Wenger didn't let his guard down, though.
He gave instructions from the touchline, urging his players to hurry up and score another goal. Only at 3–0 would he truly feel at ease.
As soon as Wenger's message got through, more good news came Arsenal's way.
The 39th minute.
Wilshere threaded a through ball to Walcott, setting him up for another one-on-one. Walcott made full use of his "Weak-Team Slayer" qualities, unleashing a flurry of attacks against the weaker side.
Walcott's shot slid into the far corner, leaving the keeper with nothing to do.
Arsenal were 3–0 up at home.
Seeing that, Wenger finally relaxed. Unless something unexpected happened, this match was in the bag!
Arsenal weren't AC Milan, and Blackpool certainly weren't Liverpool!
At halftime, Wenger took Chamakh off and brought Li Yufei on.
Since he'd promised to give Li Yufei more opportunities, Wenger wasn't about to go back on his word.
With the result all but decided, there was no harm in giving Li Yufei some playing time.
After all, Wenger didn't doubt Li Yufei's ability. He simply wanted to ease the pressure on him as much as possible.
One of the starting spots in Arsenal's front line would be Li Yufei's sooner or later, barring anything unexpected. There was no need to rush.
The second half began.
Li Yufei noticed that the guys on the other side had completely let loose, playing however they pleased.
They didn't care about anything anymore...
In that situation, it was far easier for Li Yufei to seize his chance and score!
The 49th minute.
Sagna played a one-two with Diaby on the wing, then surged toward the right side of the penalty area.
He'd been about to play the ball through to Little Tiger Walcott, who was making a run into the box.
But then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Li Yufei moving toward the weak side of Blackpool's defense.
So Sagna sent a direct pass through the middle, finding Li Yufei in the left channel of the penalty area.
Blackpool defender John Baptist spotted Sagna's intention and hurried across to close Li Yufei down.
But Li Yufei didn't try anything fancy after receiving the ball. He simply controlled it, pulled it back, nudged it to the right to make space, and shot.
Against a keeper who seemed to have reached a state of "neither pleased by success nor saddened by failure," the shot easily became a goal.
"GOOOOOOOOAL!!!"
"Number 13, Li Yufei!!!"
"This talented player from the Colney youth academy has scored again after just four minutes on the pitch!"
"Unbelievable!!!"
The commentator let loose with a full-throated roar, pushing his lungs to the limit!
After scoring, Li Yufei went through his usual routine of blowing a kiss to Taylor in the box.
There was no system mission this time, but his girlfriend wouldn't be in London for much longer. Li Yufei didn't mind showing her some affection in public while he still could.
Taylor was bouncing around in the box as usual, thrilled by her boyfriend's goal!
The 57th minute.
Blackpool made their final two substitutions, taking off Haywood and Taylor Fletcher and bringing on two young forwards.
Li Yufei was dumbfounded when he saw the change.
Seriously, man, you really think you haven't lost by enough yet? You're bringing on two more forwards?
Were they going with the idea that it was better to die trying?
But honestly, they were already 4–0 down. That attitude wasn't going to help now!
Other than getting battered even worse, Li Yufei couldn't see what it would accomplish.
Of course, Li Yufei wasn't about to warn them. The more recklessly Blackpool played, the more goals he could score.
A relegation-threatened team that had completely abandoned its defense was practically wide open!
Sure enough, in the first minute after the substitutions, Walcott completed his hat-trick with an assist from Diaby.
The score rose to 5–0, and a rout was now inevitable!
The 62nd minute.
Wenger took Diaby and Arshavin off, bringing on Van Persie and Fabregas.
Against opponents of this level, the pair of tired players could use the game to get back into form.
The 68th minute.
Fabregas won the ball in the attacking third and immediately passed it to Van Persie, who was waiting outside the penalty area.
Van Persie received the ball and was about to shoot, but when he saw Li Yufei asking for it, he swallowed his envy of the salary in Li Yufei's new contract and passed it over out of professionalism.
After all, Li Yufei really was in a better position!
Li Yufei met Van Persie's pass with a first-time strike. The ball flew into the net like a streak of white light.
The score was now 6–0, and Li Yufei had scored twice in a match.
Including the game against Liverpool, that meant Li Yufei had scored twice in each of the first two league matches of his professional career!
What a dream start. Who else could do that?
Li Yufei grew even more active as the game went on, because he was after a hat-trick.
But the opponents seemed to have figured out what he was up to and began marking him closely.
Wherever Li Yufei went, a player stuck to him like glue, as if he'd brought a bodyguard onto the pitch.
That kind of attention was usually reserved for superstars!
Now Li Yufei was getting the same treatment. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The 83rd minute.
In a highly unusual move, Van Persie played the ball backward with his back to goal, laying it off to Fabregas at the edge of the penalty arc.
Fabregas saw the golden opportunity, swung his leg, and unleashed a long shot. Arsenal had breached Blackpool's goal for the seventh time that night.
The 88th minute.
Arsenal broke on the counter. Rosicky passed to Wilshere, who sent a long ball over the top to Walcott on the right wing.
Little Tiger Walcott used his pace to blow past Blackpool's right back, then drove into the box.
Li Yufei raised his hand on the far side of the area, but Walcott ignored him completely, focused only on the goal.
He'd already completed his hat-trick. Why not take this chance to score a four-goal haul?
People's desires were endless!
Unfortunately, Walcott's shot hit the crossbar and bounced back into the middle.
Van Persie rushed in and headed the ball into the net, despite heading not being one of his strengths.
That was right. Over the course of his career, Van Persie was never particularly good with his head!
Or rather, he didn't like to use his head to solve problems.
Ironically, the goal that made Van Persie most famous came four years later, when he scored a diving header for the Netherlands against Spain in the group stage of the Brazil World Cup!
With Van Persie's goal, the score reached an astonishing 8–0. It was a massacre!
The confidence Blackpool had gained from their 4–0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic in their first match was utterly destroyed by Arsenal in an instant!
At that moment, the ten Blackpool players on the pitch all looked completely lost.
Li Yufei guessed their minds had gone entirely blank.
A vast, empty whiteness. Nothing at all!
After silently mourning for three seconds, Li Yufei decided to make their minds even emptier.
The 90th minute.
Perhaps the referee thought Blackpool had suffered enough, because he seemed ready to end the match without adding any stoppage time.
But just then, Li Yufei pounced on a moment when a Blackpool defender was standing dazed and stole the ball from under his feet.
The guy hadn't even realized what had happened before Li Yufei had already rounded him and charged into the box.
Seeing that he was about to face one last shot, courtesy of his teammate's blunder, Gilks was completely numb. As Li Yufei fired from inside the box, he merely lifted a hand on instinct.
The familiar swish of the ball hitting the net rang out again. Gilks had conceded his ninth goal of the match!
As Arsenal beat Blackpool 9–0, Li Yufei also scored the first hat-trick of his professional career!
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