Everton's manager David Moyes stood at the sidelines with his arms crossed.
He looked around Goodison Park—
A sea of deep blue flooded the stands, filling him with confidence.
"This match—we'll sink Arsenal!"
Beside him, Everton's assistant coach gave a wry smile.
Could they really pull it off?
As the passionate cheers surged from the stands—
Both teams lined up in formation on their respective halves.
Everton fielded a 4-5-1 formation for this game.
Their striker was Vaughan, acquired for £12 million in the transfer window.
At this moment, Vaughan was rotating his arms—
This was his first home match since returning from Crystal Palace.
He knew this place like the back of his hand.
Goodison Park—
Years ago, he had earned the endless love of these fans here!
In Everton's midfield, the towering Marouane Fellaini took up the attacking midfielder role.
Moyes placed great value in the Belgian's aerial dominance.
Meanwhile, the media quickly turned their attention to Arsenal's half.
Tonight, the Gunners were once again lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
At the back, Koscielny partnered with young van Dijk.
In midfield, Kai unsurprisingly appeared in the No. 10 role.
Behind him sat the defensive pairing of Rosický and Arteta.
Walcott was placed out wide,
While Van Persie led the line up front!
The away section exploded in raucous cheers!
This was Arsenal's first away game of the Premier League season.
Gunners fans all turned their eyes toward the spirited No. 10 on the pitch—
Their captain.
Kai!
Expectations surged in the hearts of Arsenal supporters.
Tweet!!
The referee blew the whistle—match start!
The stands instantly erupted into a storm of noise!
At the center circle—
Vaughan kicked off the ball.
And at that moment, he felt a brief daze.
Back when he played for Crystal Palace last season—
Every time he stood at kickoff,
He'd instinctively glance behind him.
As long as he saw Kai's figure back there,
He would immediately feel inspired.
But now—those days were gone.
The confident black-haired teenager was no longer standing behind him.
He snapped out of it quickly and began making runs into Arsenal's half.
He passed shoulder to shoulder with Kai, who was also surging forward.
In that instant, fans on both sides of the stands roared with energy!
In the opening phase—
Everton did not push forward aggressively.
Instead, it was clear they held a degree of caution toward the Arsenal team that had just dismantled Spurs 6–0 in the opening round.
Their 4-5-1 formation gradually pulled back,
Crowding their own half with bodies and slowing the tempo through possession.
Faced with Everton's passive approach,
Arsenal did not hesitate to take the initiative!
Their entire formation pushed up beyond midfield!
Koscielny directed van Dijk carefully—
The young defender held the deepest line,
Always alert for any counterattacking opportunities that might exploit the high line.
Soon—
Arsenal's youthful storm began to pin Everton deep in their own half.
Subtle boos began to echo from the stands!
"We can't play like this—are you crazy?"
"That's Arsenal we're dealing with!"
Everton fans were getting nervous.
Being pinned in their own half, constantly under pressure from Arsenal's attack—
It was no different from suicide!
But this was exactly the strategy Moyes had instructed:
Compact the defense—and look for counterattacks!
At the touchline, Moyes furrowed his brow deeply.
Under Kai's leadership, these young Arsenal players—
Seemed to know no fatigue!
Right from kickoff, they were fighting with relentless energy!
Everton struggled to maintain possession.
Though Fellaini was the central figure in their midfield—
He was far from a controller of the game. His footwork was clumsy and his technical skills were poor.
He simply couldn't orchestrate the midfield or connect play like Kai did.
The afro-haired Everton midfielder was far better known for his aerial threat.
6th minute!
Fellaini tried a speculative long ball forward.
But the accuracy was… abysmal!
Vaughan had barely begun his run when the ball was effortlessly collected at the back by Virgil van Dijk.
"What kind of pass was that? Garbage!"
"If there's no opening, just play short passes—don't try those hopeless long balls!"
Frustrated shouts erupted from the Everton stands.
From the start, Everton had been pinned back.
And their fans—known as the "Toffees"—were growing restless and stifled.
Vaughan could only shrug helplessly.
Back when he was at Crystal Palace, he'd never had to deal with this kind of pressure.
On the pitch—
Possession changed hands.
Van Dijk calmly played a pass out from the back—
Sending it to the flank where Kieran Gibbs was waiting.
Gibbs sent a powerful cross-field pass—
And found Kai immediately!
Near the halfway line, Vaughan suddenly tensed up.
He knew exactly how dangerous Kai was.
Once he got the ball—he'd always find the right option in the shortest amount of time.
In the away section, the Arsenal fans' eyes lit up!
After receiving the ball, Kai turned and carried it forward.
In an instant—he switched to God Mode.
With his left foot, he launched a long, diagonal pass without hesitation!
On the sidelines, Wenger's eyes gleamed with shock.
So decisive!
In Wenger's football philosophy, "rationality" was always key.
But Kai's play combined both rationality and ruthless efficiency!
Above Goodison Park—
The ball drew a graceful arc in the air—
Sailing down the left wing of the pitch!
Gasps echoed from the stands!
Everton fans widened their eyes—
This pass... compared to Fellaini's clumsy attempt earlier?
It was like night and day!
And right at the receiving spot—
The ball dropped in perfect sync with Van Persie's run!
He took it in stride, drove into the box—
A quick shift—
And then a powerful shot!
Boom!!
The net was ripped apart in a flash!
"GOALLLL!!"
"It's in!"
The commentary booth exploded with excitement!
"You want to talk about efficiency? This—this is efficiency!"
1–0!
"You can't give this Arsenal side even a sliver of space!
Their midfield genius will show you—every wasted opportunity is the same as suicide!"
In the vast expanse of Goodison Park,
Arsenal fans erupted into wild cheers!
The legendary "Kai–Van Persie connection" had struck again!
The fans were stunned—
Kai's passes were so precise, even a striker with no positional sense could score with ease.
And Van Persie, being a top-tier striker, made it look effortless.
The cheers pierced the night sky!
"That pass was unbelievable!"
Van Persie roared in celebration after the goal, running back with a look of pure excitement.
"Captain! With passes like that, even our ball boy, Sanders, could've buried it!"
Everyone on the team laughed.
Sanders?
Oh—he was Arsenal's ball boy.
~~----------------------
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