Roman Abramovich was determined to make another move in the winter transfer window.
Even a 100-million-euro transfer fee wasn't enough to scare him off.
Chelsea's billionaire boss had no shortage of money!
But it wasn't just Chelsea—other Premier League clubs were feeling the heat too.
While everyone had been doubting whether Kai could adapt to the Premier League,
he had already silenced them with three brutal victories.
The King of the Championship had arrived in the Premier League—
and was still slaughtering opponents!
Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool…
All these clubs instinctively began checking the fixture list,
calculating when they'd have to face Arsenal.
None of them wanted to repeat Tottenham's humiliating fate.
This season, when facing Arsenal,
they would have to pull out all the stops,
and be fully prepared to try and stop this raging Gunner storm!
Meanwhile…
Ever since Kai joined Arsenal,
fans had been eagerly waiting for the club to release the official No. 10 jersey.
Up to this point,
Kai's fans had been wearing DIY versions of the No. 10 shirt—
modifying Van Persie's old kit from last season.
Finally.
The day after the match against Queens Park Rangers,
the official Arsenal No. 10 jersey with Kai's name went on sale!
The club released a limited batch for pre-sale—10,000 shirts.
The commercial director thought,
"This stock should last at least a week."
But by the evening of the release,
North London had descended into chaos.
In just 30 minutes, all 10,000 shirts were completely sold out.
Sold out in 30 minutes?!
The Arsenal higher-ups were completely stunned.
"The entire batch gone, just like that?!"
For most other Arsenal players,
it would be a miracle to sell 10,000 shirts over an entire season,
let alone half an hour!
Clearly, they had massively underestimated the superstar's insane popularity!
The scene at the merchandise stalls was out of control.
Police cars even had to show up.
Some fans got into full-blown fights,
just to grab a genuine Kai No. 10 shirt.
Anyone who didn't know better would've thought it was a North London Derby brawl—
but it was all over jerseys!
Meanwhile, over in China,
local scalpers had found themselves a new golden opportunity—
reselling Kai's Arsenal shirt.
On one of China's major second-hand platforms,
Kai's new season Arsenal No. 10 jersey had already been marked up to:
600 yuan per piece!
Chinese fans were mind-blown.
"600 yuan for a jersey?! Even Messi's World Cup kit didn't get inflated this high!"
But others quickly fired back:
"Messi and Ronaldo? Bro, that era is over!"
"Kai is on fire right now, shining like never before, and just joined a Premier League giant for a record fee!"
"Exactly! It's not about the 'Legendary Duo' anymore."
"Wow, that's bold... Are you saying Messi and Ronaldo aren't even the faces of football anymore?!"
The Chinese football fanbase was in an uproar.
Ever since Kai's explosive rise,
the fans' perception of the entire global football landscape had shifted.
Some said Kai had become the third pole of world football.
Some said Messi and Ronaldo still held their throne—
but Kai was a level above both of them.
Everyone had different takes.
But one thing was clear—
The hype was real, and it was unprecedented!
Back in England—
after the end of Matchweek 3 of the Premier League…
September had arrived.
Before the next round of the Premier League kicks off,
the first round of the UEFA Champions League group stage is about to begin!
Fans everywhere wore expressions of excitement mixed with nervousness.
This season, Arsenal had landed in a Group of Death.
Aside from them, the other three teams in the group were all reigning champions of their respective leagues!
If this had been any other season, Arsenal fans would've already started mourning.
But this season, they had welcomed Kai!
The new Arsenal Gunner King, who had boldly declared during his unveiling ceremony
that he would lead Arsenal straight to Champions League glory!
Fans were now filled with endless hope and anticipation.
Among the Premier League's BIG 6, every club claimed to be a "giant."
But when it came to being a true giant, the definition was mostly the same for everyone.
Why was it that Manchester United could claim to be a giant without much criticism?
The reason was very simple:
Manchester United had won the Champions League.
To many fans,
the Champions League is the true benchmark for whether a club deserves to be called a footballing powerhouse.
And Arsenal fans—those long-suffering faithful—were desperately yearning for that one missing trophy.
Not just the fans.
Even Arsène Wenger, who had coached Arsenal for over 15 years,
had poured all his energy into chasing Champions League success.
But unfortunately…
To this day…
Arsenal's trophy cabinet still had no Champions League title.
There were five days left before the next matchday.
Arsenal held two days of intensive training.
Then the players were given two days off—
a rare break since the start of the season.
After three straight Premier League wins,
everyone on the team was in high spirits.
Even fitness coach Pintus was unusually generous,
refraining from forcing the players into more hellish workouts during their rest.
Kai glanced at his schedule.
With the free time,
he had some commercial commitments to take care of.
His agent Jorge Mendes flew to London.
Together, they went to EA Sports' filming base in London.
This was part of a major endorsement deal between EA and Kai—
A 5-year, €60 million mega contract.
For the next five years,
Kai would be the cover athlete of EA Sports' FIFA game series.
EA had seen the value in signing the first-ever "100 million player" in football history,
and the global storm he had stirred up since his debut.
He was now officially the global face of FIFA.
In the upcoming FIFA 11,
Kai would make his debut on screens for players around the world.
The two-day break flew by in an instant.
Arsenal's first team reassembled.
They held one more training session—
And then, the new matchday arrived!
The UEFA Champions League had officially begun!
Arsenal's first group stage match of the season was now in the spotlight.
2011–12 Champions League Group Stage – Round 1
Arsenal would play away against AC Milan, the reigning Serie A champions!
Arsenal fans were a bit anxious.
This season's Milan team was stacked with talent.
Their squad was downright luxurious!
At the same time, fans were incredibly excited.
Because this match would feature a direct showdown between:
Kai and Milan's maestro, Andrea Pirlo!
Countless eyes from around the world turned toward this clash.
~~----------------------
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