He put down his phone.
Kyle looked back at Cao Baming, who was fast asleep, with a look of astonishment.
He had expected Arteta to be excited, but not this excited, this frenzied!
This guy was clearly impatient.
It was like a widow, starved for years, suddenly seeing a man bathing.
Her eyes would have been sparkling, right?
Kyle instinctively sped up, and soon he brought Cao Baming to the trial pitch.
Cao Baming scratched his head sheepishly when he was woken up. After all, this trial might decide whether he stayed in Europe or went back home, so he had slept a bit to conserve his energy.
"Are you ready?" Kyle looked at Cao Baming.
"Yeah!"
Cao Baming nodded.
Then the two entered the pitch, and soon a blond man rushed over. Upon seeing Kyle, he immediately broke into a wide smile.
"Hello, Mr. Kyle. You're finally here. The boss was about to go crazy because he couldn't see you!"
"Arteta, that guy, is still as impatient as ever, haha!"
Kyle teased, and the blond man led the way.
"Is this the talented young man you found?"
The blond man looked deeply at Cao Baming, a hint of doubt arising in his mind.
One meter eighty, height was acceptable.
But, he was too young!
And so thin!
And Asian?
This was it?
However, being seasoned, he didn't show any of this on his face. He looked at Cao Baming and asked with a smile, "From Goryeo?"
In his opinion, only Koreans played football, but they were too dirty.
The events of the 2002 World Cup were still fresh in his memory.
"From Tang Guo!"
Cao Baming met the blond man's gaze without fear and replied with composure.
"What?! From Tang Guo?!"
The blond man's expression immediately showed shock and disbelief. But, being a veteran, he coughed twice and said with a smile, "Play well, I'm rooting for you!"
"I will!"
Cao Baming simply smiled faintly in response.
...
At this moment, Arteta was already distracted on the pitch, his mind filled with the memory of that Tang Guo man's axe kick.
It was incredible!
And then he looked at the guys on the field...
He directly held his forehead.
Arsenal had been through so much these past few years.
No Henry!
No Van Persie!
No Bergkamp!
Arsenal truly had no forwards to speak of!
Arteta desperately wished for Henry to be resurrected and return to his peak.
Then, Arsenal would usher in a new dynasty. The undefeated record of those years was still fresh in everyone's memory.
But...
Henry had been in the temple for a year and hadn't come out yet!
"Fuck!"
"Eric, did you use up all your strength on women's bellies last night? Shoot with power, understand?!"
"Hill, where's your run? Do you think the ball will find you if you just stand there? Damn it..."
Arteta's mood was terrible. He cursed as he repeatedly looked outside.
When would that damn Kyle bring the Tang Guo man here!
Just then, Kyle walked over with Cao Baming from a distance.
Arteta's excitement surged. He rushed over, disregarding his image, astonishing the trial coach beside him.
When had he ever seen Arteta like this?
What kind of genius had arrived?!
"Mr. Kyle, you're finally here!"
Arteta exclaimed excitedly. Although he was talking to Kyle, his eyes never left Cao Baming.
One meter eighty, a decent height for a forward.
Just too thin, he would struggle in physical duels!
He needed to gain weight!
Fortunately, his shooting was exquisite!
He could be trained!
He took a deep breath and said, "You are Cao Baming?"
"Yes!"
Cao Baming looked up, his confident gaze meeting Arteta's. "Hello, Coach."
This was the coach of Nana!
He didn't expect to meet him here.
"You play forward, right?"
Arteta asked instinctively. How could someone with such exquisite shooting skills not be a forward, but a defender?
Arsenal needed forwards the most right now!
If this guy was trained, he could potentially be the next King of Highbury, or at worst, be on par with Van Persie!
Arteta was ecstatic.
He was already fantasizing.
"Coach, I mainly play defense!"
This answer stunned Arteta.
Are you kidding me?
Defense?
A defender who excels at shooting?
Kyle, standing nearby, immediately held his forehead.
Cao Baming was also helpless. In his previous life, he had always played defense.
He wanted to max out his tackling skills, his tackling!
But... this deaf system was a trap.
A defender who doesn't aspire to be a forward is not a good defender, but...
When he stood in the forward position, he was like a headless fly, completely clueless about positioning, which was truly frustrating.
"Why don't you try playing forward?"
Arteta asked subconsciously.
"But I don't know how. I'm used to playing defense..."
Arteta was dumbfounded!
Is he toying with me?
But he wasn't one to procrastinate. He decided to test him. He immediately called a halt to the ongoing practice match.
"Roderick, get off the field! How many goals have they scored against you? Your defense is abysmal!"
Arteta yelled. Rodrigo sluggishly left the field, handing his jersey to Cao Baming.
Looking at the man before him, he was full of disdain.
Asian?
Replacing him!
Damn it!
But with the head coach present, he didn't dare say anything.
Cao Baming belonged to the B team. When his teammates saw him on the field, they didn't say anything, but their faces revealed disdain.
In their eyes, if Cao Baming were Korean, it might be acceptable. But if he were Japanese, wouldn't he just be a burden?
Why would Japanese people play football instead of making adult films!
Cao Baming saw the attitude of these people, but he said nothing, choosing to prove himself through his actions.
If he succeeded, he would stay. If he failed, they would be strangers from now on.
The match resumed.
Cao Baming stood at the left-back position. Around him, faint lines and various numbers appeared...
Were these shooting trajectories and success rates?
The darker the color, the higher the success rate.
This system was that amazing?
However, perhaps because he was too far from the goal, the lines in front of him were almost all white.
"Kid, take the ball!"
Just then, a teammate's voice sounded in his ear. Cao Baming looked up and saw that the defensive midfielder was passing the ball to him.
Cao Baming was still in a daze when the ball arrived. He quickly stopped it.
But the next second, everyone was stunned!
He stopped the ball two meters away, and then... it landed precisely at the feet of the A team's forward.
The opponent didn't miss this opportunity and scored a one-on-one goal!
1:0!
Arteta was dumbfounded!
Not only him, but Kyle was also stunned!
What the hell!
What kind of basic skills were these!
Stopping the ball two meters away, what kind of trick was that!