"Trash from England! Just wait till Ibrahimović crushes you! Feel the wrath of God!"
"We are the double champions of Serie A! What the hell is Arsenal? Some stray mutts? You lot can't even sniff a trophy!"
"We've won the Champions League seven times in our club's history! And Arsenal? That's a big fat zero!"
"Premier League clubs are just fools with too much money! A 16-year-old brat sold for 100 million?"
"If Pirlo played in the Premier League, he'd easily be worth 200 million!"
In the stands of San Siro, the Milan home crowd erupted into a frenzy!
But the traveling Arsenal supporters weren't backing down either.
When it came to verbal duels between fans…
Which country's fans in the world could out-trash-talk the naturally rowdy English supporters?
"To hell with your 'God'! Why don't you bring your head over here and ask my beer bottle who the real god is?"
"If anyone's a god, it's our Kai! Arsenal's very own Wind is the real divine force on the pitch!"
"Exactly! That so-called midfield maestro? Tonight, we'll show you what he really is — just a stepping stone for our super prodigy!"
"Serie A's full of old geezers! Tonight, our youth storm will blast you fossils into pieces!"
The Arsenal supporters, stationed in the away end, held nothing back.
They lit up their corner of San Siro with deafening chants!
Under the Milan night sky…
On the sidelines of San Siro Stadium…
Wenger stood once again in his signature suit.
Hands in his pockets, he gazed across the stands in the distance.
This was the fifteenth time he had stood on a European battlefield as Arsenal's manager.
In all those fifteen years, Wenger's Arsenal had never missed out on European competition.
And yet… a major title still eluded them.
This year marked the fifteenth straight attempt!
On the other end, in Milan's technical area—
Allegri stood with his hands behind his back,
savoring the fiery atmosphere of San Siro with a confident grin.
With the full strength of Italy's reigning champions at his disposal,
and home advantage to boot—
Allegri was brimming with confidence.
"Tonight, we'll expose the so-called Premier League prodigy for what he really is!"
Allegri was ready for glory.
Night descended over San Siro.
As the Arsenal players emerged from the dressing room,
they stepped into the player tunnel!
Kai immediately spotted Milan's No. 21 — Andrea Pirlo!
That rather special number…
had become Pirlo's signature in Milan.
In Milan's player lineup,
there were stars shining everywhere.
The fierce midfield enforcer — Gennaro Gattuso.
Veteran defenders Nesta and Zambrotta.
The 2009 Golden Boy Award winner — Alexandre Pato.
And of course…
Milan's No. 11 — Zlatan Ibrahimović!
Kai brushed shoulders with Milan's superstars as he walked past.
Several intense gazes immediately turned toward him.
Pirlo furrowed his brow slightly.
Both Pato and Ibrahimović glared at him with smoldering eyes!
Kai turned his head—locking eyes with Ibrahimović.
"If I had accepted Wenger's trial back then," Ibra said coldly, "maybe we'd be teammates now."
The towering Swede's gaze was sharp as a blade.
"But God does not do trials.
And Arsenal—lost their only chance to play with God."
In this tense, serious atmosphere…
Kai nearly burst out laughing.
Ibra in real life was exactly the same as in interviews—
always spouting outrageous lines!
How did the rest of Milan's team manage to hold in their laughter?
Kai looked straight at Ibrahimović and said:
"A false god brags about being divine.
But the true god—
is about to blow apart Abbiati's goal
in front of 80,000 fans at San Siro tonight!"
As soon as the words landed—
Milan's goalkeeper Abbiati, standing at the front of the lineup, jolted!
The Arsenal players instantly looked fired up!
Abbiati opened his mouth but had nothing to say.
Pirlo and Pato were both stunned by Kai's declaration.
Their expressions quickly turned to anger.
Ibrahimović paused for a second…
Then his eyes exploded with fury!
This was the first player to ever call him a false god—
and even dare to call himself God!
"Good!" Ibra growled.
"See you on the pitch.
Let's find out who the real god is tonight."
He tugged at his jersey and narrowed his eyes with steely resolve.
Ibrahimović had already made up his mind—
tonight, he was going to crush Arsenal's defense!
As the players from both teams walked out of the tunnel—
San Siro instantly erupted into a thunderous roar!
"Kai!!"
Arsenal's away supporters exploded with wild cheers!
Not to be outdone, the Milan faithful countered with full force.
They waved their flags and shouted at the top of their lungs—
"Ibra!!"
"Pirlo!!"
"Pato!!"
The chaotic noise collided like crashing waves!
The burning atmosphere swept through the entire stadium!
Under the night sky in Milan…
The players completed their entrance ceremony
and lined up on their respective halves of the pitch.
The crowd noise surged violently once again!
"For tonight's match, AC Milan is fielding a 4–3–1–2 formation!"
"In defense, the elegant warrior Nesta, and Brazilian star Thiago Silva!"
"In midfield, maestro Pirlo commands the play!"
"Up front — the fearsome duo of Ibrahimović and Golden Boy winner Pato!"
The Italian commentators on site were visibly excited.
This was a star-studded champion squad!
All eyes turned toward the pitch.
Kai stood near the center circle, warming up his arms.
The fans on site were brimming with anticipation.
On the other side of the halfway line—
standing in their respective midfield positions—
were the two undisputed cores of each team: Kai and Pirlo!
Tonight at San Siro,
the duel between the midfield prodigy and the midfield maestro was about to unfold!
This was also a clash between youthful storm and a Serie A giant steeped in tradition!
"Tweet!!"
Under the Milan night sky,
the referee blew the whistle to kick off the match!
San Siro's stands immediately erupted with deafening cheers!
Center circle — Ibrahimović tapped the ball to start!
Pato passed it back to Pirlo.
Milan's formation didn't press forward immediately—
they were waiting for Pirlo to organize the play.
Pirlo glanced around at his teammates' positioning.
After a few small dribbles,
he chose a simple short pass back to his side — toward van Bommel.
But right then—!
A figure darted in diagonally with lightning speed!
Just as van Bommel received the ball—
it was intercepted!
San Siro exploded in gasps of disbelief!
The match had just started—
and Pirlo's very first pass had been intercepted!
Fans in the stadium were left stunned.
But in the away section, the Arsenal supporters roared with excitement!
And the player who jumped into the passing lane and completed the interception…
was none other than—Kai!
In the opening moments, Kai was everywhere!
Arsenal's entire formation surged into Milan's half!
Only ten-odd seconds into the game—
and the tides had already turned!
Van Persie immediately understood the signal.
The moment Kai won the ball,
he sprinted into the attacking channel between the defenders!
Kai paused briefly,
waiting for Van Persie to enter a better position.
Half a second later—
From a god's-eye view,
a golden path seemed to shimmer into existence!
Without hesitation—
Kai unleashed a slicing 40-yard diagonal long pass with a flick of his boot!
The ball soared through the night sky over San Siro…
and curved sharply toward the side of Milan's penalty area!
Van Persie raced forward like a madman, charging toward the drop point!
Under the lights of Milan's night—
Pirlo's eyes blanked out for a moment!
The entire crowd at San Siro let out an earth-shattering gasp!
The accuracy of that long ball—
was absolutely terrifying!
The ball sailed just over the heads of Nesta and Abate…
and dropped perfectly in front of Van Persie!
Inside the massive San Siro stadium—
nearly 70,000 Milan fans went completely silent in that instant!
~~----------------------
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