Chapter 11: The End of July

July was already coming to an end.

It had been a little over a month since Kai joined the reserve team.

As a place where players trained before being promoted to the first team, the reserve team was far more structured and diverse in its sessions than the youth academy.

Adapting wasn't an issue.

Having already experienced the intensity of first-team training, handling the reserve team's training was nothing.

"This is a piece of cake."

Kai genuinely enjoyed training.

A smile naturally formed on his lips.

When his body was in pain, he was too tense to focus. But now that he was training with a healthy body, he felt great.

While Kai was having satisfying days, the reserve team felt like a funeral home.

Along with Serge Gnabry, Héctor Bellerín, and Jon Toral, new players were joining the team quickly.

As a result, more and more players were either released or sent out on loan.

With so many teammates leaving, the remaining players grew anxious.

Sam, 22 years old, spoke to his teammates with a gloomy expression.

"What's going to happen to me?"

"Sam, haven't you received any offers?"

Sam looked utterly defeated.

"Of course not. I'm just an average, unremarkable fullback with no special talent."

"But you're good enough to play in the Championship, aren't you?"

"If I were, I would have gotten a loan offer by now. Ugh… Should I start looking at League One teams instead?"

"How about waiting a little longer? Just hold out until the winter transfer window. If nothing comes by then, you can start looking for trials."

"Yeah… that might be the best option."

It wasn't just Sam—many older players were worried about their future.

Kai understood their feelings.

'This is where paths start to diverge.'

Making it to the reserve team was already an achievement.

If they didn't have talent, they wouldn't have made it this far.

But talent was always relative.

Compared to the truly exceptional players, their abilities seemed small.

Would they give up in despair?

Or accept reality and move forward?

Whatever Sam decided, Kai wanted to support him.

As the mood grew heavier, Gnabry glanced around before breaking the silence.

"Everyone's struggling, huh?"

"There's been a lot of changes in just a few days."

"We're still young and just got here, so we'll have plenty of chances. But for them… it's different."

Toral's words resonated with them.

There were only four teenagers in the reserve team—the rest were all over 20.

The "prospect" label typically applied to players between 17 and 23.

Once they lost that label, they would be judged more harshly.

If they didn't break through, they'd be released.

If they showed potential, they'd be sent on loan.

Time was running out for Sam and the other reserve players.

"What do you think Frimpong is feeling right now?"

"He's probably happy, right?"

"I saw some pictures. He looks like he's doing well."

Recently, Frimpong had been called up to the first team and left the reserve squad.

Though they hadn't spent a long time together, it still felt strange to see a close teammate leave.

As their conversation about Frimpong continued, the topic naturally shifted to Kai.

"At least Kai doesn't have to worry."

"Yeah. Coach Benfield has been praising him like crazy. Even the academy director came to watch him recently."

"Honestly, it should've been Kai who got called up, not Frimpong."

"Yeah, Kai doesn't belong here. He's just crushing everyone's morale."

"Speaking of which, do you remember that through pass Kai made two days ago during the friendly match?"

"Oh! The one that completely broke the defensive line from the halfway line?"

At Bellerín's question, Gnabry nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I was the one who received that pass. The moment the ball reached my foot, I realized—this guy is different from us."

Kai immediately shook his head.

"I made that pass because of your movement. If your off-the-ball movement wasn't good, that pass wouldn't have happened."

"Really?"

"Passing is important, but so is the player receiving it."

"Haha. Yeah, that's true."

Kai recalled the two friendly matches they had played recently.

Their opponents were Newcastle's U23 team and West Ham's U23 team.

Coach Benfield had put the youngest player, Kai, in the starting lineup.

No one was concerned.

Everyone already acknowledged his ability.

Even though it had been a while since his last competitive match, Kai wasn't nervous.

He played like he always did.

Exchanging passes with teammates, controlling the tempo, and exploiting gaps in the defense.

Whenever he saw an opening, he sent a smooth pass through.

And the opponents collapsed on their own.

'Was it two goals and three assists? Or four assists?'

He couldn't remember exactly.

But he did remember the faces of the opposing players after the match.

Despair, fear, helplessness.

They had been completely dominated, unable to take a single shot on goal.

And at the center of it all was Kai.

Playing as an attacking midfielder, he dropped deep to orchestrate the game.

Because he held onto the ball for long periods, his teammates naturally relied on him.

Kai didn't mind.

He embraced the responsibility.

Coach Benfield didn't try to rein him in.

He let him play however he wanted.

Kai dominated both offense and defense and was unanimously named MVP.

The impact of the friendlies changed his life.

Until now, only hardcore Arsenal fans and club insiders had paid attention to Kai.

But now, he had become a widely recognized top prospect.

More fans and reporters started showing up at the training ground.

The club, which had been controlling media access, slowly began revealing information about Kai, shaping his public image.

The press eagerly picked up the story.

[Who is Arsenal's Kai Arata?]

[Arsenal's top prospect scores a hat-trick against West Ham U23!]

[Arata dominates the match!]

[16-year-old Arata, a football prodigy secretly nurtured by Arsenal!]

[Arsène Wenger: 'Arata has generational talent! But it's too soon for the first team.']

As public interest spread like wildfire, Kai's parents excitedly declared that a superstar had been born.

Kai didn't pay much attention.

He had already experienced this before, so it didn't faze him.

"I'm so glad I don't play the same position as Kai."

"If I had to compete with Kai? I'd transfer immediately."

"I think I'd quit football altogether."

As his teammates showered him with admiration and envy, Kai quietly peeled a banana.

At times like this, it was best to stay silent.

If he said anything, it would only make things worse.

---

After finishing afternoon training, Kai headed to the parking lot, where Parker was waiting.

"Kai! Good work today."

"No problem."

"Put your stuff in the trunk."

"Got it!"

Despite being in a restricted area, Parker kept glancing around anxiously.

Once Kai got into the passenger seat, Parker let out a sigh of relief.

"It's a good thing no one knows your home address."

"Because of crazy fans?"

"Yeah. If you play well, they'll be your biggest supporters, but if you have a bad day, they'll show up at your house and hurl unspeakable insults."

Kai searched his memory. He had heard words of encouragement plenty of times but had never been insulted. He had experienced the crushing weight of pity rather than verbal abuse, so Parker's words didn't resonate with him as much.

He had never been criticized after a match.

"If I do well, there won't be any problems."

"Geez. Where does all that confidence come from?"

"My skills? Ah! Stop touching my hair!"

"I told you not to say things like that. It all comes back as karma."

"That's why I only say it when I'm talking to you."

Kai brushed Parker's hand away and carefully fixed his hair. Restoring it to its original state wasn't difficult. Seeing kai's satisfied smile after adjusting his hair, Parker looked at him with suspicion.

"Kai, you suddenly got a perm… Are you secretly dating someone?"

"How can I have a girlfriend when there aren't any girls around me?"

"Are you sure? If you do, you need to tell me. That way, the club can prepare accordingly."

"Oh, come on! I really don't have one!"

As Kai raised his voice, Parker grinned and smoothly turned the steering wheel.

"Alright, I'll believe you. But if you do get a girlfriend, you have to tell me, okay?"

"Of course!"

"Oh, by the way… your hair. Can you tell me where you got it done?"

Parker cleared his throat awkwardly as he asked. Kai looked at him with an amused smile.

"You really want to know?"

"If you don't want to tell me, then forget it."

"No need to sulk. You know the bakery two blocks to the right from my house? The shop next to it."

"Oh! That place?"

"Yeah, just ask for a perm there. They'll take care of the rest."

"Okay! Alright, we're here."

Kai gathered his belongings and stepped out of the car.

"Thanks again for today."

"No need to thank me. It's my job. See you tomorrow morning."

"Yes!"

After saying goodbye to Parker, Kai returned home and tossed his training clothes and socks into the washing machine.

Before he knew it, it was already past 5 p.m.

For dinner, he had a salad and fish.

It was a diet that Coach Wenger had been strongly advocating, and many players had benefited from it.

"Van Persie, who used to get injured every season, switched to this diet and played a full season."

Developing good eating habits now would help prevent injuries in the long run.

Luckily, getting fresh ingredients was easy.

Since his parents ran a store, fresh food came in every day.

As he was still growing, he made sure to eat meat occasionally as well.

Kai cracked five boiled eggs on top of his salad and ate his meal.

After dinner, he took out his tactics book and started reading.

Once he had digested enough information, he balanced it out with some stretching.

He also did some light weight training.

He occasionally watched visual materials as well.

School? He had given up on that a long time ago.

His grades weren't bad, but once he made it into the first-team squad, there would be no time for school anyway.

Ding!

[Emmanuel Frimpong has tagged Kai Arata.]

Clicking on the notification, he saw a bunch of photos taken in China.

A few first-team players were in them as well.

"That guy didn't even play in the match, so what's he so excited about?"

Other reserve team players who were also tagged were extremely envious of Frimpong.

Frimpong tried to reassure them, saying they would be called up soon, but it only made things worse.

Kai smirked and turned off his phone.

"The Asia Tour is almost over."

Since it was a long journey between Malaysia and China, he had no real desire to participate.

The real deal was the Germany training camp.

That was what truly mattered.

Whether or not he made the squad for the camp would determine if he joined the first team or remained with the reserves.

"How did the Germany tour go again?"

Since he hadn't been there, his memory was a bit fuzzy, but he knew they had won.

But it was a victory full of scars.

Key players suffered injuries, and the season started off in complete disarray.

After returning to London, Arsenal played matches against Boca Juniors, New York Red Bulls, and SL Benfica.

Aside from Benfica, the other two teams were lower in stature.

Many expected Arsenal to win comfortably, but they ended up embarrassing themselves.

"Was it 2 draws and 1 loss?"

The attack wasn't the problem.

They had scored six goals in three matches.

But their defense, which had long been an issue, completely collapsed.

"They crumbled against fast counterattacks."

Arsenal, having messed up their preseason, continued to struggle in the league. In desperation, they made last-minute signings to fix their weaknesses.

Kai tapped his finger and muttered,

"I joined the first team in late October. My debut was after the Boxing Day matches."

Joining in October was way too late.

By then, 10 league matches had already been played.

The humiliating defeat against Manchester United had also passed by then.

Considering how terrible Arsenal's early-season form was, he needed to join the first team as soon as possible.

After Boxing Day, it would be nearly impossible to stop the Manchester clubs from running riot.

Shaking his head, Kai cleared his thoughts.

"No need to rush."

His opportunity would come, without a doubt.