Starting with playing defensive midfield for Evergrande

Chapter 96 Special Story Mission Triggered? The Battle for North London Begins!
"Kant?"

Upon hearing the name, Wenger subconsciously pictured a small, dark-skinned man.

"Are you that short midfielder from Caen in Ligue 2?"

"Yes, boss! I've seen him play football, and his sweeping ability is exactly what we need right now!"

Upon hearing Wenger mention Kanté's team, Su Hao immediately confirmed that the rumors he had heard on the Arsenal fan forum about Wenger making another poor signing seemed to be true.

"Okay, Su! Actually, we already scouted that guy last season, you know, his height. It's hard for someone that tall to adapt to the physically demanding Premier League!"

What the hell!

Sure enough, there was a reason behind every single temperature difference the professor made.

Kante!
The future world's top sweeping defensive midfielder, and yet Wenger sees him as...
After all, Su Hao is just a player, and a newcomer at that.

After giving Wenger a brief reminder, Su Hao didn't say anything more!
In Su Hao's opinion, he had done all he could, although he also had a little thought that he could focus more on offense in the future!
However, it was Su Hao's phone call that added another name to the urgent scouting list on Wenger's desk.

Yes!

With Wilshere out for the season and facing the Champions League knockout stage and multiple league competitions, Wenger is already planning to use the last bit of the winter transfer window to strengthen Arsenal's squad.

Before Su Hao called, Wenger already had a few preliminary candidates in mind.

Dele Alli – an attacking midfielder from Milton Keynes Dons in League One, possessing excellent forward runs and scoring ability, combined with physical strength and technical finesse. Most importantly, he's from a League One team, so he's cheap!
Wilfred Ndidi – a talented central midfielder from Genk in the Belgian First Division A, with outstanding midfield interception ability and a decent long-range shot. Of course, equally important is that this guy also comes from a third-tier Belgian First Division A league, so he's cheap!
Of course, besides the two bargains, Wenger also considered acquiring strong players who could be used immediately.

Alain Max Loreiro!

A key central midfielder from Udinese in Serie A, he averaged 4.3 tackles per game last season, making him the undisputed tackle king of Serie A.

Moreover, Alan not only has excellent midfield interception ability, but also outstanding ball control and forward movement ability.

In Wenger's vision, if he could acquire Allan, he could confidently place Su Hao in the attacking midfield position where he could pose a greater threat to the opponent.

The professor had high hopes, but reality slapped him hard in the face.

because
After Arsenal made an offer for Allan, the player he favored most, Udinese immediately put up a price tag of 2500 million euros.

Upon hearing Udinese's asking price, the professor was so angry that he threw his notebook to the ground.

Yes, now the whole world knows that Wenger is short of players, especially midfielders.

Udinese daring to raise the price of Allan, a Brazilian whose Transfermarkt value is only 18 million euros, to over 20 million euros is clearly taking advantage of the situation!
Twenty-five million?
Where would he get 25 million to buy Alan, who's clearly overpriced?

Of the 60 million that was left during the winter transfer window, 35 million became Su Hao's signing bonus, and Mendes also took 10 million in agent commission.

He now only has 15 million left in his account.

The professor was very angry.
As a result of his anger, the professor simply threw Alan's information aside and started looking at the information of the others instead.

However, this only happened when I was looking through other people's information.

Wenger was suddenly drawn to the latest statistics of Kanté, the player recommended by Su Hao, this season!
In 24 rounds of Ligue 2, this short guy named Kanté actually made an astonishing 112 tackles?
So, that means this guy averages 5.6 steals per game?
Not only are his steals numbers alarming, but according to the data, this player named Kanter's average running distance per game is also an astonishing 12.9 kilometers.

"Steve!"

With these two numbers combined, the professor naturally became interested in the Ligue 2 midfielder recommended by Su Hao.

After calling out to his assistant, Wenger immediately began to carefully study Kanté's match videos with the coaching staff!

Wenger took it seriously, and after a full day of careful study, the entire Arsenal coaching team finally came to a conclusion.

Don’t say anything else!

This Ligue 2 midfielder named Kante, under the verification of Arsenal's coaching staff, has achieved an astonishing level of compatibility with Su Hao's characteristics!

Su Hao excels at using his physicality and speed to help the team break through the opponent's defense in midfield, and this kind of advance often leaves gaps for the opponent in midfield, but this guy named Kante!
From last season in Ligue 2 to now, his greatest strength lies precisely in intercepting attacks in the central area and large areas on both sides!

Moreover, precisely because of his short stature, his agile footwork, and solid foundation give him a natural defensive advantage against both fast and technically skilled midfielders.

of course!

For Arsenal, Kante has a better fit for the team now!
That's it. This thing is cheap!
Deportivo's asking price is 500 million euros, and Caen, currently facing a fiscal deficit, would definitely release him immediately if that price were offered.

It's practical and cheap, and it also allows you to keep a transfer budget of 10 million euros to fill other positions.

Even the most cautious professor waved his hand and directly instructed Arsenal to make an offer to Caen.

Meanwhile, Caen was short of money and looking to cash out, so when they saw Arsenal's offer, they only made a token offer of 1 million.

One side offers 500, while the other side demands 600.

One person is so poor that they want to make up for their shortcomings as soon as possible, and the other person is also so poor that they want to make up for their shortcomings.

There was little time for wrangling; in less than three days, Caen and Arsenal simultaneously announced that French midfielder N'Golo Kanté, born on March 29, 1991, had officially transferred to Arsenal for €5.5 million.

"Fuck!"

When Arsenal made the official announcement, Su Hao, who had just finished training and returned to his apartment, was so shocked by the news that he immediately cursed.

Su Hao had mentioned it to Wenger before, and after Wenger explicitly said that Kanté was too short, Su Hao thought the matter was probably off.

But I didn't expect Wenger to be so effective this time.

Three days!
Incredibly, they managed to acquire Kanté, the future star player for both the French national team and Chelsea, in just three days.

Anyone who knows football knows how good Kante is.

The reason why the French team was able to win the World Cup so easily in 18 was because of Pogba's playmaking in the front and Kanté's omnipresent interception in the back.

Got it!
comfortable!
Putting everything else aside, now that Arsenal has Kante and Arteta, Su Hao thinks he can finally focus entirely on attacking!
Caen is very close to London!

On the very night that Arsenal made the official announcement, Kante arrived in London with his backpack.

Moreover, in order to help Kanté adapt to the team as quickly as possible, Wenger insisted that Arsenal staff work through the night to handle all of Kanté's medical examination and onboarding.

This also meant that on the second day after Kanté joined the team...

Su Hao then met the dark-skinned, shy, and even somewhat timid future French super midfielder at Arsenal's training ground.

"Hello! my name is N'Golo Kante!"

This was the first thing Kante said to the entire Arsenal team!

Perhaps it's because they've suddenly gone from a French second-division team to playing for a top club and they still can't quite believe it.

Throughout the morning's training session, Kanté remained extremely cautious.

Even if someone kicks over a cone, Kanté will immediately run over and help it up.

"Hi! Ngoro, relax, don't be nervous!"

Seeing how reserved Kant was, perhaps because they were both newcomers, Su Hao couldn't help but step forward and hug Kant to comfort him.

"Ngolo! Don't feel pressured. Look at Su, he only arrived a little over ten days earlier than you!"

Su Hao took the initiative to greet the newcomer Kanté, and Walcott and Giroud, who were now very close to Su Hao, naturally came over as well!

Got it!
Kanté, who was already shy and not good at communicating with people, was suddenly surrounded by these stars he could only see on Sky Sports TV, and naturally, he burst into an awkward, embarrassed laugh.

If it weren't for the fact that this guy's racial skill prevents him from blushing, he probably would be...
Of course, when communicating with people, Kanté is so shy that he seems like a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet!

However, after the professor put Kanté into the B team for his first team practice.

The short guy who just seemed to only know how to smile foolishly suddenly became different.

Yes!

Although Kanté was playing in the lower-level Ligue 2 at this time, his innate defensive awareness and interception ability surprised everyone.

Previously in Ligue 2, perhaps everyone thought that Kante's exaggerated tackle statistics were because the level of Ligue 2 was too poor.

But now, at Arsenal's training ground, facing Arsenal's starting lineup against Team A.

Despite his incredibly fast footwork, Kanté managed to make three steals in just thirty minutes of training.

Moreover, these are all extremely difficult steals made by offensive players during their fast-paced advances!
the first time!
Kante intercepted Theo Walcott on the wing, who had just gotten past the B team winger and was about to unleash a powerful run!

After a clean and decisive tackle, Kante even delivered a long pass with solid fundamentals to the feet of the unmarked B team winger on the far side.

the second time!
The one Kant treated as an NPC was Grand Gillu!

This guy thought he was several times stronger than Kanté, so after receiving Su Hao's through ball, he chose to use his body to tough out Kanté and try to get past him directly.

Well, that's the result.

Naturally, after failing to knock Kanté down with a collision, the incredibly fast Kanté snatched the ball away in an instant.

"what?"

Seeing how easily Kanté had taken the ball from his feet, Giroud was so startled by Kanté's speed that he cried out.

"Boss! This guy seems really capable! What if we put him behind Su?"

On the sidelines of the training field, after carefully observing Kanté's performance for more than twenty minutes, Steve Ballder was also surprised and exclaimed to Wenger, who was equally amazed by Kanté's interception ability!
Even Steve Ballder could see that Kanter and Su Hao were a top-tier match, complementing each other to the extreme.

As for professors?

At this moment, the professor already had at least three tactical arrangements specially tailored for the Su Hao and Kanté duo.

"Steve, get this guy's name to UEFA as soon as possible!"

Thinking about the upcoming Champions League Round of 16, the professor didn't hesitate and quickly instructed Steve Ballder to submit Kanté's name.

To be honest, after carefully rehearsing in his mind the scene of Kant cleaning up Su Hao's messes, the professor even felt that his new combination was much stronger than the previous Wilshire one.

fuck!

After being tricked for so many years, Wenger has finally struck gold for the first time!
Although the professor felt somewhat guilty from a moral and ethical standpoint, Wilshire's injury didn't seem to be entirely a bad thing.

that's it!
After nearly four days of intensive testing of the new formation.

2014 1 Month 26 Day.

Arsenal, led by Wenger, embarked on their journey in the 23rd round of the league.

Away game against Fulham!
Although Arsenal has been criticized by many for losing to Southampton and being on the verge of entering their familiar losing streak.

However, Arsenal still managed a resounding victory against Fulham, who were fourth from bottom in the league standings, at Craven Cottage.

For Arsenal, although new signing Kante was included in the squad list, he was on the bench.

Flamini partnered Arteta in the double pivot midfield, while Su Hao made his first appearance in Arsenal's starting lineup as an attacking midfielder.
On the other side, Fulham, as always, fielded their usual 4-5-1 defensive counter-attacking formation against Arsenal.

As soon as the game started, Fulham quickly retreated to their own half.

In previous matches between Fulham and Arsenal, Fulham relied on this defensive tactics to occasionally secure a point or three points against Arsenal.

But
Now that Su Hao has been completely freed up and doesn't need to participate in any defense at all.

Fulham's defensive strategy was completely flawed in the face of Su Hao, who had a world-class passing rating of 91.

The 14th minute of the game.

After Podolski and Walcott made several runs down Fulham's flanks, Su Hao suddenly chipped the ball over the defense, sending it directly behind Fulham's two center-backs.

Giroud, who had been consistently scoring goals, seemed to have finally accumulated enough luck to score again. With his powerful physique, he squeezed through the gap between Fulham's two center-backs and poked the ball past Stekelenburg to break through the defense.

1: 0!

After scoring, Giroud, who had scored in two consecutive matches, rushed excitedly to Su Hao, hugged him tightly around the waist, and trembled with excitement.

Less than 15 minutes into the game, the opponent breached their defense, and Magath on the sidelines naturally knew that continuing to defend like this would only result in losing three points.

So, in the following match, Magath began to make substitutions, thinking of secretly using counter-attacks to equalize the score when Arsenal were attacking!

Just as Magath had his players spread out a little, Arsenal scored again.

And this time!
The assist still came from Arsenal's new attacking midfielder, Su Hao.

27th minute of the match!

After being heavily marked by Fulham's defenders in the middle, Su Hao tried to move to the wing and coordinate with Walcott, with whom he had been playing well recently.

It was Su Hao's move to the wing that successfully drew Fulham's defensive focus!
After a beautiful one-two pass, Su Hao received Walcott's diagonal pass near the byline. Then, before the panicked Fulham full-back could catch up, Su Hao used his right foot to draw a beautiful arc in the air above Craven Cottage.

Podolski, at the far post, effortlessly headed the ball into Fulham's net for the second time.

2: 0!

Craven Cottage fell silent. The Fulham fans, who had been chanting wildly for their players to teach Arsenal a lesson, watched as their team conceded two goals to Arsenal in less than half an hour.

Their screams also completely stopped.

only!
Although their shouts and yells stopped, Arsenal's goal-scoring spree continued unabated. The match ended in the 38th minute.

After Fulham put all their defensive pressure on Suhao, Gibbs, who had made a run down the wing, once again delivered a high-quality cross to Giroud.

Having already scored a goal, Giroud, in the midst of his excitement, overpowered Fulham center-back Hangeland and leaped high to deliver another header.

However, Giroud might have been too excited about the ball.

The ball clearly sailed past the Fulham goalkeeper's outstretched fingers, but ultimately bounced off the post and back.

Podolski, who was making a run into the box, was lucky enough to just lift his foot and score his second goal of the match.

Giroud cried.

Podolski, in his excitement, immediately celebrated with a stylish knee slide at Craven Cottage!

Three goals in the first half.

It was precisely because of this large lead that Wenger substituted Kante, the young black player he had just acquired from Ligue 2, in the second half.

but
To Wenger's slight disappointment, perhaps Kante didn't have the same strong mental fortitude as Su Hao.

Despite Kanté's performance in training being worthy of Arsenal's starting lineup, he failed to deliver a particularly impressive performance against Fulham's counter-attack.

In a full forty-five minutes, they only managed one interception, although this interception helped Arsenal score another goal on the counter-attack.

4: 0!

A resounding victory.

Su Hao played the entire match, contributing two assists and a long-range shot that hit the crossbar.

Podolski, on the other hand, was named Man of the Match thanks to his two goals.

At the post-match press conference.

The professor also took advantage of this resounding victory to vent his pent-up frustrations in front of numerous media outlets.

In the professor's words, with more than ten rounds left in the league, nobody knows who the champion will be.

He knew that as long as his Arsenal gave their all in all the upcoming matches, the championship would still belong to his Arsenal!

The professor spoke with great authority.

However, Pellegrini on the other side poured cold water on the professor's enthusiasm with an even more exaggerated and overwhelming victory.

In a home game against the weak Brunt, Manchester City relied on Balotelli's hat-trick and Özil's two goals and one assist to help Manchester City thrash the poor Brunt 6-0.

It was this resounding victory that allowed Manchester City to maintain their one-point lead and continue to overtake Arsenal in the standings.

Moreover, at the post-match press conference, Wenger was still dreaming of winning the league title.

Pellegrini went even further, provocatively saying that he hoped to have Arsenal witness Manchester City's championship coronation ceremony live at the Etihad Square during the penultimate round of the league!

"Hi! Don't be discouraged, Ngorongoro! You did a great job!"

The locker room after the game.

Although the team won by a large margin, Kanté sat alone in a corner, looking somewhat dejected, because of several obvious mistakes in his debut. While others were celebrating, he made these mistakes.

Seeing his beloved future super bug sweeper looking so dejected.

Su Hao naturally rushed over to comfort Kant.

Moreover, after learning from a conversation that Kanté was still living alone in Arsenal's players' dormitory because he wanted to save up his housing allowance, Su Hao immediately decided to move from his luxury apartment to the dormitory to live with Kanté!

Well, if you want to win someone's heart, the best way is to stand by their side when they need comfort the most!

Su Hao did indeed do it.

It was just a few thoughtful greetings, and the decision to give up a luxury apartment to keep me company.
Kanté, who has always been introverted and has few true friends, wholeheartedly acknowledges Su Hao, a Chinese friend who is not only excellent at basketball but also extremely gentle.

Of course, what Kant didn't know was that Su Hao's sudden, overflowing affection and clinginess to him, even wanting to move to his apartment, was actually because just after Su Hao sat down next to Kant, his system, which had been dormant for a long time, suddenly made a sound.

"Ding dong!"

"Special story mission triggered!"

"Perfect partners!"

"Mission Requirement: Achieve 100% synergy with N'Golo Kant, the perfect partner for the template!"

"Current level of teamwork: 0%!"

"Mission Reward: Up to one single ability in the panel can be unlocked (with the highest talent cap!)."

Yes!

It was this special story mission reward that made Su Hao instantly ecstatic upon hearing it that made him move house like a devoted follower.

There's nothing we can do about it; it's a single ability with a talent cap, and damn well, it's a single ability that can be specified!
Keep in mind that he only randomly unlocked a 95-point talent with the highest passing stat, yet he was able to become a key player at Arsenal.

If this were to be further enhanced with a skill that could be specifically targeted to the talent's limit, such as shooting, ball control, or heading...
He's definitely going to get another epic buff.

"Su! Thank you!"

Su Hao had already started fantasizing about what he would unlock if he leveled up his teamwork stats enough, whether it would be shooting, heading, or defense.

Kant, who was already moved to tears by Su Hao's words, patted Su Hao on the shoulder for the first time and said something.

Su Hao used to be a carefree person, but now, with such tempting rewards from the system missions...

Su Hao moved into Arsenal's previously empty first-team player dormitory on the very afternoon he returned to London after the league ended.

on Monday!

It's still Arsenal's holiday period after the league season ends.

At 9 p.m., Wenger, who was leaving get off work earlier than ever before, witnessed a scene that moved him deeply as he passed by Arsenal's training ground.

Yes!

Su Hao, who had clearly secured a starting position.

They were still practicing relentlessly at 9 pm on a holiday!

Not only Su Hao, but also the newcomer Kant.

For some reason, Wenger, who hadn't seen this scene in many years, quietly watched everything before him under the moonlight.

Even until the very end!
Wenger seemed to have rediscovered his youthful spirit, and voluntarily walked onto the training field.

He took off his cotton-padded coat, picked up a ball, and began to give these two young men basic training instructions that he hadn't done in a very long time!

Yes, it's been such a long, long time.

I think it was a night like this when that 16-year-old boy first arrived at Arsenal!
2014 1 Month 28 Day.

On the morning of the third day after the end of the 23rd round of the league.

The entire Arsenal team has regrouped at the Colney training ground.

However, on the training field that day, even Walcott, who was usually unruly, had a serious expression on his face from the moment he arrived.

The reason why the entire Arsenal team is so serious is naturally because their most important match this season is coming up, which is arguably even more important than the Champions League!

North London Derby.
-
One of the most intense and historically significant derbies in English football.

Even if it means sacrificing the league title, Arsenal are determined to win this crucial derby against their rivals!
The North London derby dates back to 1913.

At the time, due to certain special reasons, Arsenal moved from South London to Highbury in North London, and the dispute arose precisely because Highbury and White Hart Lane were almost adjacent.

Moreover, at the time, Tottenham represented the Harlingay district of North London, which was traditionally dominated by the working class and emphasized a sense of local belonging. In contrast, Arsenal attracted middle-class fans and positioned itself as "elegant football." This led Tottenham fans, who already felt invaded by Arsenal, to start calling them "arrogant elites."

The rivalry between regional powers, coupled with class and identity clashes, forged a deep-seated animosity between the two teams. This was compounded by the 1919 promotion controversy [the First Division expanded to 22 teams, and Tottenham should have retained their First Division status (originally 20th place), but the FA, citing Arsenal's "outstanding contribution," promoted Arsenal, who were 5th in the Second Division, forcing Tottenham into relegation. Tottenham's mascot, a parrot, even "died of anger" over this, solidifying the two teams' irreconcilable enmity]. And then there was the 2001 "defection of the century" [Tottenham captain Sol Campbell refused to renew his contract and transferred to Arsenal on a free transfer. Tottenham fans denounced him as "Judas," and when Campbell returned to White Hart Lane for the first time, "traitor" banners were displayed throughout the stadium, and boos continued for the entire match].

This series of conflicts has made these two teams the most intolerant of each other.

It was precisely because of this irreconcilable century-old rivalry, coupled with the fact that Arsenal were surprisingly held to a draw by Tottenham in the final moments of the first round of the Emirates Stadium derby at the beginning of the season, that Wenger announced a four-day closed training session on the very day of training.

After four days of closed training, upon hearing Wenger's order, Walcott and his group, who had a rich nightlife, immediately began to complain bitterly.

However, Su Hao and Kant didn't react much.

There's nothing we can do; these two already live in the players' dormitory, so whether it's closed off or not seems to make no difference.

Arsenal declined all interviews and began preparations for the North London derby.

Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, as if he had discussed it with Wenger, issued a gag order to the entire team and started a secret training camp.

Don’t say it yet!
It was precisely this tacit and secretive preparation by the two teams that drew the attention of all the English media to this match.

And so, after four full days of preparation without revealing any information, the preparations continued.

2014 2 Month 2 Day.

The do-or-die derby that drew all the residents of North London to White Hart Lane, with everyone putting down their work, had finally arrived.

It was 4 p.m. that day.

Although there were still more than three hours before the match officially started, White Hart Lane was already occupied by Tottenham Hotspur die-hard fans wearing white Tottenham Hotspur jerseys.

They sang mocking songs about Arsenal not having won the Champions League, wantonly humiliating Arsenal fans' biggest sore spot, even though, in terms of championships, Tottenham truly has nothing.

However, just as these Tottenham die-hards were singing their hearts out, a large group of Asian faces wearing red jerseys suddenly appeared in the square.

This gave Tottenham fans quite a shock.

Back in the 1s, after many people died in brawls between fans during the North London derby, both teams' fans tacitly agreed to follow the unspoken rule of not provoking each other more than an hour before the start of the match.

But today's group of red Arsenal
Although Tottenham fans were also worried about a bad outcome, the die-hard Tottenham supporters still surrounded them aggressively.

Got it!
Upon closer inspection, the Tottenham fans realized that a large portion of the red jerseys worn by these Asian individuals were not Arsenal jerseys.

While a few Arsenal jerseys were mixed in, most people were wearing Chinese national team jerseys with SU-hao's name printed on them.

The misunderstanding has been cleared up.

But
After breathing a sigh of relief and discovering that they weren't Arsenal fanatics, this group, which was already considered English football hooligans, quickly turned their attention to the Chinese fans who had come to support their compatriots!
"chink!!!"

"chink!!!"

While shouting insults at Chinese fans, many people even made squinting gestures.

then
Among Chinese fans who abide by the laws of other countries abroad, a small number began to habitually call the police for help.

Of course, there are tough challenges as well.

A few guys from Northeast China, who had drunk some of the English specialty drinks, rolled up their sleeves and charged towards the other side.

However, only a few dared to rush forward.

After punching the British a few times at first, the men were quickly surrounded by the British.

If the police hadn't been nearby, these men might have ended up here!
An incident occurred at White Hart Lane where Tottenham Hotspur fans assaulted Chinese fans.

Reporters, who had been holding back for several days without any breaking news, naturally went into a frenzy of excitement.

There were even some nosy reporters who, just as Su Hao was about to board the bus to White Hart Lane, asked him in front of everyone what he thought about his own fans being provoked and then beaten up by Tottenham fans!

After learning the details of the incident from Huang Jianxiang, Su Hao ignored the reporter and boarded the bus without paying any attention to him!
Ok!

Originally, Su Hao felt that as a newcomer, he didn't really feel involved in the North London derby. He just needed to follow the training these past few days and the coach's requirements to revitalize Arsenal's attacking play!

it's good now!

Isn't this sense of identification coming to me?
Tottenham fans?

P.S.: I've been writing this since 6 PM today.

I read the comments on the previous chapter, and everyone was saying that the noodles were too watery, so I seriously reflected on my own behavior.

So I started writing about noodles in a concise and serious way.

However, as longtime readers of Banmian know, Banmian's football stories have always had two main themes: one is kicking the ball with the feet, and the other is playing with the ball with the hands.

However, Su Hao, the author of this book, still needs to persevere for another year.

Given that we can only focus on a single main storyline, writing about things outside of the competition seems to be the only thing we can do.

However, readers are my bread and butter, and I will definitely correct any criticisms they raise. As usual, I will write a super long chapter tomorrow to finish the North London Derby in one day. Finally, I shamelessly beg for monthly votes.

We've been caught up! Waaaaah!
(End of this chapter)