"How are the preseason opponents looking?" Pat Rice asked.
To prepare for the new season, Pat Rice had lined up four friendly matches. The planned opponents were Roma from Serie A, Barcelona from La Liga, Wolves from the English Championship, and Porto from Portugal.
"It hasn't gone very smoothly," Martin Hughes replied. "Barcelona turned down our invitation outright. Porto and Wolves both said their schedules were already full and they couldn't fit us in."
Pat frowned immediately.
Barcelona's refusal was understandable to some extent. Porto and Wolves, however, were another story. It was hard to believe scheduling was the real issue. More likely, they simply had no interest in facing an Arsenal side now operating without Wenger.
His expression darkened.
"Who has approached us instead?" Pat Rice asked.
Martin spread his hands helplessly. "Quite a few clubs have shown interest, but most of them are from second-tier leagues."
That only made Pat's mood worse.
Arsenal were being isolated.
As reigning Champions League winners, they had become one of the most closely studied teams in Europe. Yet after Wenger's illness and Pat's promotion to manager, rival clubs were reluctant to reveal anything about themselves in a preseason match against a direct European competitor.
They wanted to analyze Arsenal. They just did not want Arsenal analyzing them in return.
As for Wolves, their refusal felt particularly deliberate.
After a brief silence, Pat let out a sigh.
"Find three replacement opponents. We'll head to Italy tomorrow, and the other three friendlies will be played in London."
Since Arsenal were the invited side, the venues could be arranged accordingly.
In truth, ever since Arsenal lifted the Champions League trophy, questions about the legitimacy of their triumph had gradually begun to surface.
The debate centered on the level of opposition they had faced.
Throughout the knockout stages, Arsenal had only met one established European giant, Bayern Munich. Paris Saint-Germain were still viewed by many as a rising force, while Juventus, despite their revival, were no longer considered among the absolute elite.
Because of that, some critics argued Arsenal had benefited from a favorable draw. They had not eliminated clubs such as Real Madrid or Barcelona. Instead, those heavyweights had fallen elsewhere, leaving Arsenal to take advantage of the path that opened before them.
In other words, people were questioning the true value of Arsenal's Champions League title.
Arsenal never bothered responding.
A Champions League trophy was a Champions League trophy.
They had reached the final through fair competition and won on the biggest stage in European football. There was nothing illegitimate about it.
Outside the club, however, many rival supporters refused to accept that view. To them, Arsenal's triumph carried an asterisk.
This was their way to cope, if analysed properly. The banter club that rivals could repeatedly dunk on was no more. So, they shamelessly shifted the goalpost to criticize Arsenal's European credentials.
There was little Arsenal could do about it.
As the new season approached, the Champions League winners had become the focus of everyone's attention.
While critics continued to downplay their achievement, rival clubs were carefully studying every aspect of Arsenal's game.
At the same time, Arsenal itself had undergone major changes. Several important players had departed, and questions remained about how much strength the squad still possessed.
The following day, Pat Rive led the team to Rome for their first preseason fixture.
There, Kai spotted several familiar faces.
The first was former Arsenal winger Gervinho.
Having arrived at Arsenal around the same time as Kai, Gervinho eventually fell out of Wenger's plans and moved to Roma. His time in Italy had not been especially successful either.
When he saw the Arsenal squad, however, he appeared eager to keep his distance.
Clearly, his memories of North London were not particularly pleasant.
Szczęsny, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper greeted everyone enthusiastically and even invited Kai and several teammates to his home for a gathering after the match.
Pat Rice quickly declined on the team's behalf.
Szczęsny could only shrug and accept the decision.
Roma had also added another familiar Premier League face. Edin Džeko had recently arrived from Manchester City. With no place for him in Guardiola's plans, the striker had chosen to continue his career in Italy.
Looking across at Arsenal, now reigning European champions, Džeko could not help feeling a trace of bitterness.
Arsenal had reached the summit of European football. Meanwhile, he was entering the latter stages of his career.
Serie A remained one of Europe's top leagues, but compared with the Premier League, both the financial rewards and the weekly intensity were on a different level.
Soon, the two teams took to the pitch.
Arsenal lined up in the same tactical system that had brought them success the previous season.
Arsenal (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Čech
Defenders: Chambers, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs
Midfielders: Kanté, Wilshere, Kai
Forwards: Aubameyang, Suárez, Sánchez
Roma (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Szczęsny
Defenders: Florenzi, Manolas, Antonio Rüdiger, Digne
Midfielders: Pjanić, De Rossi, Falque
Forwards: Džeko, Perotti, El Shaarawy
Kai stood on the pitch, bouncing lightly on his toes as he settled into the rhythm of the game. The extra conditioning work over the break had paid off. His body felt lighter, sharper in small movements, and his first step carried a different kind of control now.
He still could not fully measure the improvement. A match like this would show it better than any training session.
Pat Rice had already made his instructions clear. Kai was to operate from the left half-space, slightly ahead of midfield, linking play between Sanchez and Suarez. The idea was simple. Build the same attacking patterns from last season, only with adjusted personnel.
From the outside, it looked almost identical to Arsenal's previous setup.
Same structure. Same principles. Different names.
Pat Rice knew it too. He was effectively rebuilding something that had already worked once, hoping the foundation would still hold after the changes. With Cazorla injured and Di Maria gone, there was no guarantee the timing and chemistry would survive the transition.
The match kicked off with Arsenal in possession.
Suarez dropped a touch, played it back, then immediately pushed forward again. Kai received the return pass and kept it simple, a short touch into safety, then repositioned himself to support the next phase.
After a brief scan, he called for it again.
The ball returned to his feet.
Kai carried it forward.
He did not drive straight. Instead, he moved laterally along the left channel, body angled, right and left feet guiding the ball in tight touches. Each step was controlled, almost side-on to the pitch, giving him a wider view of passing lanes and defensive shifts.
It was not a style he used often last season. The work over the break had changed that. He could now manipulate tempo in smaller spaces, not just through passing but through how he carried the ball itself.
A defender stepped out, then hesitated.
Kai noticed it immediately.
Roma were not stepping high. They were dropping into shape early, compressing space instead of pressing forward aggressively. A clear adjustment, likely based on their analysis of Arsenal's midfield circulation.
Kai slowed slightly, then looked up.
No clean forward pass appeared. Suarez was marked, Sanchez was tightly tracked, and Wilshere was already drifting into a different pocket.
Kai shifted the ball and played it into Wilshere's feet.
Then he moved again, dropping a few steps to reset his position.
Wilshere took over with energy, accelerating the tempo. His movement was direct, constantly offering himself for one-twos and quick exchanges. For a few moments, Arsenal found rhythm through him and Suarez.
Aubameyang, however, was still adjusting.
His runs were sharp, but his timing with the rest of the attack felt slightly off. When the ball reached him, the sequence slowed, not because of hesitation in intent, but because the collective understanding was not there yet. The passing angles were not automatic.
He would pass, then look up, then adjust. The extra half-second was enough to break the flow.
Kai noticed it without reaction. New partnerships always carried that phase.
The match continued with both sides trading phases of control. Chances appeared, shots followed, but neither team managed to break through. Defensive structure held on both ends, with Roma staying compact and Arsenal covering space with discipline.
Spalletti nodded once from the touchline. The defensive shape was doing exactly what he wanted. Containing Arsenal's central combinations was already a positive outcome for him.
On the opposite side, Pat Rice stayed still for a moment longer than usual.
His expression tightened.
Arsenal's attack was not functioning at its normal level.
Last season, they had been one of the most dangerous attacking sides in Europe, capable of turning midfield control into quick vertical punishment. That rhythm was missing now. The structure was still visible, but the execution lacked consistency.
The reasons were clear.
New arrivals were still adapting.
Key creative relationships were not yet rebuilt.
The timing between midfield and attack was inconsistent.
And for the first time, the balance felt slightly inverted.
The defense was holding better than expected.
Pat Rice exhaled slowly, rubbing his face vigorously, watching another attack break down before it fully developed.
. . .
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