Chapter 152 - Arsenal(2)

In the 15th minute, Koscielny provided a long pass to Jenkinson. The Arsenal right-back took the ball, Kazuki moved to the left to press Jenkinson. Jenkinson gave the ball to Santi Cazorla. Bennet did a body charge on Cazorla and kicked the ball towards Ryan. Ryan pushed the ball forward and Southampton's attack was launched.

Ryan returned the ball to Bennet while Kieran Gibbs was ready to tackle him. Bennet gave the ball back to Simone. Simone accepted the ball and took it slowly. Then, he sent the ball to Benson as Benson ran past him.

Rustan's ran beside Benson and tried to take the ball from Benson"s feet. Benson and Rustan pushed each other. But Rustan's pace was too fast, so he managed to push the ball off the field and foiled Southampton's attack.

Benson threw the ball to Okhalo. Okhalo dribbled the ball calmly. He the moved and avoided Podolski. After that, he passed the ball to Hilton. Hilton continued the pass to Freddy. Soon, Freddy brought the ball quickly forward. Freddy was running past Walcott and continued to dribble the ball.

Alex Oxlade-chamberlain started to approach Freddy to stop him. Freddy gave the ball horizontally forward. Ryan took the pass and dribbled it diagonally to the center. Kieran Gibbs ran to Ryan and left his post.

At the time Freddy ran to the left side of the Arsenal penalty box which had been guarded by Gibbs. Ryan provided a through ball to Freddy. The player received the pass from Ryan and then provided a crossing ball to the middle of the penalty box. Kazuki was about to head the ball but Szczesny's got out from his position and caught the ball.

In the 22nd minute, Szczesny threw the ball to Vermaelen. Vermaelen brought the ball forward and then provided a pass to Kieran Gibbs. Gibbs dribbled the ball across the halfway line and faced Ryan. He then pushed the ball to the left as the ball was about to leave the field, Gibbs took it and dribbled the ball quickly into the middle. Ryan managed to follow the Gibbs running, but the next second, Gibbs provided the pass to Walcott.

Walcott received Gibbs's pass and avoided Freddy. He dribbled the ball into the penalty box. Hilton left her post to close the Walcott space. Walcott transfered the ball to Alex. But Rudolf appeared to cut the pass and sent the ball far forward. Bennet ran to chase the ball. Then, he kicked the ball softly to Kounde.

Kounde was running so fast. He penetrated quickly to Arsenal defense. Koscielny approached Kounde then tackled Kounde. The referee immediately ran and showed a yellow card to Koscielny. The centre-back's action was understandable because if Kounde went past him, the Arsenal would have been conceded.

Free kick was taken by Rudolf. Meanwhile Southampton's players stepped forward to help attack. The referee then blew his whistle, Rudolf kicked the ball, so the ball bounced low into the penalty box. Simone beat Mikel Arteta and headed the ball towards goalpost.

Szczesny caught the ball but either because the ball was slippery or something, Szczesny accidentally dropped the ball he was holding. Kazuki immediately pushed the ball into the goal. The referee immediately gave a signal that the goal was valid. Szczesny looked away and slapped his forehead. He clearly felt guilty for his negligence.

"Kazuki! Ooh goal scored by this player. Kazuki managed to take advantage of Szczesny's negligence well. With this goal, Southampton now lead 2 goals over Arsenal. Arsenal must quickly turn things around or they will lose this match."

In the 27th minute, Cazorla got past Bennet, he brought the ball forward, but Bennet grabbed his shirt, so Cazorla fell in front of the penalty box. Cazorla then got a free kick from where he fell while Bennet got a warning from the referee.

Arsenal then get a free kick. Cazorla stood in front of the ball. This opportunity must be used as well as possible, so that Arsenal could maintain the opportunity to win this match. The referee blew his whistle, Cazorla ran slowly before kicking the ball hard. The ball curled past the Southampton players and fell in the goalmouth. Rustan managed to lift his leg to make the ball bounce into the net.

"Goaaaal! Rustan managed to get the ball into the net of his former team. Arsenal are only 1 goal behind Southampton. If Arsenal managed to beat Southampton then this would be a very big irony."

After scoring the goal, Rustan didn't celebrate he just welcomed the Arsenal players who came to him. On the touchline, Arsene Winter waved his arms in the air and put on a happy expression when Arsenal scored.

The game restarted after Arsenal finished their celebrations. Southampton then started the kick-off.

In the 34th minute, Southampton launched another attack. This time Bennett received a pass from Simone and he breakthrough Cazorla. He then gave the pass to Kounde. Jenkinson quickly hit Kounde with his body to bring down Kounde, but the Southampton left winger pushed the ball back and allowed the ball to be picked up by Benson.

Benson then brought the ball into the penalty box. Kazuki was being marked so tightly, Benson option pass was just Bennet. So he gave Bennet a pass. Bennet shot the ball from the front of the penalty box. The ball floated over the top post. Arsenal got a goalkick while Southampton's attack failed.

In the 40th minute, Mikel Arteta provided a pass to Kieran Gibbs. Gibbs passed the ball to Ryan and took the ball forward. He then passed the ball to Podolski who fell behind. Podolski received the ball, but he could not turn his body because Hilton locked his movement. Podolski passed the ball to Alex Oxlade-chamberlain.

Oxlade saw Walcott who entered the penalty box. He immediately gave a lob pass towards Walcott. In the penalty box, Walcott bounced the ball with the outside of the foot. Cazorla received the ball which had bounced and gave a powerful shot from outside the penalty box. The ball hit the post and bounced off the field.

Arsenal continued to attack Southampton, but until the end of the first half the club nicknamed the Gunners was failed to change the score. Until the end of the first half, Arsenal remained at a disadvantage with a goal behind Southampton.

Statistics show that Arsenal won possession of the ball by 59%. They also made 12 shots although only 5 shots were shot on target. Meanwhile Southampton managed to shoot 8 shots and 6 of them were shot on target. This could be seen as Southampton's efficiency in attack.

Neither team made any substitutions. But each team's strategy must have been adjusted. Arsenal need to score goals to win the game. If in open play it was difficult for Arsenal to score maybe Arsenal should using a set pieces. So, it will be easier for Arsenal to break into Southampton goalpost.

On the other hand, Southampton in this match need to reduce fouls in front of the penalty box. They must be aware that Arsenal was something that cannot be underestimated. Doing a foul in front of the penalty box was same as giving Arsenal a chance.

The second half of the match officially started. At the start of the game, Arsenal control the game, while Southampton suddenly launched pressure on Arsenal. Kazuki moved forward towards Koscielny. Koscielny sent a pass for Jenkinson, After that he sent the ball to Cazorla. But when Cazorla was about to receive the ball, Bennett cut the ball.

Bennet then brought the ball forward. After that he gave a breakthrough pass to Kazuki. Kazuki ran at full speed. He was shot the ball that he received from Bennet with a strong shot. The ball hit the net when Szczesny failed to catch it. Kazuko immediately ran to the Southampton fans stand.

"Hattrick! A hat-trick was scored in this match by Kazuki! Oh my god, amazing, I've never seen a young player with this greatness. Not just Golden Boy, I think Kazuki deserves to compete for the Ballon d'Or in 2013 "His performance and his achievements in bringing Southampton to competition to win the premier league championship is a miracle."

The rumbling in the stadium continued. They muttered the same word. K9! Long live K9! For some Southampton fans who have supported this team for decades it might be a dream to see Kazuki wearing the Southampton shirt and scoring goals continuously. The feeling of seeing a favorite club that always loses and was far from the championship suddenly become a club competing for the premier league championship is something that was very difficult to describe.

On the sidelines, Arsene Winter sat on the bench feeling helpless. His face showed a sad expression seeing Kazuki managed to score a goal.

Winter shook his head saying, "I didn't think we, the coaches of the big teams in the premier league, would miss someone who has enough talent to rival Mattheo."

His assistant asked, "Isn't Kazuki still at Southampton? We still have a chance to bring him to Arsenal, right?"

Winters laughed softly, his Assistant's remarks obviously very funny. "Kazuki's price won't be less than 80 million. Do you think the club would spend that much money? We even sold Van Persie. Manchester United, City and Chelsea still have a chance but the others don't."

"What about Liverpool?"

"The American has spent his money to support Ragnick's wishes player. Now Liverpool has returned to how it used to be and still has a fairly good competitiveness. Especially with Ahmed as the center of Liverpool's attack, it is very difficult for the Reds to sign Kazuki."

Putting aside his analysis, Winter felt Kazuki would move from England. Of course this was just a guess.

While Winter was talking, Arsenal who conceded kept trying to break into Southampton's net, but Southampton defended really well.