[Physical Stats: Speed 99, Acceleration 99, Explosiveness 93, Strength 70, Jumping 85, Hang Time 75, Stamina 70, Balance 80, Agility 78, Injury Resistance 99] [Technical Stats: Shooting 83, Dribbling 85, Ball Control 81, Short Passing 82, Long Passing 50, Crossing 65, Long Shot 70, Heading 55, Shot Power 75, Set Pieces 60] [Other Stats: Mentality 80, Football IQ 75, Positioning 75, Vision 63, Anticipation 60, Creativity 72, Aggression 75, Off-the-Ball Movement 60, Tackling 40, Interceptions 25, Sliding Tackles 20, Goalkeeping 10]
After glancing over his stats, Li Yufei decided to make his strengths strong enough first.
As a forward, Li Yufei needed to have standout qualities. He didn't need to be good at everything.
Even with obvious weaknesses, he could still make it as long as his strengths were strong enough.
By contrast, players at the back needed to have as few weaknesses as possible.
As a forward, Li Yufei would naturally focus on improving his strengths first.
Li Yufei currently had 200 Beginner Soft Rice Points, 300 Intermediate Soft Rice Points, and 100 Advanced Soft Rice Points.
He spent the Beginner Soft Rice Points on his [Strength] attribute.
After all, physical contests were fundamental to football. If he couldn't hold his own, even the best technique would be useless!
The system's exchange rate was 100:1, meaning 100 points could be exchanged for 1 attribute point.
Li Yufei's [Strength] therefore increased by 2, rising from 70 to 72.
His weight also inevitably increased slightly as his [Strength] grew.
He had weighed 77 kg before; now he weighed 78.5 kg.
Then Li Yufei exchanged 300 Intermediate Soft Rice Points for 3 attribute points, putting 2 into Dribbling and 1 into Shooting.
His [Dribbling] rose from 85 to 87, while his [Shooting] went from 83 to 84.
As for the Advanced Soft Rice Points, Li Yufei exchanged them for attribute points and put them into [Explosiveness].
After all, only four of Li Yufei's attributes were currently at 90 or above.
His three 99s were already maxed out, so he couldn't add points to them.
That left [Explosiveness]. A score of 94 was undeniably excellent!
As his explosiveness improved, his jumping increased too, rising from 85 to 86.
This was a case of one thing affecting everything else.
After all, once a fundamental physical attribute like explosiveness improved, it was impossible for all the attributes closely tied to it to remain unchanged. That just didn't fit the way the human body worked.
If Li Yufei's speed and acceleration weren't already maxed out, the boost to his explosiveness would have raised those stats too.
In other words, improving one attribute like explosiveness could increase two, or even three, other attributes.
That was an incredible deal!
Still, Li Yufei was puzzled. Why hadn't his increased strength raised other stats, like [Shot Power] or [Long Shot]?
Maybe the increase in strength wasn't big enough yet, or maybe shot power and long shots didn't depend entirely on strength and were influenced by other factors too.
But Li Yufei didn't want to dwell on it. His first official match of his professional career was only a few days away.
With two days left before the Premier League's opening round, the entire Arsenal first team sat in a meeting room at the Colney Training Centre.
After a few days of rest, the Arsenal players were in pretty good spirits.
Their preseason friendlies had been lively enough, but many still weren't sure who Wenger planned to put in the starting lineup.
Naturally, that left them with plenty on their minds. Even Li Yufei was no exception.
He'd started all three friendlies, after all.
But Li Yufei knew that the old man had only wanted to test him out.
As he kept telling himself, friendlies and competitive matches were two completely different things!
They couldn't be lumped together!
His performances in the friendlies only proved that he had ability. They didn't guarantee him a starting spot.
This was Arsenal, after all. Even if the club was gradually falling from its former heights, it was still far above the average team!
Earning a place in Arsenal's starting lineup wasn't easy!
Fabregas seemed to sense Li Yufei's unease. He patted him on the shoulder and reassured him:
"Bro, don't be so nervous. You're good enough. Even if you don't start right away, the Boss will give you plenty of playing time."
Li Yufei nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, I believe in myself. Worst case, I'll come off the bench first~~~"
A few minutes later, Wenger entered with several assistant coaches and went over some match-day details.
Then, without further ado, he announced the starting lineup for the first round of the Premier League.
"Goalkeeper: Almunia."
"Defenders: Sagna, Eboue, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Clichy."
"Midfielders: Nasri, Diaby, Wilshere."
"Forwards: Arshavin..."
Wenger paused. He glanced between Li Yufei and Chamakh before announcing his final choice:
"Chamakh."
The moment he heard his name, Chamakh felt a rush of excitement. Then he sneaked a glance at Li Yufei.
Li Yufei kept his expression neutral, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. In truth, he felt a little disappointed.
Forget it. It's not a big deal. So what if I start on the bench? I'll get a starting spot sooner or later.
After giving himself a pep talk, Wenger announced the names of the seven substitutes who would make the squad.
"Van Persie!"
"Walcott!"
"Li Yufei!"
"Rosicky!"
"Fabregas!"
"Alex Song!"
"Fabianski!"
There were few surprises among the substitutes.
Captain Fabregas had had too little time to rest after the World Cup.
Professor had put him on the bench purely to ease his workload.
Once Fabregas got back into form, he'd undoubtedly start every time.
Van Persie, meanwhile, was made of glass. He was carrying a minor injury and wasn't fully fit.
So he'd start on the bench.
Walcott's place was down to his ability. When Arsenal played with two strikers, he was always a substitute.
He could only hope to start when they played a 4-3-3.
Rosicky and Song had always been important rotation players, so it was only natural that they were on the bench.
Fabianski was Arsenal's second-choice goalkeeper. His place on the bench was mostly for show.
The match had practically nothing to do with him.
Unless the starting goalkeeper, Almunia, suffered an injury and couldn't continue, Fabianski wouldn't get his chance.
As for Li Yufei making the substitutes, honestly, that was the biggest surprise.
If Li Yufei had been an ordinary youth academy player, he might not even have made the squad for such an important match against Liverpool.
But he was, after all, the son of one of Arsenal's major shareholders, and he was good enough.
It was one thing not to start him.
But if Wenger had left him out of the squad entirely, he would have been showing a serious lack of tact.
Fortunately, Wenger wasn't the stubborn type. There was a reason people called him "Professor."
His emotional intelligence was one of his most notable qualities.
After the meeting, Wenger called Li Yufei aside to reassure him:
"Son, I've put you on the bench this time, but it's not because I don't believe in your ability."
"It's because the pace and intensity of the Premier League are nothing like the youth matches you've played before!"
"Especially since our first opponent is Liverpool. Their physicality and work rate have always been exceptional."
"I want you to watch from the sidelines first and get a feel for the atmosphere of the league."
"If the opportunity comes, I'll bring you on in the second half."
Li Yufei smiled. "Thanks, Boss. I understand. If the team needs me, I'm ready to go on at any moment!"
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