After the warm-up, they returned to the locker room. Wenger gave them a few more brief instructions, then Arsenal's eleven starters headed into the players' tunnel.
AC Milan's players were already lined up in the tunnel.
Li Yufei gave them a quick glance and saw a whole host of stars he'd only ever watched on TV in his previous life.
Ronaldinho, Pato, Pirlo, Seedorf, Ambrosini, Thiago Silva...
And on the bench were the legendary Inzaghi and Gattuso.
There was no denying it: putting their ages aside, just hearing those names was enough to impress anyone.
On paper, AC Milan were unquestionably one of the favorites to win the Champions League.
Especially since Ibrahimović would be transferring from Barcelona to AC Milan in a month, making their lineup even more formidable.
However, considering that most of the players in this AC Milan squad were already approaching the end of their careers, their actual level was a big question mark.
Calling them "paper tigers" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
If Li Yufei remembered correctly, it was this very season that AC Milan lost 0–1 to Tottenham over two legs in the Champions League Round of 16.
They'd failed to score a single goal across 180 minutes, and their opponents were Tottenham—a so-called member of the Premier League's BIG SIX who habitually languished in mid-table.
That gave a good idea of just how strong Milan really were at the time.
Of course, Arsenal weren't in much better shape.
Aside from having a younger squad than AC Milan, Arsenal were gradually turning into the familiar "top-four specialists" of the future.
As for the Champions League, they could make the knockout rounds consistently, but their opponents there were always "Barcelona every three years, Bayern every five."
They would make it to the knockouts, get a feel for the atmosphere, and then go home.
The only trophy they could compete for each year was the famous "Thermos Cup"—the FA Cup.
Their situation wasn't much better than AC Milan's.
After they entered the stadium, the referee tossed a coin. Arsenal won the right to choose first, and captain Fabregas opted to take the ball.
In this match, Li Yufei took the place of the Moroccan Chamakh, playing in the striker position he knew best.
Feeling the crowd surge like a tide around him, Li Yufei took a deep breath and opened his system panel.
Just moments ago, the system—which had been silent for a long time—had issued a new mission:
[Mission Name: First-Team Debut] [Mission Objectives: 1. Help the team defeat AC Milan] [2. Score a goal or provide an assist] [3. After scoring, declare your love to Taylor Swift in the stands] [Mission Rewards: 100 Intermediate Soft Rice Points for each objective completed. Complete all three objectives to receive an additional 100 Advanced Soft Rice Points]
It was here! It was finally here!
Li Yufei had long since guessed how the system's rewards worked. Sure enough, a match with symbolic significance for him was bound to come with a hefty reward.
The system's objectives weren't especially difficult, either.
After all, beating this visibly aging AC Milan squad shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Besides, it was only a friendly. AC Milan wouldn't be fighting tooth and nail for a win, so Li Yufei already had the advantage in terms of attitude.
As for the second objective, he could achieve it if he gave it his all.
The third objective, though, was a little intriguing. It explicitly said he had to declare his love for Taylor after scoring.
It said "score a goal," not "provide an assist."
In other words, even if Li Yufei completed the second objective by setting up a goal, he still couldn't complete the third.
Put simply, the system was forcing him to find every possible way to score.
That suited Li Yufei just fine. After all, the player who scored was always the center of attention in a football match.
If he wanted to become the world's best, then the greatest of all time, as quickly as possible, he'd have to do it by scoring goals again and again.
At the sound of the referee's whistle,
the Russian Arshavin kicked off, and the match officially began.
Arsenal's friendly against AC Milan was being broadcast by Sky Sports.
Inside the Sky Sports studio,
Andy Gray and Martin Tyler were introducing the two teams' starting lineups.
"OK, ladies and gentlemen. The friendly between Arsenal and AC Milan is underway."
"Arsenal, in their red-and-white home kits, are attacking from the right of your screen to the left. AC Milan, wearing their white away kits, are attacking from the left to the right."
"Let's take a look at the starting lineups."
"Arsenal are starting in a 4-4-2 formation."
"Goalkeeper: Almunia."
"Defenders: Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Clichy."
"Midfielders: Wilshere, Diaby, Fabregas, Alex Song."
"Forwards: Li Yufei, Arshavin."
"AC Milan are starting in a 4-3-3."
"Goalkeeper: Abbiati."
"Defenders: Bonera, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini."
"Midfielders: Ambrosini, Seedorf, Pirlo."
"Forwards: Ronaldinho, Borriello, Pato."
"One thing we should note is that Arsenal's talented young player, Li Yufei Adams—the son of one of the club's major shareholders—is making his first appearance in the first team."
"I'm not sure what Arsène was thinking, but he's given him a starting spot up front for his debut."
"Andy, what's your take?"
Hearing Martin Tyler's question, Andy Gray paused to consider his answer, then replied diplomatically:
"I think Arsène wants to use AC Milan as an opponent who can knock Li Yufei down a peg."
"Li Yufei isn't an ordinary academy player. His father is one of Arsenal's major shareholders."
"For a young man born into that kind of wealth, he needs to take a few knocks to get his head on straight."
"Football is a competitive sport, after all. Your opponents won't go easy on you because of your background. If anything, being a super-rich kid could fire them up even more."
"I know Li Yufei tore through every age group during his time in the academy, but youth football and professional football are two entirely different things."
"Barcelona's Bojan broke all of Leo's records in the academy, but his development with Barcelona's first team hasn't gone well so far."
"So I'm cautious about Li Yufei. He needs to prove himself in a competitive match."
Martin nodded in agreement. "Well, we'll get to see for ourselves how this super-talented player, who tore through every age group, performs in a proper match."
Li Yufei had no idea what the commentators were saying about him. By then, he was completely focused on the match.
He'd felt a little nervous for the first few dozen seconds, but after that, he had completely settled down.
It was just like the college entrance exam in his previous life. Before the exam, he'd been so nervous he couldn't sleep, but the moment he entered the examination room, he'd calmed right down.
Football was the same way.
Arsenal passed the ball around in the middle and at the back for a while. Then Fabregas suddenly accelerated and played a one-two with Wilshere before threading the ball forward to the left.
Feeling Seedorf closing in behind him, Li Yufei moved forward to meet the pass. He didn't give Seedorf a chance to interfere and immediately knocked the ball to the advancing fullback, Clichy.
AC Milan's defensive focus shifted to the right in an instant.
Clichy took the ball and charged toward the byline with Bonera close behind. Bonera eventually forced him into a dead end, leaving Clichy no choice but to cross under pressure.
The ball struck Bonera's leg and went over the byline. The assistant referee faced the goal line and signaled for a corner on the left, and the referee immediately blew his whistle.
In the fourth minute, Arsenal won the first corner of the match.
Before you continue