"GOAAALLLL!!!"
"Amazing! It's in!"
"A zero-angle screamer from the byline!!"
"1–0!!"
"Kai! It's Kai again!"
"Arsenal's Gunner King strikes first once more for the Gunners!"
Beneath the night sky in North London—
The Emirates Stadium erupted into wild, deafening cheers!
On the away stand, Milan fans were stunned speechless.
Wasn't van Persie's shot just saved by Abbiati?
Everyone thought it was going out for a corner.
But out of nowhere, a figure came crashing in from the angle—
And blasted the nearly-out-of-bounds ball into the goal from zero angle!!
Arsenal fans leapt from their seats, surging to the railings,
Waving their arms like lunatics!
Inside Milan's box, even van Persie was frozen in shock.
He ran over in disbelief and threw his arms around Kai!
"Captain, what was that?! That was insane! How did you do that?!"
A zero-angle rocket.
The spectacle of the goal was simply unreal.
Arsenal players rushed over in celebration,
Surrounding Kai in a joyous embrace.
The Emirates erupted with feverish, almost primal energy!
On the sidelines, Allegri stood frozen in disbelief.
What just happened?!
The game had just begun, and they were already down a goal!
Milan's entire backline had been shredded like wet paper—
Kai cut through it with ease!
On the pitch, Abbiati collapsed to a seated position on the goal line.
The Milan keeper's confidence was visibly shaken.
In the first group match against Arsenal,
Kai had beaten Abbiati three times.
And now, he had pulled off an almost impossible shot—
A jaw-dropping, zero-angle laser from the byline!
Abbiati, Milan's #1,
Had kept clean sheets against several top Serie A strikers this season.
Even Inter's ace Milito had only managed two goals against him.
But Kai—a player not even from Serie A—
Had now put four goals past him in just two Champions League games!
Abbiati sat there, dazed and hollow.
Nesta and Abate could only stand hands-on-hips, helpless.
There was nothing they could've done about that one.
Every Milan player had dull, lifeless eyes.
Pirlo ran a hand through his hair, wandering across the pitch,
His mind heavy.
Two legs against Arsenal.
Two direct duels against Kai.
And the pride and confidence Pirlo had built over all those years at San Siro...
Was now being utterly eroded.
As the roaring madness in the stadium slowly settled,
Arsenal's players returned to their half of the pitch.
The referee blew the whistle—
Restart at center circle!
Ibrahimović took a deep breath,
And with a grim face, played the ball forward.
Pato passed it into midfield, and the Milan players began to move.
On the touchline, Allegri was yelling himself hoarse.
The Milan coaching staff were already in disarray—
And the match had barely even started!
The crowd glanced up at the stadium scoreboard—
Only three minutes had passed!
And once again, Arsenal had executed a blistering opening press—
Snatching a dream start!
One of Arsenal's most terrifying traits this season...
Was their relentless pressure from the very first whistle.
In past years, Arsenal might have begun games cautiously, feeling out the opposition.
But this version of Arsenal—
This Kai-led Arsenal—
Was built to strike before you could even breathe.
Feeling out opponents?
Forget it.
They skipped that tedious step altogether!
Right from kickoff, Arsenal unleashed a rapid-fire combo attack,
bombarding their opponents mercilessly until they were left reeling!
The first ten minutes against Arsenal had become the most dreaded phase for every team facing them this season.
On the pitch,
Kai led his teammates to accelerate the tempo relentlessly.
Milan, a storied Serie A powerhouse,
once again felt the wild onslaught of the Premier League's youthful storm!
At the 30th minute,
van Bommel seized on a sloppy mistake by Clichy and had just passed the ball to the flank.
Pato went wide, while Ibrahimović surged toward the center of the pitch.
But Arsenal's formation was astonishingly quick to react!
Kai gestured commands to Arteta and Koscielny.
One pressing forward, the other falling back,
they completely cut off Ibrahimović's horizontal and vertical passing lanes.
Kai suddenly sprinted toward the flank at lightning speed!
The Milan fans in the stadium were stunned into silence.
Amid a roar of surprise,
Kai caught up with Pato, who was carrying the ball with a slight lead.
In a smooth sliding tackle,
he clipped the ball away with the top of his foot,
snatching possession from the young Milan star!
The Emirates instantly exploded in a wave of ecstatic cheers!
Arsenal fans went wild!
This was a direct showdown between two Golden Boy winners!
The journalists from La Gazzetta dello Sport covering the match were stunned.
Pato had won the Golden Boy award a year before Kai.
But now, their form and fortunes—both on and off the pitch—couldn't be more different!
Amid the cheers, Kai sprang back to his feet after the tackle.
With a burst of speed,
he left van Bommel trailing far behind!
Arsenal's formation suddenly surged forward deep into Milan's half with extreme high pressing.
The red-and-white storm swept the pitch once again!
Wenger on the sidelines shouted encouragement, eyes shining with excitement.
Not far away in the Milan dugout, Allegri looked nearly frantic.
He was desperate.
Led by Nesta, Milan's defense was quick,
and at first glance, the backline looked solid.
But Allegri felt the creeping sense of crisis engulfing his team.
Whenever Kai appeared carrying the ball on the front foot,
no opposing coach could remain calm!
On the pitch,
Walcott and Gervinho swapped flanks.
Kai lightly flicked the ball with the outside of his foot,
delivering an oddly curved through ball.
The Milan fans were stunned.
The ball first sailed straight across the field,
then suddenly spun and bent sharply around Abate—
landing perfectly in front of Walcott!
The young English winger took the ball sideways,
shook off Milan fullback Lopez at a tight angle,
and opened up for his trademark cut-in shot!
Nesta didn't hesitate.
He lunged into a sliding tackle,
taking down Walcott just as he was about to shoot!
"Whistle!"
The referee decisively blew the whistle.
The stands erupted first in boos,
then in cheers—
Arsenal won a set-piece in the attacking third!
Gunners fans' eyes gleamed with excitement.
They'd seen Kai score from free kicks too many times this season to count.
Allegri on the sidelines shivered for no apparent reason.
In the first Champions League match against Arsenal,
Kai had scored a stunning left-footed free kick from a tight angle near the box!
In front of the Milan goal, Abbiati slapped his own face hard.
He barked orders at his teammates to set the defensive wall.
Milan players prepared themselves with utmost seriousness.
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
patreon.com/Dreamer20
