For this question, there was naturally only one answer.
Kroenke didn't wait for Wenger to respond before continuing to the next question. "Arsène, do you think I'll get to see Julien play tonight?"
This was what young Kroenke cared about most. It was also the core purpose of why Wenger had invited him to watch a match together today.
Although he had joined the board of directors, he wasn't some clueless rich kid—he understood Wenger's intentions perfectly well.
It was just that due to his position, there were some things he couldn't say outright.
Wenger's heart was entirely with the club. But the Kroenke family wasn't—at least not yet.
Currently, the Kroenke family was locked in a tug-of-war with Usmanov over Arsenal's ownership.
Since Stan Kroenke purchased 9.9% of Arsenal's shares in April 2007, officially entering Arsenal's picture, they had done little actual management of the club, and were simply continuing to devour shares from Arsenal's minority shareholders.
Meanwhile, Usmanov was also continuously acquiring Arsenal shares. Both men had the same ultimate goal: sole control of Arsenal.
At this time, Arsenal was a publicly listed company, so share transfers were transparent. Both sides were quietly competing.
Usmanov's strategy mirrored Kroenke's—slowly accumulating shares while waiting for the final moment to launch a full takeover. By June 2011, his Arsenal holdings had increased to 29%.
But Stan Kroenke kept crushing Usmanov's dreams.
Kroenke exploited the board's hostility toward Usmanov, step by step devouring the club's shares, and in 2009 became Arsenal's largest shareholder.
At the same time, he consistently kept Usmanov locked out of the boardroom.
Usmanov had stated more than once that if he could join Arsenal's board, he would give Wenger unlimited transfer funds.
But Arsenal's board remained unmoved, which left many Arsenal fans dissatisfied and even angry.
Usmanov had also repeatedly criticized Arsenal's decision to sell van Persie and Song, condemning the mismanagement of Arsenal's leadership. Notably, Usmanov's net worth was five times that of Kroenke.
Unfortunately, faced with Kroenke's nearly 70% stake, Usmanov's words had no effect.
Kroenke consistently insisted that Arsenal be self-sufficient, absolutely refusing to increase investment.
Usmanov wanted to invest but could never get approval from Arsenal's board.
This battle between the two shareholders meant that all the burden of Arsenal's rising debt in recent years fell on Wenger's shoulders alone, forcing him to struggle forward.
Wenger understood Arsenal's ownership issues all too well, and he felt quite helpless about it.
He had been in contact with both shareholders, and both had told him that once they completed Arsenal's privatization, they would definitely increase investment.
But how long would this tug-of-war last?
Wenger didn't know.
But he couldn't wait any longer. He had never given up on signing Julien, and now was the best opportunity.
He didn't want to miss it.
So, he had called Kroenke here, hoping the Kroenke family wouldn't let such a top-tier talent slip away.
Facing young Kroenke's question, Wenger replied, "He'll come on in the second half. Right now, Bastia's situation isn't good—their defense could collapse at any moment.
They need to bring on a player with attacking threat, perhaps even two, but Julien will definitely come on. He's the absolute core of how Bastia has gotten this far. He's tremendously talented."
Young Kroenke nodded slightly. He had already heard Wenger praise Julien far too many times. But privately, he didn't really agree with Arsenal spending too much money chasing after Julien.
According to what he understood, Arsenal could squeeze out a budget of forty to fifty million euros this summer window.
Kroenke had consulted Wenger's transfer representative, Law.
Law told him, "You know, we need better strikers, so we might bring in Yaya Sanogo, Higuaín, or Demba Ba. I'm already in contact with the players' agents."
On television, the first half ended.
Bastia had successfully withstood Tottenham's bombardment at home, going into halftime with a 0-0 scoreline.
After taking a sip of water, Kroenke said to Wenger, "Arsène, tell me in detail everything you know about Julien. Maybe I can help you."
Of course, Kroenke's internal thoughts were merely that the halftime break shouldn't be wasted—they might as well chat.
But Wenger was deadly serious, extremely earnest.
He said gravely, "Josh, you can learn everything about Julien from news reports or the internet. I'll just say this: if we miss Julien, we might miss an entire era—another era of Arsenal's 'beautiful football.'"
Kroenke's face remained impassive. The first thing he'd learned from his father was not to show his emotions. "So, if we buy Julien, Arsenal will completely rise? We'll win trophies? We'll greatly reduce our debt pressure, or even no longer worry about debt?"
Wenger nodded.
Young Kroenke smiled slightly. "Then I don't need to watch his match. I can tell you directly: unless you can bring in Julien using only what's in Arsenal's accounts, you won't get any financial support from the shareholders."
"..."
Wenger fell silent. He knew in his heart that this might be the outcome, but he had no choice. Arsenal's available funds, no matter how much he squeezed, wouldn't be enough to buy Julien.
According to his estimate, Julien would cost at least seventy million euros or more.
Arsenal didn't have that money.
The shareholders wouldn't provide funding either.
Kroenke would only let Arsenal sink or swim—he was waiting to acquire full ownership of the club.
Usmanov wanted to invest money, but Kroenke would never let him have his way, because once Usmanov invested, Kroenke would need to match that investment.
So, Kroenke had preemptively blocked Usmanov from the boardroom—it was an absolute killer move!
Because this way, any words or actions from Usmanov couldn't be implemented. The board controlled by Kroenke would reject everything from Usmanov.
After Kroenke said this, Wenger didn't continue the topic.
There was no point in saying more.
Even though he was unwilling, he knew Arsenal could effectively be counted out of the race for Julien.
According to Wenger's information, currently in the Premier League, the club with the strongest interest in Julien and most likely to sign him was Manchester City.
Some time ago, according to media reports, Manchester City's new CEO Soriano and sporting director Begiristain had specially met with Julien in Paris.
Although he didn't know the outcome of their conversation, clearly Manchester City had more financial muscle.
Time passed quickly.
Just as Wenger predicted, when the second-half players entered the field, he saw Julien at the front of the Bastia lineup.
Bastia had made an early substitution!
They took off Palmieri and brought on Julien.
Mané and Julien would play as twin strikers, though Wenger could tell at a glance that the young Mané would drop deep—he would shoulder more defensive duties.
Stade Armand Cesari.
The cheering songs rose and fell continuously without any pause.
Players from both sides stood in the center circle, waiting for the second-half whistle.
The players' expressions were all somewhat tense. This scoreline wasn't easy for either side.
On the sidelines, both Villas-Boas and Hadzibegic felt the same.
During halftime, both men had made arrangements in the locker room. Now, with forty-five minutes left in this 180-minute, two-leg tie, they would soon face the final result.
Villas-Boas wasn't surprised at all by Julien's entrance. After all, would they really not use their trump card?
He had already made tactical adjustments at halftime.
Tweet!
The whistle blew.
The second half officially began. In this moment, the hearts of all Bastia and Tottenham fans were raised once again.
Everyone hoped to be the one who advanced. However, Bastia was a bit closer than Tottenham—they were ahead on aggregate.
The broadcast camera focused on Julien, who had just entered for the second half.
The TF1 commentator said, "This is an expected substitution. Without Julien on the pitch, Bastia might be a strong team, but definitely not the strongest Bastia. Now it's Tottenham's turn to feel troubled. If they want to attack heavily, they must consider Julien's counter-attacking ability."
Right from kickoff, Tottenham pressed Bastia high up the pitch, determined to attack.
Cup competitions were just that cruel.
No goals meant going home.
On Bastia's side, though they had two strikers, Mané indeed dropped back to an especially deep position, just as Wenger had predicted.
He was practically a defensive midfielder.
Julien became the lone striker.
Under Tottenham's high press, whenever Bastia teammates got the ball, their first thought was to find Julien. However, because Tottenham's pressing was somewhat too fierce, in the short-term Bastia's long balls hadn't successfully connected with Julien.
When Tottenham gained possession, they still had to face the steel defense that Bastia had constructed with united determination!
Though fatigue permeated Bastia, at this moment everyone was gritting their teeth and fighting.
By fully utilizing the field's width and depth to force Tottenham into positional play, they eliminated Tottenham's speed.
After Julien came on, he had few touches. But at the same time, Tottenham's attacks showed no improvement either.
Time ticked away second by second.
Bastia fans' faces were filled with anticipation, while Tottenham fans grew increasingly anxious.
The seventy-fifth minute.
Unable to break through, Villas-Boas finally made his substitutions.
Holtby and Lennon came off.
On came Dempsey and Sigurdsson—time for an all-out attack!
This meant Bastia players' limited remaining energy could basically only be used on defense. On offense, Julien was isolated and helpless.
However, every single time Julien got the ball, he made sure to waste time through his dribbling.
Yet in the eighty-seventh minute, that man still stepped up.
Bale.
After Adebayor's shot created chaos in the box, he found an opportunity, ghosting in at the near post to receive Sigurdsson's pass and poke it home.
0-1!
Tottenham pulled one back!
Bale didn't celebrate at all, rushing back to the center circle. There were still a few minutes left—there was still a chance!
However, there were only two minutes of stoppage time.
Tottenham didn't get their miracle. They didn't get a last-gasp winner!
Tweet!!
The referee's whistle blew!
The TF1 commentator was wildly excited. "The match is over! Unbelievable! Breathtaking! A dramatic conclusion!
Tottenham won the match away, Bale's goal gave Tottenham fans a glimpse of qualification!
But! The ultimate victors are Bastia, who lost 0-1 at home!
Thanks to those two unforgettable away goals from the 2-1 first-leg victory at White Hart Lane, this team from Corsica, dragging their exhausted bodies, withstood Tottenham's bombardment for nearly the entire match at home, miraculously fixing the aggregate score at 2-2!
And that one extra away goal has taken them through to the Europa League Round of 16!"
At the same time, the moment the whistle blew, Stade Armand Cesari erupted in thunderous noise!
Fans kept shouting!
They had advanced! They had really advanced!!
Bastia fans were nearly in tears. It had been so difficult.
Some emotional fans were already crying openly, covering their faces, their hearts filled with excitement. Before the match, they hadn't been favored.
But now, though they'd lost the match, though the aggregate was level, thanks to the away goals advantage, they were the final winners!
Bastia had eliminated Tottenham to advance!
On the pitch, Van Dijk, Angoula and others collapsed flat on the grass.
Breathing heavily, their chests were rising and falling dramatically.
Exhausted. So exhausted!
In the final ten-plus minutes, they had even felt like their legs weren't their own anymore.
Their feet felt like they were filled with weights.
Even iron man Kanté stood there with hands on hips, gasping for breath. If they were selecting man of the match tonight, he could easily compete with Van Dijk and Martinez.
Tonight, these three had formed Bastia's steel defense!
And now, everything they had given was worth it!!
Substitute players, Hadzibegic and the coaching staff all rushed onto the pitch, hugging every teammate who had fought to exhaustion, shouting and celebrating!
This was their moment.
Meanwhile, as Stade Armand Cesari descended into celebration, Villas-Boas accepted a quick interview on the sidelines.
The Portuguese man's eyes were somewhat dim.
"Regarding us, I only have disappointment and frustration. In the second leg we absolutely deserved a victory. The team gave everything, scored the winning goal in very difficult circumstances, and we had control of possession and attacking initiative. However, football is sometimes just that cruel—what decided our fate was our terrible performance in the first 45 minutes of the first leg at home.
The away goals rule is the rule, and we must accept it. The team defended very well today, kept a clean sheet, and created chances in attack. Unfortunately, we couldn't do better in London. It's the details that decide outcomes, and those fatal details all occurred in the first leg.
The players are very disappointed now, and so am I. We can only leave with our heads down, accept the lesson, and continue forward in the league. We must become stronger."
After the interview ended, Villas-Boas walked toward the locker room.
As he entered the tunnel, he turned back for a glance at the surging blue in the stands, the brightness making him squint.
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