Four Newcomers, Varane Starts?

September 11th.

Arsenal welcomed Bolton Wanderers to their home ground for the match.

Before the game, Wenger was also asked about Li Yufei's comments.

The Old Man fully showed his protective side:

"I don't see any problem with it. It's a good thing, because it shows Fry has ambition, doesn't it?"

"It's an indisputable fact that the quality of top stars in the Premier League is now being overshadowed by La Liga."

"Now that we've finally got such a super talent, I think the media should be tolerant enough with him, because geniuses always like to go their own way."

"You have to remember, Fry has scored seven goals in his first three games, and his total playing time for those goals adds up to less than 140 minutes."

"That works out to less than 20 minutes per goal."

"You all know just how insane that scoring efficiency is."

"Don't forget, this is a minor who's only just stepped onto the first team."

"Considering his age and the immediate combat power he's shown, his future has limitless potential. Even if he grows into the world's best player, it wouldn't be surprising."

In short, Wenger absolutely shielded Li Yufei in front of the media.

He would never allow any public pressure to fall on Li Yufei.

This was his chosen future core of Arsenal, and no one wanted to see Li Yufei develop healthily more than he did.

Back in the locker room, Wenger found Li Yufei for a few more words.

The gist was to tell him not to worry about the outside chatter from the past few days.

Li Yufei thumped his chest and vowed, "Boss, don't worry. These people just want to see me fall, but I'm not going to give them that satisfaction!"

"Good, that's what I like to hear. I believe in you. Perform well tonight and slap those who look down on you right in the face!"

Wilshere, watching from the side as the Old Man encouraged Li Yufei, felt a pang of envy.

To be honest, he also wanted to talk big in front of the media, but he was afraid he couldn't back it up, and the backlash would end up hurting him.

After all, Wilshere's playing time over the past two years hadn't been high, and his performances hadn't been great either.

At least not up to the expectations the media had for him when he first broke through.

The four new signings in the locker room exchanged glances. Hazard thought he'd been a big shot back at Lille.

But on his first day at Arsenal, he found someone even more outrageous than himself.

He'd already heard about Li Yufei's comments over the past few days.

All he could do was admit defeat.

Even though he also believed his future would surpass players like Rooney.

But he didn't dare say it out loud.

Because at this stage, he was nothing—just a standout newcomer in Ligue 1.

Originally, Hazard planned to hone his skills at Lille for another season or two.

Once his market value went up, he'd choose a top club to join.

But what Hazard never expected was that as soon as he made a name in Ligue 1, Wenger—a Ligue 1 specialist—had his eye on him.

Faced with the temptation of a high salary and a big club, Hazard couldn't resist and chose to move to the Premier League early.

Now, he knew he was still a rookie, so he kept trying to stay low-key.

As for the youngest of the new signings, Varane, he was even more clueless.

Unlike the others, up until the moment Arsenal brought him in, he hadn't played a single minute for his parent club Lens' first team.

Before that, he was just a youth player!

His original plan was to play a few seasons for Lens' first team.

After building up his value, he'd then join a top club.

But unexpectedly, he skipped the whole grinding phase at Lens and went straight to the top!

Of course, that wasn't what left Varane most stunned.

God knows how shocked Varane was when, on his first day at the club, he was told that the team's starting Center Back, Vermaelen, had aggravated an old heel injury, opted for surgery, and was out for the season!

What did that mean? The guy he was supposed to be the backup for was out for the season? So that meant...

That's right! Wenger told him straight up that he was starting this match!

This news hit Varane like a thunderbolt.

A Center Back not yet 18 years old, on his first match at a top club like Arsenal, just as the first-choice player he was supposed to back up was out for the season—and he got thrown straight into the fire.

Varane could only drop a single "six" in response.

Because he honestly couldn't imagine any other top club in Europe, besides Arsenal, giving a newly signed 17-year-old Center Back a league start.

Probably not! Only Arsenal, with their severely depleted defense, would make such a risky choice!

As for Griezmann, who had just been promoted from the Segunda División to La Liga with Real Sociedad, he didn't have any extra thoughts.

Because right now, he was just a rookie who had barely set foot in the top flight. In fact, after signing his first professional contract with Real Sociedad, he hadn't even played a single La Liga match before transferring directly to Arsenal.

He was well aware that his current role was to be Fabregas's backup, and Griezmann had no complaints about that.

After all, being the substitute for the Spanish Golden Boy and Arsenal's captain was nothing to grumble about.

The only veteran among the four, the 23-year-old Matuidi, was the calmest of the bunch.

Because the club had already promised him at least twenty starting opportunities when they brought him in.

Plus, the salary Arsenal offered was twice what he got at Saint-Étienne, so Matuidi had no reason to hesitate.

For the vast majority of black players, making money was what mattered most.

Matuidi was no exception!

Li Yufei looked at the faces he recognized from his past life, now so overly youthful, and couldn't help but tease:

"New guys, welcome to Arsenal!"

As for this newcomer who had only joined a month earlier but acted like a seasoned veteran, Hazard and the others still graciously responded.

No brainer! The four of them weren't idiots—the moment they arrived at Arsenal, they had already scoped out the club's internal situation.

Toward Li Yufei, the genuine crown prince of Arsenal, they all adopted an attitude of staying on good terms if possible.

After exchanging a few words, at the Main Referee's signal, the group walked out of the locker room. The eleven starting players entered the tunnel to prepare for the match, while the substitutes took their seats on the bench.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the fourth round of the Premier League, Arsenal hosting Bolton Wanderers, is about to begin."

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both sides."

"Arsenal's starting formation is 4-4-2."

"Goalkeeper: Almunia."

"Defenders: Eboue, Varane, Koscielny, Gibbs."

"Midfielders: Alex Song, Wilshere, Rosicky, Fabregas."

"Forwards: Fry, Arshavin."

"Bolton Wanderers' starting formation is 4-2-4."

"Goalkeeper: Bogdan."

"Defenders: Paul Robinson, Gary Cahill, Knight, Stanton."

"Midfielders: Muamba, Holden."

"Forwards: Elmander, Kevin Davies, Martin Petrov, Lee Chung-yong."

"We can see that due to Vermaelen's season-ending injury, Arsenal's newly acquired 17-year-old French Center Back, Raphael Varane, has been thrust into the role of starting Center Back."

"Undeniably, this is a very bold move. I'm curious where Arsène gets the confidence to believe a 17-year-old can hold down the starting Center Back position in the Premier League."

"Enough talk, let's get into the match!"

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