79: Arsenal’s Counterattack Begins

The Emirates Stadium erupted with a thunderous roar!

Crystal Palace fans exploded into deafening cheers!

What does it mean to be the King of the Cannon in London?

Their young Eagle King, Kai, had just shown them!

A blistering, unstoppable volley, shaking the mountains and roaring like a tiger, smashed straight into Arsenal's net!

1–0!

FA Cup Semi-Final—

Crystal Palace takes the lead!

The fans were ecstatic with excitement!

Kai's teammates rushed over immediately, surrounding him in celebration.

Everyone embraced, cheering wildly.

In the stands, Arsenal fans clutched their heads in disbelief.

They stared in shock at the stadium's giant screen overhead.

The replay was showing Kai's goal, frame by frame.

The perfect anticipation of the clearance's landing point—

The volley struck mid-air without even trapping the ball as it dropped!

The quality of that shot was absolutely top class!

Some Arsenal fans began to question their own eyes.

"Wait... is that our striker Robin van Persie?"

No—it clearly wasn't.

Just moments earlier, Van Persie had attempted one of his trademark volleys and missed.

Now, Kai, Crystal Palace's teenage superstar, had responded with a nearly identical shot, but one that had found the back of the net!

The Arsenal supporters murmured in disbelief.

"A midfielder outshining a forward in volleys?"

"Is that even possible?"

"This talent... it's freakish!"

On the sideline, Wenger was stunned.

He stared at the Crystal Palace players huddled together in celebration.

His eyes flickered with a mix of shock and delight.

Countless complex emotions surged through the professor's gaze.

Arsenal had conceded a goal.

He should have been frustrated.

But after witnessing yet another moment of genius from Kai, he couldn't help but feel a strange excitement.

His assistant whispered cautiously:

"Sir... this isn't the time to be watching in awe. The FA Cup is our last remaining title hope this season. We must not lose this match..."

Wenger snapped out of his thoughts.

"Of course! No matter what happens, we'll give it everything we've got. That's the highest form of respect we can give a true genius!"

Straightening his suit, Wenger raised his arm, giving tactical instructions from the touchline.

The Arsenal players quickly returned to their positions.

Van Persie looked fired up—eager to strike back.

But Fabregas, in contrast, looked distracted and burdened.

The stands echoed with Arsenal fans' frustrated jeers—

"Cesc! Show us the spirit of a true Gunners captain!"

"How can you be getting outplayed by a 16-year-old?!"

Hearing the mounting pressure from the stands—

Cesc Fabregas, hands on his hips, stood in Arsenal's half.

His eyes locked on that black-haired figure across the midfield line.

Though it had been less than 20 minutes since kickoff—

In just those few minutes of duels and encounters—

The Arsenal captain seemed unable to keep up with Crystal Palace's young leader's game sense.

Especially that brilliant curving through-pass Kai had delivered earlier—

The imagination and precision in that play had left Fabregas deeply rattled.

The referee blew the whistle once more—

The game resumed from the center circle!

Van Persie tapped it off again.

The ball returned to Fabregas's feet.

Though trailing by one goal, Arsenal's spirits weren't broken.

After all, they were a young team full of fire and resilience.

Clad in red and white, the Gunners began to run with renewed determination.

Their formation advanced forward—

Quick passing and sharp movement once again sparked gasps and cheers from the crowd!

On the sideline, Holloway watched intently.

"This Arsenal attack… it's far too smooth!"

Although Arsenal was trailing by one goal, the players on the field were overwhelmingly young—and the hearts of young men are built for fearless attack!

The Gunners quickly launched a comeback.

Once again, they gathered into an overwhelming, fast-paced offensive!

On the pitch—

Amid the deafening roar inside the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal strung together a series of seamless passes and quick one-twos.

Their overall formation advanced quickly, with positions settled in no time!

The crowd of Arsenal fans burst into cheer after cheer.

This was their home ground.

They wouldn't allow that 0–1 scoreline to linger.

They had to equalize—fast!

On the field, Bendtner, stationed wide, glanced inside toward the middle.

Seeing no good opportunity, he decisively passed the ball back.

The ball was returned to the advancing Clichy.

As soon as Clichy received the ball, he sent it with force.

It went back into the control of Fabregas.

With the cheering crowd boosting morale, all eyes turned to Arsenal's captain.

Fabregas quickly scanned the pitch ahead of him.

Up top, Van Persie was stuck battling the Palace back line.

And with Bendtner pulled wide, Van Persie appeared isolated and unsupported.

Logically, Fabregas should have passed to Walcott, who was calling for the ball on the open left flank.

But in that instant—

Fabregas clenched his jaw, a look of determination flashing across his face.

Just moments ago, Kai had made a brilliant, surgical through ball that tore through Arsenal's defense.

Fabregas refused to be outshone.

He, too, wanted to deliver a dangerous pass—to respond directly!

Where his eyes landed—

Fabregas ignored Walcott's run down the flank.

Instead, he chipped a high, floating through ball over the top!

Van Persie reacted quickly, sprinting to meet the landing point of the long pass.

But he soon found himself lost amidst Crystal Palace's well-layered defense.

The long ball was cleared by a Palace defender.

A header sent the ball up again—and the goalkeeper caught it effortlessly.

The Arsenal crowd immediately erupted in booing!

Van Persie waved his arm in frustration, gesturing toward the wide-open Walcott.

Fabregas's expression stiffened with unease.

"That pass was completely irrational!"

"Why not play it to the open wing? If this were a training session, Cesc would've made a much better decision. The pressure in this match must be getting to him…"

Arsenal's assistant sighed.

Wenger, arms crossed, remained silent beside him.

Fabregas's recent string of unfocused and off-form performances seemed to validate the rumors linking him with a move back to Barcelona.

Wenger took a deep breath.

He had always been tolerant with his players.

And Fabregas, after years of service, certainly deserved to be remembered in Arsenal's books of glory.

But Wenger also knew clearly—

"I can't have a captain who can't hold this team together on the pitch."

Back on the pitch—

Crystal Palace's goalkeeper didn't opt for a long clearance.

Instead, he directly passed the ball to Kai, who had dropped back to receive it.

After unlocking the Kante Module, Kai's stamina had surged to an explosive new level!

Now, he could run across the pitch without any restraint!

When a super-genius with world-class vision and passing ability also increases his movement range—

His threat level on the field explodes exponentially.

Stationed in the #4 role, Kai controlled the ball.

He made two quick hand signals—

And instantly, his teammates understood the message.

Crystal Palace's 4-4-2 formation began pressing forward in a way that drew gasps of amazement from the crowd!

With his god-like field vision—

Kai began dictating the tempo with a series of ghost-like, surgical passes.

He was orchestrating Crystal Palace's entire forward movement from the heart of midfield!

~~----------------------

To read 30 future chapters head over to patreon: 

patreon.com/Dreamer20