Chapter 750 - 137: Qualifying Early! Challenging for the Golden Ball Award! Making the Premier League Bow! The Big Three’s Crazy Goal-Scoring Race!

Despite playing away from home, Mazzarri stuck to their favored 3-4-3 tactic.

The moment Alexandre Song received the ball, Cavani had already rushed in front of him. The Cameroon Midfielder immediately trapped the ball, turned around, and passed it back to the defensive line.

Subotic passed laterally to Koscielny, but the France center-back immediately returned it to Subotic. The latter took a touch forward, shook off Cavani, and beating Lavezzi to the ball, distributed it out to the right flank.

Lichsteiner received the ball tight against the right touchline. However, seeing Naples rapidly retreating to defend, he immediately passed it back to Subotic. Subotic exchanged the ball with Alexandre Song again but still couldn’t find an open route. Spotting Aaron Ramsey dropping back, he immediately sent a through ball.

Aaron Ramsey retreated to the outer 30-meter zone of their own half. Without stopping the ball, he directed a one-touch pass near the right touchline at the midfield mark. Lichsteiner made a rapid forward run, catching up to the ball perfectly. Hugging the right sideline, he sent a straight pass directly into the path of De Bruyne in the frontcourt.

The Belgium player was starting this match in place of Walcott. He didn’t try to trap the ball. Instead, he let it roll forward and chased after it at top speed. As soon as he charged into Naples’ 30-meter zone, De Bruyne looked up at the center. Of Naples’ three defenders, one had shifted toward the right side, and another stayed in the middle. Meanwhile, Wang Shuo was making a forward run at maximum speed.

After a quick glance, De Bruyne didn’t hesitate any longer. He played a diagonal pass behind the defense with his right foot, angling the ball from the right flank toward the Arc Top District.

Wang Shuo suddenly accelerated, threading even faster between the two Naples center-backs. Catching up to De Bruyne’s Passing, he faced the advancing goalkeeper. With a single feint, Wang Shuo bypassed him and immediately unleashed a left-footed volley.

The ball drilled into the Naples goal at breakneck speed.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

"The ball is in!!

"Just thirty-two seconds into the opening, the first Shooting of the entire match! Arsenal’s number nine forward, Wang Shuo, has breached the Naples goal!

"One to zero!

"Another fantastic start!

"Just like their other matches this season, Arsenal always enjoys an incredibly smooth opening when playing at home!"

But Naples clearly didn’t learn their lesson. After conceding a goal right at the start, they didn’t dial back. Instead, they maintained a high-press approach, piling pressure on Arsenal’s defensive line.

As a result, in the sixth minute, it was once again Subotic in the backfield finding Lichsteiner. The latter sent a straight pass down the right flank, distributing it to the front right wing once more. De Bruyne charged forward along the right at high speed.

Unlike the last time, De Bruyne played a diagonal pass into the right side of the penalty area. Aaron Ramsey made a forward run and squared the ball across the face of the goal. Wang Shuo naturally wouldn’t spit out a goal spoon-fed right to his mouth. With a calm poke, he breached the Naples goal once again. Two to zero!

"In less than seven minutes, Arsenal has scored two consecutive goals!

"And they both came from the wings.

"Naples’ 3-4-3 formation is indeed at a severe disadvantage on the flanks when facing Arsenal’s 4-3-3.

"Yet, Mazzarri still shows no intention of adjusting his tactics."

Right in the sixteenth minute, Arsenal earned an opportunity for a right-sided Throw-In in the frontcourt. After Lichsteiner quickly took the Throw-In, he tossed the ball to the Midfielder.

Following a series of Passing, Aaron Ramsey took a touch forward and delivered a lofted through ball over the top, dropping it right into the penalty box.

Wang Shuo, who had originally been facing away from the attack direction, suddenly shook off Fernandez. Turning and surging into the box, he stretched out a foot to bring the ball down. After cutting past the advancing goalkeeper, he easily side-footed the ball into the empty net.

Three to zero!

"A hat-trick!

"Sixteen minutes, three instances of Shooting, three goals!

"This is Wang Shuo!

"Everyone is saying that Wang Shuo, Ronaldo, and Messi are locked in a goal-scoring race.

"Now, we can see that all three superstars have delivered phenomenal performances in this round of the Champions League!

"It is obvious that they are all pushing hard for the ongoing Golden Ball Award voting!"

After Wang Shuo secured his hat-trick, Mazzarri finally yielded and hastily opted to drop back and defend. He knew very well that if they continued this reckless approach, Arsenal could rack up an astonishing scoreline at any given minute.

However, when the Italy team chose to fall back—especially after Naples retreated and immediately shifted their tactics to a 5-4-1 formation—it became much harder for Arsenal to enter their penalty area at will. On the contrary, right before the end of the first half, Naples capitalized on a corner kick. Center-back Fernandez scored with a header right in front of the goal.

One to three!

But in the fifty-seventh minute of the second half, De Bruyne delivered another diagonal pass, finding Wang Shuo inside the box. Consequently, Naples center-back Aronica committed a foul. He received a yellow card and gifted Arsenal a penalty kick.

Hazard stepped up to take the penalty and converted it with ease, scoring another goal for Arsenal to make it four to one!

Then, in the eighty-first minute, during a frontcourt free kick, Inler assisted Fernandez to pull one back. The Naples center-back had secured a brace.

Ultimately, the Gunners defeated Naples four to two on home turf. Their only regret was that both conceded goals came from set pieces. The Gunners’ vulnerability defending set pieces remained unimproved.

When the match ended, Wang Shuo, who was sitting on the bench, grabbed a water bottle and stood up.

He had been substituted out in the second half. With the outcome already decided, the Gunners needed him fresh for the upcoming weekend league match. But before heading back, Wang Shuo made his way to the stadium’s mixed interview zone. The media, having caught wind of his arrival, flocked there in droves to chase after him.