My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 65 When I Fail ([-])
Early morning, in front of Milan Cathedral.

The wind of the Apennine Peninsula has blown through 2000 years of history, and the morning light shines on the church square.

The equestrian statue of Vittorio Emanuele II stared straight at the sky, and Chen Yao looked at the washed-out statue with his hands in his trouser pockets.

It was still early, the air was fresh, and there was no one around.

He likes this kind of environment, and likes this kind of place that carries history.

History makes wise.

"Coach, I'm in a good mood."

Mikel Arteta was wearing a team jacket with his hands in his trouser pockets as he walked towards Chen Yao.

"Good morning, Coach."

"Mikel, nice to meet you."

After a simple greeting, Arteta also stood under the statue, looking at His Majesty the King on the prancing horse.

"I figured you'd come here, Coach. Highly educated people like you like this kind of place."

Arteta looked at the statue of the king, then looked back at the Milan Cathedral standing silently.

"Is there anything you want to introduce, Coach?"

"Well... Mikel, the handsome boy in front of you is called Vittorio Emanuele II. He is a great king."

Chen Yao squinted his eyes to look at the statue, the sunlight gradually became a little dazzling.

"Almost 200 years ago, this guy became king of Sardinia Piedmont. Before he came to the throne, Italy was broken. When he died, he left a country almost whole."

"That is to say, without him, Serie A would now be a national league composed of a bunch of small countries?" Arteta asked.

"Maybe it will be like this in a certain time and space."

Arteta also looked at the statue of the king seriously. He thought for a while and asked: "But a king cannot do everything alone. Coach, how did he do all this?"

"He had the good fortune to meet great Italians. Cavour, Garibaldi, Mazzini - the Italian trio. Together they made it all."

"Are they friends?"

"No, that's not the case. They are not friends, they just have the same ideal and practice it in their own ways."

"So, coach, do you have ideals?"

"I..." Chen Yao was taken aback by Arteta's question, he was silent for a while, and said lightly, "I just want to lead this team well."

"Really?" Arteta said, "Coach, no offense, if that's the case, you will definitely fail."

"Why? Mikel, why did you say that?"

Chen Yao was not angry, but asked with great interest.

"Because you're an asshole, coach. I repeat, no offense intended."

Arteta looked serious.

"Well..." Chen Yao frowned and said helplessly, "Go on, Mikel."

"I'm three years older than you, coach. I'm not sure if I should talk to you like this, but you need to listen to me, you need help—someone, to be precise, to teach you a lesson." Alter Tower said.

"Your mentality - with all due respect, you don't look like a coach, you look like a fan."

"I've seen a lot of fans like that. They may love the team, and they claim to be that way. But whenever the team is in trouble, their first reaction is to get angry and then vent."

"They think the players are stupid, they think the coaches are retarded. They blame everything on that and turn it into an outlet for themselves."

"They also don't understand the laws of football at all. Players need to grow, the team needs tacit understanding, and some fruits take time to bear."

"It's part of our job to take on the fans' anger. But coach, you can't. You can't simply blame your players after a loss."

After Arteta finished speaking, he looked at Chen Yao.

To his relief, Chen Yao didn't intend to get angry, but listened to him seriously.

"You want to win, I understand. No one doesn't want to win. But, no one can win forever."

"When you fail, what you have to do is not to blame others, but to go to your team, bear the bitter fruit of failure with them, and stand up with them."

"You need to be their support when they are down. You have to be their beacon, to shine on them, not just another kick."

"So, coach, I'll say it again, no offense, but what you've been doing these past few weeks has been an asshole."

Arteta raised his hand and pointed northwest.

"That's Spain. I was born there and joined La Masia, but I didn't get the chance to join Barcelona's first team."

"My whole career has been adrift. I've been to Paris, I've been to Scotland and I ended up at Everton."

"Everton is a long way from its glory days. We often faced losses and we had to give up some games to preserve our strength and try to score points against weaker opponents."

"Our financial situation was getting worse and worse, and we had to sell good players and buy cheap players to fill the gaps. Slowly, I actually became the leader of this team."

"So, inevitably, we can't please everyone. And Mr Moyes has taught me that when we fail, we need to be more of a unit."

"In this process, no one can be alone. As a head coach, Mr. Moyes needs to protect his players; as a team leader, after Mr. Moyes, I will protect other players."

"Only if each of us takes our own responsibilities can our team spirit continue and we can move on from failure."

"In the toughest times, no one knows when we're going to win. But if we don't treat failure that way, then we'll never win."

Arteta's eloquence is very good. He spoke a series of words fluently in English with a Spanish accent.

At this time, he realized that Chen Yao had been silent for a long time.

Arteta's heart skipped a beat, although...Although he mustered up the courage to say all this, after all, he has never taught his coach a lesson.

But Arteta did not regret everything he did.

This is a responsibility that a thirty-year-old player should bear.

As early as in the League Cup, when Chen Yao reprimanded the performance of the young players, Arteta felt that something was wrong.

Too young, too much enthusiasm, a strong desire to win, self-esteem and pride, and an unbalanced mentality.

Arteta understands all this.

He did that when he was a young player, then lost and felt like his teammates were idiots and didn't deserve his talent.

I, Arteta, am a genius from La Masia, and my youth teammates are all wealthy players.

Until one day, Arteta, who has wandered through multiple teams, realized that in any successful team, someone needs to take responsibility.

He didn't go to the carnival with other players last night, but went back to the room early to rest in a self-disciplined manner.

After hearing someone leaving the next room in the morning, Arteta also got up and followed.

Hmm... there seems to be some sneakiness...

——The important thing is that now, I have come to Arsenal and become one of the oldest players on this team.

He got a chance at Arsenal at the end of his career and he couldn't watch this team sink.

Now, Arteta knows it's his turn to take responsibility.

Moreover, some people also need to understand the meaning of responsibility.

(End of this chapter)