ended the embarrassing drought of having failed to score in their previous three games. On top of that, a striker capable of finding the net had emerged within the squad.
Most of the players were delighted.
But celebrations in the visiting dressing room at the Etihad could not last too long.
After all, this was Manchester City’s territory.
If the hosts suddenly cut off the electricity, they would only have themselves to blame.
So everyone quickly packed up, boarded the team bus, and headed for the airport to return to London.
The fixtures from late September through early October were still coming thick and fast.
The Champions League and League Cup matches were arriving one after another.
The team was about to face the demands of competing on three fronts.
That season, Arsenal had been drawn into a Champions League group with Montpellier of Ligue 1, Schalke 04 of the Bundesliga, and Greek side Olympiacos.
It was neither a particularly favorable nor an especially difficult draw.
One careless slip, however, and Montpellier or Schalke 04 could knock them down to third place in the group.
Arsenal’s midweek away match against Montpellier in the Champions League was only the opening game of the group stage, but it was still extremely important to them.
Finishing top of the group and avoiding Barcelona and Bayern Munich—
that was Arsenal’s greatest objective in the group.
In the modern age of the internet, Li Mo’s name became a sensation across social media the instant the match ended!!
“Arsenal have found a gem!”
“The real replacement for Van Persie!”
“Two goals in stoppage time to complete the comeback—Li Mo achieves instant fame!”
Arsenal supporters could finally hold their heads high.
After the match, outside the Etihad Stadium, even more Arsenal fans gathered around the black, heavyset host from AFTV and DT.
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“Hey, DT, Li Mo scored twice! He’s our top scorer now!”
“Hey, DT, didn’t you say Li Mo was completely useless?”
“DT, say something!”
The Arsenal supporters surrounded the two AFTV men and shouted at them.
DT awkwardly rubbed his nose, then began to evade the issue and ramble.
They had been “lucky goals.”
Arsenal had still been trailing until the final moments.
Luck could not stay on Arsenal’s side forever.
And so on.
There was a reason the man had become such a major celebrity.
That mouth of his—
it really was smooth.
The next day, the headlines of every major English newspaper were dominated by this high-profile clash.
Li Mo’s name and photograph appeared on the front pages of newspapers across England.
Many papers used enormous photographs and huge headlines to introduce the entire country to the seventeen-year-old striker who had single-handedly created the “Etihad Miracle Comeback.”
“Seventeen-year-old Li Mo came on as a substitute in the fifty-eighth minute. He scored his first goal in the ninetieth minute, and one minute later completed a spectacular volley. I do not want to say he was paying tribute to Van Persie, but this really did look astonishingly similar to Van Persie!”
“Before this match, people had mocked Arsenal for spending two million to buy a ‘replacement for Van Persie.’ But now, those voices ought to fall silent! Arsenal have unquestionably completed a spectacularly shrewd deal!”
Sky Sports lavished praise on Li Mo in its report.
The article had been written by Andy Gray, the commentator who had watched Li Mo complete his astonishing comeback from the stands.
At the same time, back in the Dragon Kingdom, Li Mo’s name was also exploding across football circles.
After all, the Dragon Kingdom currently had no players competing abroad.
In Italy, meanwhile, Li Mo occupied the front pages of quite a few newspapers as well.
This was not because of his Italian heritage.
Rather, it was because he was a striker sold by AC Milan.
And as it happened, the performance of Mario Balotelli—whom AC Milan had bought back for eighteen million euros plus two million in add-ons—in their match against Napoli had been absolutely dreadful.
La Gazzetta dello Sport harshly criticized the decision in its report:
“Li Mo had already caught the eye during preseason, but after that he was given no opportunities and was sold instead. This was an absolute mistake!! Li Mo was the jewel of Vismara. Judging from Balotelli’s performance against Napoli, the striker brought back by AC Milan is completely unfit for the job!”
Balotelli had previously played for Inter Milan.
AC Milan supporters had never been particularly fond of him.
After such a disastrous performance in his very first match, rumors also began circulating that the club’s hierarchy had decided to sell Li Mo in order to raise the funds needed to bring Balotelli back.
That made Milan supporters even angrier.
“You’re a pile of dog shit!”
Milan fans flooded Balotelli’s social media accounts with the insult.
End of Chapter