Seeing the message, Cao Baiming was suddenly startled.
The next few weeks could be described as a grueling schedule, with league matches, other events, and the Europa League.
Moreover, in the final rounds, they would face difficult opponents.
While Crystal Palace and the like were not a major concern, they were scheduled to face Manchester City and Tottenham within two weeks. These two teams were even comparable in overall strength to Liverpool, whom they had just defeated.
Cao Baiming let out a long sigh.
However, this was not out of fear of these strong teams, but because there might not be much vacation time ahead.
Fortunately, Cao Baiming had a rest week coming up, and he might not even need to start in the matches, as Arsenal was facing another weak team.
Despite this, Cao Baiming insisted on playing, not for any other reason than the rewards!
Looking at the points accumulated in the system storage, he had unknowingly amassed over ten thousand more. At the same time, Cao Baiming heard another distinct notification sound.
The rewards from the system tasks had not yet been claimed!
He couldn't help but chuckle when he thought of the task of solely defending Salah ten times.
Poor Salah…
First, there were 10 attribute points. What else was there to hesitate about? He decided to add them all to dribbling. He truly envied Henry's exquisite footwork, using various technical moves to toy with defenders!
Unfortunately, he was still not good enough! His dribbling ability was too low!
With the addition of ten attribute points, his dribbling was now barely at the level of a competent Premier League player, though still worlds apart from these superstars.
Next was a random talent skill card. Although it was a common talent, it might still prove to be surprisingly effective!
After a brief wait, the system's voice chimed.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the talent [Flying Bird]. Talent introduction: When activated, it grants a 30-second sprint speed bonus of sixty percent. It can be used three times per match."
"Oh… so it's an active skill! This talent can be triggered by myself. It seems to be the first one so far!"
Cao Baiming was so excited by this novelty that he was exhilarated for a long time.
Only after calming down did he begin to ponder the capabilities of this talent skill. With such a nice-sounding name, its strength should not be weak!
With a sixty percent speed boost, considering his current speed level, combined with this sixty percent, it would be difficult to find an opponent in the entire Premier League who could match him!
Unless they were ultimate beast-level players like Bale, Mbappé, Drogba, etc., who might still be a handful, but it was more than enough for weaker opponents!
Because it was a percentage bonus, once his base speed attribute improved, this sixty percent would lead to a qualitative leap!
By then, forget Mbappé and Bale, even a true Monkey King would not be able to catch up!
Although it seemed like only three uses were not enough, upon closer consideration, it was just right. As a defender, he wouldn't need to sprint that many times in a single match. With limited opportunities for sprints, these three uses could be perfectly applied in critical moments, such as for breaking through with the ball or for single-handedly defending against speed demons like Bale.
After the system granted him the talent, Cao Baiming already felt his body undergoing some changes, seemingly becoming stronger.
Back in training, he found opportunities to test it twice. Although he didn't grasp the timing perfectly at first, he quickly found his rhythm. If timed correctly, it was a game-changing skill!
Before the match, Arteta specifically mentioned Henry, suggesting that Cao Baiming might need to wait to play.
During this period, Arsenal had gained a sufficient number of new fans and overall external attention. The commercial profits were considerable, and even recouping costs was not an issue.
After easily securing victories against two weak league teams and in the Europa League, the team's players regained their confidence from their peak period.
Unknowingly, they had achieved an eleven-match unbeaten streak!
Currently, in the league, Arsenal had climbed from the second-to-last position during their lowest ebb directly to fourth place!
Although the gap to the top three was still considerable, such progress was astonishing, worthy of being called a resurrection, a phoenix's rebirth, and an incredible comeback!
Cao Baiming took advantage of his rest week to spend time with Wu Xue, and after a few days, he had even gained some weight.
Under Cao Baiming's influence, Wu Xue began to gradually engage with football-related live streaming content, preparing for a transition.
In just three days, her follower count had already surpassed twenty thousand, which was the number of followers she had accumulated over the entire previous year!
In her live streams, Wu Xue comfortably discussed her understanding of football, predicted important match outcomes, and analyzed scores.
Casually chatting, the live stream chat was frantically refreshing. At least half of the viewers weren't paying much attention to what she was saying; they were too busy "licking the screen."
This period of relaxation finally came to an end. In the league, only four rounds remained. Manchester City had already secured the league championship in advance, leaving only the race for second and third place!
The teams currently in contention were Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Leicester City!
With the championship out of reach, Arteta felt less pressure.
Many thanks to De Bruyne for his four goals! Thanks, big brother, for the gift!
Manchester City was on fire, and it was good that way. They weren't targeting them, and even losing wouldn't be too big of a problem!
During the evening training session, Arteta gathered everyone for a meeting.
The reason was simple: the next match was no ordinary game. They were about to face the league leaders, Manchester City, who had secured the championship four rounds early.
This season's Manchester City could be described as "on fire." Although they lacked a traditional striker up front, every player could score, and goals were scored effortlessly.
What was even more terrifying was that Guardiola was planning to sign a center-forward next season, with potential targets including Haaland, Mbappé, Lewandowski, and Harry Kane!
And recently, he had even dared to consider the idea of bringing in the great Henry, which was not entirely impossible!
However, this would depend on Arteta's approval, which he would absolutely not give!
In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain had won the league title countless rounds in advance, making it incredibly easy. Manchester City came in second, and despite not having a center-forward this season, they achieved such excellent results!
That evening, Arteta analyzed Manchester City's playstyle, but Guardiola's tactics were flexible and varied, not easily countered.
Before the match, he didn't have much hope, thinking that losing this game wouldn't matter. They would aim to get as many points as possible from the remaining three matches, securing third place. If other teams cooperated, they might even have a chance at second!