Starting With Real Madrid

"Arsenal's players are still very tenacious, and their fighting spirit is commendable!"

Napoli's general manager, Pierpaolo Marino, said with a cheerful smile as he sat next to Arsenal's chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, in the President's Stand at the Emirates Stadium.

Gazidis's expression, on the other hand, was gloomy.

It was utterly humiliating!

When the draw was announced, Gazidis had confidently claimed that Arsenal had the advantage in strength and luck, even discussing how they would defeat Napoli. But now, in the first leg of the quarterfinals, they were trailing 0–3 at home.

Gazidis could already imagine the barrage of ridicule and mockery that the British media would unleash tomorrow. His earlier remarks would come back to haunt him, and all of it was thanks to Gao Shen and his Napoli team.

Meanwhile, this insufferable bald-headed Italian beside him couldn't wait to rub salt in the wound.

"Commendable fighting spirit"?

Seriously!

Gazidis glanced at the pitch. It was already the 80th minute, and the score was still 0–3.

Even so, Arsenal's players continued to press forward, launching wave after wave of attacks against Napoli in a desperate attempt to score at least one goal and salvage some pride.

But that was all they could do, there was no hope of overturning the result.

The match had long been decided.

In the second half, Napoli maintained their composure and played with incredible patience.

At halftime, Wenger had made his first substitution, replacing Walcott with Bendtner.

Walcott had been chosen for his speed, but the tactic failed spectacularly.

Every time Walcott got the ball, he seemed compelled to charge straight into a crowd of defenders, refusing to explore spaces with fewer obstacles. Predictably, he lost possession time and time again.

When Bendtner came on, he was placed on the right rather than in his usual role as a center-forward. While Bendtner had strength and skill, he lacked the speed necessary to operate effectively on the flank. It was hard to understand Wenger's thought process in making this substitution, perhaps he was simply out of options and trying anything.

Later, Wenger made two more substitutions. He replaced Adebayor with Denilson and switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, but it had little impact.

His final substitution saw Nasri replaced by Gervinho in an attempt to bolster Arsenal's attack, but that too fell flat.

Gazidis, sitting in the stands, found the situation thoroughly embarrassing. Yet, from the perspective of a club executive, Arsenal's season hadn't been a failure. Reaching the Champions League quarterfinals was already beyond the club's expectations.

In the league, Arsenal's performance was slightly worse than last season, but staying in the top four was good enough.

After all, the current focus wasn't on chasing better rankings, let alone the championship.

The only real blemish was tonight's match against Napoli.

What a catastrophic loss!

This was undoubtedly the worst defeat since the Emirates Stadium opened.

---

"I heard Gao Shen won't be renewing his contract after this season?" Gazidis asked with a smile.

Marino stared at him for a moment before nodding, secretly impressed by his composure.

Even after being so thoroughly humiliated by Gao Shen, Gazidis could still smile. That was something you couldn't help but admire.

"His contract has always been on a one-year basis. Right now, we're at a critical point in the season, so renewing it isn't a priority. We'll address it later," Marino replied diplomatically.

"That makes sense," Gazidis said, nodding. He understood the subtext and didn't press further.

"With the way your team has performed this season, it's going to be difficult to keep all your players this summer, don't you think?"

Marino froze for a moment. Was that a subtle attempt to poach?

The Napoli general manager smiled but said nothing, waiting for Gazidis to elaborate.

"What's your valuation of David Luiz? How much would you sell him for?" Gazidis asked directly, cursing the wily old fox in his heart.

"Last summer, before Inter Milan signed Lucio, they considered bringing in David Luiz. They privately offered us €20 million and hinted they were open to negotiation," Marino said, seemingly changing the subject.

Gazidis was momentarily stunned but quickly understood the implication. When he looked at Marino again, his expression changed.

"Isn't that a bit unrealistic?"

Marino's message was clear. Last summer, Napoli rejected Inter Milan's €20 million offer. With David Luiz's outstanding performances this season, his value had undoubtedly skyrocketed.

Gazidis couldn't help but think about the inflated state of the transfer market.

Marino, however, suppressed a laugh. Did Gazidis think he was a fool?

Wasn't it obvious how much a top-level central defender was worth in today's market?

Back in 2007, Real Madrid paid €30 million for Pepe, a figure that had seemed absurd at the time. But was it really?

And now, Manchester City had offered Arsenal £20 million for Kolo Touré during the winter transfer window.

Was that not equally outrageous?

Compared to Pepe and Kolo Touré, David Luiz was younger, more skilled, and better suited to modern football.

Was it still unreasonable to value him highly?

Marino smiled faintly and turned his attention back to the game, leaving Gazidis to his thoughts.

Napoli's position was clear: if you want to poach, be prepared to pay.

If you don't have the money, then just sit back and enjoy the show.

---

On the pitch, the players remained oblivious to the exchange between the two executives.

All eyes were on the game.

In the 83rd minute, Arsenal launched another attack. They tried to loft the ball into Napoli's penalty area, but David Luiz outjumped Adebayor and headed the ball clear.

The ball landed near the 30-meter mark, where Kolo Touré, facing away from goal, attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick to return the ball to the danger zone.

But Cavani got there first. Using his body to shield the ball, he caused Touré to lose balance and miss his kick entirely.

Cavani then headed the ball to his right, where Sanchez was waiting.

Sanchez surged forward, accelerating past the halfway line with Chrissy chasing after him.

Gallas, the last defender, rushed over to intercept Sanchez.

However, just as Sanchez crossed the center line and approached Arsenal's 30-meter zone, he sent a diagonal pass behind Arsenal's defense for Cavani to chase.

Cavani sprinted after the ball but couldn't quite catch up. As he angled left to retrieve it, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"I'll take it!"

Without hesitation, Cavani moved toward the penalty spot, weaving between Sagna and Song, who had hurried back.

Di Maria arrived, stopped the ball, adjusted his footing, and before Sagna could close in, curled a left-footed pass into the six-yard box.

Cavani met the ball perfectly, heading it toward the left side of the goal.

Almunia, moving right, could only watch helplessly as the ball sailed into the net.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"Four to zero!"

"This is an absolute massacre!"

"Napoli has destroyed Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium!"

---

On the sideline, Gao Shen had been sipping water when the counterattack began. As Cavani scored, he threw the bottle aside, rushing to the touchline, fists pumping in celebration.

"Brilliant! Fantastic!"

"Oh my god, I love you guys!"

Gao Shen's elation was audible to the Arsenal fans in the stands, but at this point, no one cared.

The cameras panned across the stadium, capturing the frustration of Arsenal fans as they began to leave early.

It was a complete collapse.

Gao Shen had promised to demonstrate how to beat Arsenal and he had delivered.

Arsenal's weaknesses were laid bare. Napoli's four goals had come from quick, efficient counterattacks, each executed to perfection.

Arsenal had been utterly outclassed.

This was a crushing defeat, a total humiliation.

***

Forgot to schedule the chp sorry about that.