As the Champions League Round of 16 officially came to an end,
the upcoming quarter-final draw naturally became the highlight of attention.
And unsurprisingly, countless media outlets had their eyes firmly fixed on Kai.
After the Round of 16, Kai's Champions League stats this season had risen to an even more terrifying level.
While leading both the scoring and assists charts by a landslide,
he continued to shatter records for goals and assists in a single Champions League season!
Eight Champions League matches.
22 goals and 16 assists!
This set of numbers directly stunned media outlets across Europe!
After all, this was the Champions League stage!
Arsenal, in the group stage, had faced three reigning champions from different leagues!
In the first knockout round, they went up against the third-placed team of La Liga!
And yet, this Arsenal captain had still averaged two assists per match across eight games!
As for goals? Even more outrageous.
Nearly three goals per game!
What kind of concept was this?
The media were utterly shocked.
Before Kai, the single-season Champions League goals record was Van Nistelrooy's 12.
But now, Kai had raised that record by ten goals.
Almost doubled it!
And the most terrifying part—
the Champions League knockout rounds had only just completed the first stage!
If Arsenal kept marching forward,
through the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and even the final—
the media simply couldn't imagine what kind of monstrous record Kai would end up setting!
During this period, with all eight Champions League quarter-finalists decided,
media outlets across Europe seized the opportunity to flood the headlines:
"Double Strike Against La Liga Powerhouse! Arsenal Advance to UCL Quarter-Finals!"
"Two Goals and Two Assists! Kai's Red-Hot Form Continues!"
"Goals and Assists in Every Match! Has Arsenal's Captain Never Experienced a Goal Drought in His Career?!"
"22 Goals in Eight UCL Matches! Kai Elevates Every Record to Unprecedented Heights!"
"Champions League Quarter-Finals Set! Among Barça, Real, and Bayern—who can stop Arsenal?"
The European football world was abuzz with debate!
As the various cup competitions entered the knockout stage,
all of Europe's top clubs were preparing for their final sprint toward glory.
Many had strengthened their squads in the winter transfer window,
launching fierce assaults on their dreams of league titles, doubles, and even trebles!
Inevitably, the media began speculating—
after finally winning their long-awaited first trophy this season,
what was Arsenal's next goal?
This season, Arsenal had displayed terrifying dominance across all competitions.
Under Kai's leadership, this transformed Gunners side clearly carried unprecedented ambitions!
And soon, the media's question received its answer.
As March arrived—
on March 2nd, Arsenal hosted Sunderland in the Premier League, Round 27.
At the Emirates, they claimed a comfortable 3–0 victory!
Extending their winning streak to a staggering 27 matches!
Kai scored twice and provided one assist,
continuing his terrifying form!
Van Persie, assisted by Kai, also netted a goal.
By this point in the Premier League,
although still far from reaching Kai's astronomical numbers on the scoring charts,
Van Persie had firmly secured second place,
ahead of City's Agüero,
Liverpool's Suárez,
Chelsea's Drogba,
and United's Rooney!
This was the most brilliant season Van Persie had ever produced since his Feyenoord debut!
Fans couldn't help but exclaim in amazement again and again—
Kai's ability to unlock his teammates was simply too strong!
This season's Arsenal players, under his organization and leadership,
were fully maximizing their strengths.
This young Gunners squad, under Kai's command,
had exploded with unprecedented energy!
After the Sunderland match,
at the press conference,
the media finally got what they had been waiting for—
Kai appeared alongside Wenger in the media room.
The journalists' eyes lit up with excitement!
Opportunities to interview Kai were rare and precious.
After all, sitting before them was the youngest Ballon d'Or winner in history!
That title alone was staggering—
far more thrilling for reporters than even interviewing Ronaldo or Messi!
After asking Wenger a few routine questions,
the media couldn't hold back any longer and turned their focus to Kai.
With nervous anticipation, they posed the big question about Arsenal's grand ambitions this season:
What titles were the Gunners aiming for within their blueprint?
After securing their first trophy of the season, one front was already won.
Would Arsenal continue to fight on all three remaining fronts?
Or conserve energy to target the Champions League—the one title Arsenal had never claimed in their history?
Facing the media's question—
Kai grabbed the microphone.
His gaze sharpened.
"As I've said before in interviews—Arsenal's goal this season is every single trophy! You should know what each one of those represents."
"If we're talking about the exact number of trophies, then Arsenal's goal this year is an unprecedented Seven Titles!"
Whoosh!
The words had barely fallen before the entire media room erupted in shock!
The reporters below the stage were instantly stunned in place!
Everyone exchanged disbelieving glances, their eyes flashing with astonishment.
What?
Seven Titles?!
What kind of terrifying phrase was that?
Even Wenger, sitting right beside Kai on stage at that moment, couldn't help but tremble!
Seven Titles!
Not only had no team in Premier League history ever achieved it,
but in the entire history of world football,
no club had ever crowned themselves with such a terrifying feat!
The closest anyone had ever come was Pep's Barcelona two years ago.
Even after winning everything there was to win,
that Barça side had, at most, managed six trophies.
And among the five major leagues,
the only one where the possibility of a Seven-Trophy Dynasty even existed
was the Premier League!
Because unlike other European leagues that only had one domestic cup competition,
the Premier League had two.
But it was precisely because of this extra cup
that the English schedule was far more congested.
Coupled with the fact there was no winter break,
the Premier League's competitiveness far exceeded that of the other top leagues.
This directly created an immense challenge—
the difficulty of forging a multi-trophy dynasty in England was unprecedentedly high!
Up to now, the representative of multiple titles in the Premier League had been Manchester United,
who built the "Red Devils Dynasty" at the end of the last century.
But even then, United had only managed a treble.
To win three major trophies in the same calendar year had already been the pinnacle for any English club!
Seven titles?
Before this, no Premier League club had even dared to dream of such a thing!
It was nothing short of a fantasy!
And yet, at this very moment—
in front of countless members of the media—
Kai, brimming with unstoppable momentum, announced a goal that made reporters tremble!
~~----------------------
The Entirety of the book is free on Webnovel, but If you'd like to support me, you may purchase this book's collection on my patreon: [email protected] / Dreamer20