"He will be back," Jude said, sitting down next to Alex. Jude was wearing a compression sleeve on his leg. "Three months. We just have to... survive."
"We have to do more than survive," Alex said. "We have to win. Without him."
Mark walked in. He was not bouncing. He was not wearing a funny hat.
He was wearing his training kit. He looked serious.
"I watched videos," Mark said. "Of Harry. How he moves. How he holds the ball."
"And?" Antoine asked, polishing his boots.
"And... I can't do that," Mark admitted. "He is strong. I am... aerodynamically efficient. If I hold the ball up, the defender will just pick me up and move me."
"So don't hold it up," Alex said. "Run away with it."
The next game was Liverpool. Away. Again.
Anfield.
Without Harry Kane.
The media was already writing the obituary. "ARSENAL'S TITLE HOPES CRASH WITH KANE INJURY", the headlines screamed.
Alex stood in the tunnel. He was wearing the captain's armband.
Steve had given it to him.
