"Cazorla swings it in… Di Maria attacks the near post—ohhh! It's loose… and it's in! Goal!!!"
Rob Hawthorne's voice rose instantly. "Arsenal have their second! Le Kai reacts first to the rebound and buries it!"
Alan Smith followed smoothly, "That's a goalscorer's instinct. Alert, aggressive, and decisive. Everton switch off for half a second, and Arsenal punish them."
"In this second round of the Premier League," Rob Hawthorne continued, "Le Kai opens his account for the new season. Arsenal lead 2–0 at Goodison Park. This is authority, this is control, this is exactly why they're the defending champions."
Le Kai sprinted out of the penalty area as the ball settled in the net.
Around him, Everton supporters stood frozen, staring at the goal in disbelief. Two down before halftime—no one in blue had seen that coming.
At the other end, the Arsenal section erupted.
Then, suddenly, it went quiet.
Anyone who knew Arsenal knew what was coming.
Le Kai jogged toward the stands, rolled his right arm like a windmill, and fired three sharp punches into the air.
"ARSENAL!"
"ARSENAL!"
"ARSENAAALL!!"
The roar that followed hit like thunder.
The Emirates chant had travelled to Goodison—and now it belonged to their captain.
"Listen to that," Alan Smith said with a smile. "That celebration has become a statement. And it means even more now he's wearing the armband."
Le Kai barely finished before teammates crashed into him.
Suarez was first, grinning as he wrapped him in a hug. Cazorla and Di Maria arrived seconds later, laughing and shouting.
The cameras lingered on Di Maria. No goal to his name, but his influence was everywhere.
"Di Maria's been outstanding," Rob Hawthorne noted. "Both goals come from his movement and threat. He's stretching Everton constantly."
Alan Smith added, "He looks settled, doesn't he? Like he's found his football home. The Angel's flying—just missing that bit of luck tonight."
Two shots, no goal. One off the post. Fortune hadn't smiled on him—but Arsenal had.
While Arsenal celebrated, Everton's players wore hollow expressions. Heads down, hands on hips, quiet frustration everywhere.
They'd attacked early. They'd had moments.
But Arsenal needed far less to hurt them.
"The difference is efficiency," Alan Smith said plainly. "Everton works hard for chances. Arsenal need seconds."
On the touchline, Roberto Martínez's face was tense. He barked instructions, but his defenders looked rattled.
Arsenal's changes of tempo had exposed them again and again—and that was hard to swallow.
Everton tried to respond, pushing forward before the break, but Arsenal's back line stood firm.
Mertesacker dominated Naismith in the air, calmly snuffing out hopeful balls.
The World Cup winner made sure Naismith didn't get a sniff of the ball.
Without Lukaku truly imposing himself, Everton's long-ball approach lost its bite.
Half-time arrived with the scoreline unchanged.
Everton 0–2 Arsenal.
The away end sang relentlessly, as if the job was already done.
Goodison Park didn't like it—but had no answer.
After the break, Everton acted quickly.
In the 55th minute, Baines and Mirallas were withdrawn.
On came Christian Atsu, the Ghanaian winger on loan from Chelsea.
"Pace is the idea," Martin Taylor said. "They want to run at Arsenal, test Le Kai's screen."
But the reality was harsher.
Each time Atsu tried to accelerate, Le Kai was there—positioned perfectly, stepping in early.
Once, Atsu picked himself up and muttered in frustration.
From the Arsenal bench, N'Golo Kanté clapped and called out, half-smiling, "Good, good. Simple football."
By the time Atsu was dispossessed for the third time, belief had drained from Everton's play.
In the 65th minute, Arsenal prepared changes of their own—calm, measured, and entirely in control.
Mathieu Flamini was withdrawn, and N'Golo Kanté came on.
Luis Suárez made way, and Joel Campbell was introduced.
Compared to the previous match, Kanté was clearly getting more minutes now. It was a quiet but telling signal—Arsène Wenger's trust in him was growing.
And once Kanté stepped onto the pitch, Kai was completely set free.
With Kai and Cazorla positioned high, Arsenal suddenly had the perfect balance: a relentless driving force ahead, and a calm, intelligent distributor sitting behind them.
Everton panicked.
Kai began imposing the rhythm more with sharp, purposeful passing, fully unlocking the forward runs of Sánchez, Cazorla, and even Di María. Campbell, constantly fed with chances, played with visible confidence and enjoyment.
From the Sky Sports booth, Rob Hawthorne's voice rose.
"Everton just can't get near the ball now. Arsenal are playing through them with ease."
Alan Smith added calmly, "That's the difference Kanté makes. He gives Kai freedom, and once Kai has that, Arsenal look a different side altogether."
In the 80th minute, the game was finally decided.
Cazorla, relying purely on his individual quality, slipped past two Everton defenders and burst into the penalty area. With the centre-back closing him down, he struck the ball firmly. Spotting the goalkeeper shifting left, Cazorla angled his shot with precision.
The ball slid cleanly through Jagielka's legs and into the net.
"That's clever football," Alan Smith said. "Not power for the sake of it—just awareness and execution."
That goal effectively ended the contest.
When the final whistle blew, Arsenal had taken all three points at Goodison Park. Two matches, two wins, nine goals scored—and top of the Premier League table.
After the match, Kai was quickly surrounded by reporters.
He kept his tone measured.
"This is only our second game," he said. "I don't want to over-evaluate anything. The season has just started, and we haven't faced a real test yet. Early in the season, fluctuations are normal. Everton will adjust—they showed until the 90th minute that they never gave up, and that deserves respect."
Then he paused, looking straight into the camera.
"To the Arsenal fans, I'll say this: this season, you can expect more."
He smiled faintly. "Believe me. Forward. Arsenal."
And with that, Kai walked away.
The reporters exchanged looks. There was something layered in his words.
Expect more?
More of what, exactly?
That night, headlines flooded in.
"Everton Fall at Home as Arsenal Continue Hot Start"
→ BBC Sport
"Arsenal Score Nine in Two Matches, Sit Top of the Table"
→ Sky Sports
"Gunners Display Total Control Once Again"
→ The Guardian
"Strong Newcomers Signal a Bright Future for Arsenal"
→ The Times
But the most discussed topic was Kai's statement.
"Arsenal Captain Says Fans Can Expect More This Season"
→ The Telegraph
"Gunners Eye Another Deep Champions League Run"
→ Evening Standard
That was still reasonable—until some tabloids twisted it completely.
"Kai Promises Champions League Glory as Arsenal Hit Top Gear"
→ The Sun
"Too Much, Too Soon? Kai's Comments Spark Champions League Debate"
→ talkSPORT (online headline)
"Arsenal Captain's Bold Claim Has Fans Dreaming of Champions League Glory"
→ Metro
If Kai had seen them, he would have been livid. He had said nothing of the sort.
That was the British tabloids for you. They love sensationalizing everything.
Still, after two straight victories, Arsenal's morale was soaring.
The fans felt it most.
Last season, they had hoped to return to the top. Now, they were quietly wondering if they could go even further.
They compared. They analyzed. And the conclusion was unsettlingly optimistic.
Arsenal had reached the Champions League semi-finals last season.
With reinforcements added, why couldn't they go one step further?
Di María and Sánchez were consistent. The defence rotated smoothly. The goalkeeper inspired confidence.
And Kanté—soft-spoken, tireless—was becoming a key piece.
Asked briefly by a French reporter about his role, Kanté smiled shyly.
"I just… I run, I help the team," he said in basic English. "Kai, he very strong. When I cover, he plays free. That is good."
If Kanté could carry his Premier League form into Europe, and if the new signings continued to grow…
Then the question no longer sounded ridiculous.
The Champions League?
The Champions League.
. . .
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