Under the North London night sky!
Spurs fans in the stands clutched their heads in fear.
This scene was all too familiar to them!
It was the nightmare that haunted their entire season—
Arsenal's trademark furious high press right from kickoff!
In the away stand, the Gunners pumped their fists and roared.
Every eye gleamed with excitement.
Yes! This was it!
Start with maximum pressure!
Never give Spurs a single breath of space!
On the pitch—
After Kai intercepted the back pass,
Arsenal's formation surged forward in a dramatic press.
For this match, Arsenal lined up in a 4-4-2,
with Giroud and Van Persie as the twin strikers.
They were determined to crush Spurs at White Hart Lane!
Bale, who lost the ball, looked shaken,
desperately sprinting back to defend.
But in horror, he realized—
no matter how hard he pushed himself off the ball,
he couldn't catch up to Kai,
who was already charging forward in full stride!
The Spurs supporters were stunned,
their eyes wide in disbelief.
In their own half,
Kai carried the ball at blistering speed,
while Spurs' defense scrambled to retreat.
"Close him down! Press him! Don't let him shoot!"
On the sideline, Pochettino's face turned ashen,
barking instructions furiously.
Kai dribbled past Van der Vaart,
then, under the despairing gaze of Spurs fans,
shielded the ball against Modrić's marking.
Spurs' technical midfielders had no way to stop his surging run!
Ahead of him, Arsenal's attackers exploded into forward runs.
Kai, holding off Modrić,
suddenly lofted the ball high—
a diagonal long pass with a subtle curve,
slicing Spurs' defense apart,
dropping toward Arsenal's left wing.
Kyle Walker tracked Walcott stride for stride,
trying to cut off the pass.
But Walcott suddenly burst into another gear!
Kai's delivery was inch-perfect,
giving Walcott the perfect lead.
The "Little Tiger" shook off Walker,
cushioned the ball with his thigh,
then whipped in a cross toward the box!
At the near post, Van Persie flicked it on.
At the far post, Giroud leapt high!
At 1.93 meters, his frame towered above the penalty area!
Gasps erupted across the stands.
Spurs fans were horrified—
Arsenal's attacking fluidity was terrifying!
With Kai orchestrating,
every forward option was alive.
Whether it was central penetration or wing play,
Spurs' defense looked like it was on the brink of collapse.
Inside the box,
Giroud rose and powered a header!
The ball rocketed toward the Spurs' goal!
Hugo Lloris reacted instantly,
springing off his line—
with one desperate palm,
he pushed the bullet header over the crossbar!
The away end groaned in regret.
In the box, Giroud clutched his head in frustration.
The power was there,
but the angle was too straight—Lloris had blocked it.
On the sideline, Pochettino exhaled in relief.
Thank God.
If that had gone in,
it might have broken the FA Cup record for fastest goal!
Spurs fans drew in a deep breath.
That was terrifying.
Kai was like a monster.
The tension on their faces only grew tighter.
Arsenal's attack wasn't done.
Corner kick!
Kai walked to the corner flag.
Rosický moved over to offer support.
Kyle Walker immediately closed in,
wary of a short corner routine.
"Fweeet!"
The referee blew his whistle.
All 40,000 eyes inside White Hart Lane locked onto Kai.
With his extraordinary technique,
even a simple corner from him
was enough to make Spurs fans tremble in fear!
Kai glanced toward the goal.
He ran up—
his thigh swung like a whip!
Inside the box, pushing and jostling for position had already begun.
Just as Kai's calf swung back, about to strike the ball—
all the players inside the box instinctively shifted their weight upward,
ready to leap and contest the aerial ball!
But in that instant—
a completely unexpected scene unfolded before the entire stadium!
Kai didn't take a short tactical corner.
Instead, he delivered a straight corner into the box.
Yet this ball carried no height whatsoever.
With the inside of his foot,
Kai struck the very center of the ball with power!
A blistering low-driven pass,
skimming tightly along the turf!
Inside the penalty area,
the Spurs defenders who had already shifted their weight upward—
some even in mid-air, preparing to contest the cross—
found their minds completely blank for a moment!
At the near post—
Van Persie read it perfectly.
Instead of jumping,
he suddenly darted diagonally from the flank!
Meeting Kai's skimming corner,
he lashed his left foot through the ball with a thunderous strike!
In front of goal, Lloris was completely caught off guard.
He had no time to react—
not even a chance to make a save!
Whack!
The crisp sound of the net snapping reverberated across Spurs' penalty box!
In an instant—
an ear-splitting roar erupted from the away end!
Even Arsenal's supporters were stunned.
They hadn't expected it—
just an ordinary corner,
but their captain had turned it into pure magic!
Kai's unorthodox low-driven corner!
A ghostly, ground-skimming delivery!
Van Persie smashed it home in one strike!
1–0!!
"GOALLLL!! ~"
"Amazing, amazing!"
"What imagination!"
"A bewitching low corner! Spurs' defenders and keeper were all completely deceived!"
"1–0!! Arsenal take the lead once again right from the start!"
"Kai—Spurs' ultimate nemesis!"
The commentary booth shook with excitement,
commentators roaring uncontrollably into their mics!
On the pitch—
Van Persie came charging in celebration,
throwing his arms around Kai in a passionate embrace!
Arsenal players swarmed together,
celebrating wildly as one!
White Hart Lane trembled with noise—
the away end exploding,
while the home crowd fell into stunned silence.
Inside the box, Spurs' players stood frozen,
their eyes dull, their faces helpless.
On the sideline, Pochettino was silent.
A deep, crushing sense of powerlessness swept through him.
This kind of unpredictable pass—
utterly impossible to anticipate or contain.
Every movement Kai made on the pitch
struck directly at Spurs' weak points!
Less than one minute into the match,
Arsenal scored through a dazzling, breathtaking corner routine!
Arsenal 1–0 Spurs!
In this FA Cup Fifth Round,
also the third North London Derby of the season,
Arsenal had once again produced a dream start!
Around White Hart Lane,
the home fans sat in stunned silence,
eyes trembling, minds blank.
Though Spurs were only one goal down,
a flood of painful memories from earlier this season came rushing back.
And every Spurs fan knew—
in a North London Derby,
Arsenal had no reason to hold back!
What's more, Arsenal, despite competing on multiple fronts,
had not rotated their squad for this match.
They had fielded their strongest possible XI!
This alone showed Arsenal's determination—
they wanted to crush Spurs once again!
Fweeet!
Barely a minute after kickoff,
the referee blew his whistle.
Play restarted from the center circle.
A young Harry Kane stood blank-eyed,
rolling the ball sideways to Bale.
This time, Bale dared not hesitate.
He quickly returned the ball safely to midfield.
But Arsenal's midfield and forwards immediately surged high,
pressing furiously into Spurs' half!
Spurs, shaken by the early blow,
did not attempt to push their shape forward,
instead retreating deep,
setting up a low defensive block inside their own half.
But under the desperate eyes of Spurs fans—
Arsenal's relentless waves of pressure kept crashing forward!
To them,
Kai looked like a raging war machine,
tearing straight through Spurs' midfield,
which was filled mostly with technical players,
bulldozing through and ripping the formation apart!
~~----------------------
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