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The moment Lance's miraculously executed "Bicycle Kick Stop" tricked Wojciech Szczęsny and allowed him to tap into an empty net, Arsenal's spirit completely vanished.
At 4-3, they could still hope for a 4-4 equalizer and a last-minute winner.
With the score at 5-3 in the final minute, theoretically, Arsenal did have a chance to turn the game around.
But they were exhausted.
The resilience of this Arsenal team was simply not comparable to Manchester United's comeback against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final's injury time in '99.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Arsenal players once again collapsed onto the ground.
Having experienced this scene multiple times, Aaron Ramsey even lay on the ground, covering his face and sobbing uncontrollably.
Theo Walcott, Mesut Özil, Olivier Giroud, Mikel Arteta, and other players also had bewildered expressions.
On the other hand, manager Arsène Wenger at the sideline maintained enough composure to walk over to Sami Hyypiä and shake hands with both coaches.
"Well played, a wonderful match."
"Thank you, you also did your best."
"By the way, are you planning to sell Lance? Name your price for the transfer fee."
"Ah? Hahaha, Lance is our untouchable player."
Sascha Lewandowski eyed Arsène Wenger warily.
"Just kidding, gentlemen, keep up the good work in the Champions League."
After giving his blessings in English with a French accent, Arsène Wenger turned and walked back onto the field to comfort his players.
Arsenal was once again eliminated in the Round of 16.
It's estimated that the management's patience is wearing thin.
Even though Arsène Wenger is a pillar of Arsenal and a founder of the Premier League's BIG6 landscape, he doesn't have many seasons left.
Beyond their Champions League defeat, they still needed to regroup and return to the Premier League to face challenges.
As for Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypiä, they didn't think as much.
They excitedly rushed onto the field to celebrate with the Bayer Leverkusen players.
"Well done, lads!"
"You are the best! You know what? You are the best players in the world!"
Sascha Lewandowski was ecstatic.
Just as Lance was about to celebrate with everyone, the long-awaited system notification sounded unexpectedly!
Perhaps the victory over the strong opponent Arsenal provided enough energy, as the system, which had been upgrading, finally completed its upgrade!
This was even more exciting than the "ding" sound of a successful Thunder download!
Lance didn't even have time to return to the locker room; he stood on the field and directly opened the system to check.
Player: Lance
Age: 16
Body: 182 / 76kg
Template 1: Nagi Seishiro - S (Fusion Value 100%)
--Skill: Perfect Ball Control
--Skill: Hardcore Shot
--Skill: Mirror Learning
Template 2: Unlockable
Template 3: Unlocked
Template 4: Unlocked
Player Overall Rating: B-
Rage Value: 0%
Among European clubs, Bundesliga clubs have a relatively scientific training system and facilities.
Although Bayer Leverkusen's annual investment and player lineup are not as good as those of the giants, they are willing to continuously invest in youth training, coaches, and training hardware.
Being backed by the Bayer Group also ensures they are not poor.
Therefore, Lance, following the high-level training of Europe's top tier, improved quickly even without cheating.
In a short time, he has risen from C to B-! Jumping two levels!
If put into the FIFA game, it would be an increase from roughly 67 to around 75.
In terms of attacking midfield ball control, disruption, and finishing ability alone, Lance, without cheating, is temporarily not comparable to peak Robin van Persie, Robert Lewandowski, and other world-class strikers.
He also can't compare to Thomas Müller, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Götze, and other players in terms of breakthroughs, passing, and support.
Currently, based on his own strength, Lance estimates he's roughly on par with Kiessling in his team, Danny Welbeck at Manchester United, Lukas Podolski during his Arsenal days, Bojan Krkić during FC Barcelona's Dream Team era, Jadon Sancho during his Manchester United period when he couldn't get cafeteria food…
In a top-tier Bundesliga club, he can only be considered a potential young star for rotation.
In a mid-to-lower table relegation team, he could be a starter, but there's still a lot of room for improvement compared to world-class superstars.
However, considering Lance is only 16 years old, turning 17 at the end of the season, his growth rate is already astonishing!
And the upper limit with cheating is immeasurable!
This is also why Lance can be a starter for Bayer Leverkusen, frequently saving the team in crucial matches, and his 28 Bundesliga goals dominate the Bundesliga.
So, the question is, what is the new template?
Hurry up and bring it on!
Lance was just about to click on the [Unlockable] section to view the system's second template when he was suddenly surrounded by a group of reporters.
Reporters from English TV stations like BBC and Sky Sports were practically shoving microphones into Lance's mouth.
"First, congratulations, Lance! In the two-legged match against Arsenal, your personal rating exceeded 9.5 twice, you won Man of the Match in two consecutive games, and you led the team as a core player to eliminate Arsenal and advance to the Champions League quarterfinals! How do you feel right now?"
"Arsenal is a very strong team, even though they've been in the Round of 16 for several consecutive seasons, they are truly strong."
Lance almost couldn't keep a straight face saying this.
He really wasn't being sarcastic towards Arsenal; Arsenal was indeed very strong. They had "three years of Bayern Munich, five years of FC Barcelona"; who could withstand that?
But it sounded like mockery.
"We defeated a strong Premier League team to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. Before the match, everyone said we, Bayer Leverkusen, were a dark horse. But I want to say that a dark horse must first have enough hard strength. We will not fear any opponent in the Champions League! We Bayer Leverkusen are truly strong!"
Lance's youthful and arrogant answer excited all the reporters present.
"Then, may I ask, in the upcoming quarterfinal draw, there will be no protection for teams from the same group or league. Which team do you hope to face?"
"Anyone is fine. If I could choose, of course, I'd pick the strongest, like the favorites to win, Real Madrid."
"Then are you really not afraid of being eliminated by Real Madrid?"
"As long as the match hasn't been played, any team has a chance. Otherwise, there's no need to play; just award the championship based on paper strength."
A faint, mocking smile hung on Lance's youthful and handsome face, leaving the questioning reporter somewhat speechless.
"No matter who we draw next, we will go all out. Bayer Leverkusen will try to move forward step by step as much as possible."
Finally, after saying that, Lance managed to get rid of the noisy reporters.
After receiving the Man of the Match trophy awarded by UEFA and posing for photos, he arrived at the locker room.
The other Bayer Leverkusen players had already turned the locker room benches into drums, beating out a rhythm while singing a song.
Seeing Lance, everyone cheered with raised hands.
"Hey!! Our hero is back!"
"Heil noble Lance! (Hail noble Lord Lance!)"
"Heil noble Lance!!!"
The entire locker room made gestures of worship towards Lance, making him seem like Aragorn returning as king.
Lance almost couldn't maintain his composure.
"Brothers? Guys?"
"Hahaha, Lance! You deserve such praise today, well played!"
Even Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypiä joined in the commotion.
Being able to eliminate Arsenal over two legs and advance to the quarterfinals, Lance indeed played a crucial role!
With his teammates praising him so much, Lance didn't act humble; instead, he puffed out his chest and enjoyed his teammates' admiration.
Led by Lance, he got the entire locker room to chant in unison.
"Bayer Leverkusen Allez——"
"Bayer Leverkusen!!!"
Go, Bayer Leverkusen!
Guys, no matter how far we go from here, let's all charge towards the Champions League title together!
…
The locker room's singing and dancing lasted for almost an hour.
The brothers finally got tired and went to shower and get massages.
Lance finally had time to calm down and carefully examine his system.
Who would he draw next?
Would it be famous football stars like Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, or Ronaldo?
Or… another unknown anime character?