3 games, 6 goals, can Li Yufei win the Premier League Golden Boot?

Wenger on the sidelines watched Li Yufei make his own adjustment, and inwardly praised him again.

A player who could take the initiative on the pitch and adapt his playstyle to the actual situation.

Without exception, they were all players with exceptional football IQ.

Clearly, Li Yufei was exactly that kind of player.

Compared to raw, visible talents like speed, dribbling skill, and sharp shooting.

This invisible soft talent—football IQ—was what Wenger valued more.

In his eyes, Li Yufei was undoubtedly a player who possessed both hard and soft talents.

Only such a player could truly become the future of Arsenal.

Because their ceiling was very high; if the core player's ceiling was high, the entire team's ceiling would rise along with it.

Li Yufei had no idea that his adjustment targeting Samba had earned him silent praise from the Old Man on the sidelines.

The 20th minute of the match.

A golden opportunity finally arrived.

Fabregas intercepted Grella's ball in midfield and immediately passed it to Walcott.

Walcott received the ball and instantly accelerated, with Ryan retreating step by step in defense.

35 yards from goal, Walcott slipped the ball to Li Yufei, who was at the arc of the penalty area, then made a run off the ball, charging into the box.

Li Yufei understood perfectly; the moment he received the ball, without stopping it, he threaded a direct pass into the open space ahead.

Samba stepped forward, ready to body Li Yufei off the ball, only to find the ball had already zipped past ten centimeters from his thigh.

Walcott, having beaten the offside trap, received the ball and formed a one-on-one.

Facing the charging Robinson, Walcott didn't adjust and fired a direct shot.

The ball arced like a rainbow into the net.

"GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!"

"Number 14, Walcott!!!"

"In the 20th minute, Fabregas made a crucial interception in midfield, Walcott and Fry played a one-two, then broke into the box for a one-on-one!"

"Goalkeeper Robinson had no answer, left to sigh in despair."

"1-0, Arsenal take the lead away from home!!!"

Seeing the very guy who had just talked trash deliver an assist right in front of him.

Samba felt as sick as if he'd swallowed a pile of shit.

"Damn brat, just you wait!"

Samba was determined to make Li Yufei pay.

After the celebration, the match restarted.

Blackburn Rovers wanted to catch Arsenal off guard while they were still relaxed after scoring.

But the experienced Arsenal wouldn't give them that chance.

After the failed attempt to steal the opening, the game's rhythm returned to Arsenal's control.

Li Yufei stuck to his adjusted playstyle, avoiding excessive physical contact with Blackburn Rovers' defenders.

He frequently dropped back into midfield, widening the distance from Samba and the others.

Samba found that this guy Li Yufei, supposedly a forward, was practically playing as a midfielder.

It frustrated him to no end.

He could put pressure on a forward, but there was no way he could pressure a midfielder!

Samba's overly muscular build meant his movement speed wasn't fast.

Likewise, if he was led around by the nose for too long, his stamina would drain quickly.

These objective reasons left Samba watching helplessly as Li Yufei dictated play around the midfield.

The 28th minute of the match.

Li Yufei dropped back, played a combination with Fabregas, then immediately threaded a through ball to Arshavin on the left flank.

The Tsar faced Blackburn Rovers' right back, Michel Salgado, stopped sharply, then changed direction to dribble.

But Salgado wasn't a green rookie; he immediately called Givet to double-team Arshavin.

Arshavin found his dribbling lanes blocked, so he quickly passed the ball back to Li Yufei.

Li Yufei received the ball and instantly chipped a cross, which Clichy, having pushed up to the left wing position, easily collected.

Then he swept the ball flat across the goalmouth.

Phil Jones beat Walcott to it and cleared the ball to a safe area.

Fabregas ran to the ball's landing spot, took control, and then short-passed it to Li Yufei.

Li Yufei felt the black muscle-bound battering ram charging at him from behind the moment he received the ball.

So he immediately passed it off.

Diaby took the ball and then sent it to Fabregas.

Fabregas took a quick look before receiving it, then immediately threaded a through ball to the right.

Sagna, who had been nowhere a moment ago, suddenly burst forward onto the pass.

Sagna didn't hesitate. He swung in a 45-degree cross straight to Arshavin's head.

Arshavin had Givet pressing into his back, robbing him of full power.

So that soft header went straight back into Robinson's arms.

Robinson booted the ball clear. Song won the aerial duel near the center circle, and Diaby collected it.

Diaby passed it back to Sagna, who this time opted for a long switch to the left flank instead of another cross.

Clichy received it and played a one-two with Arshavin, then cut into the box.

Facing the double coverage of Salgado and Givet, Clichy swept the ball straight toward the penalty spot.

Li Yufei appeared like a bolt of lightning on the ball's trajectory.

Before Samba and Phil Jones could react, Li Yufei had already smashed a first-time shot.

Faced with a shot from that close range, Robinson had no chance—he could only watch the ball fly into the net.

"GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!"

"Number 13, Flee!!!"

"It's this kid again. After setting up Walcott's goal, he's now scored the first of his own in this match."

"Arsenal now lead 2-0 away at Blackburn Rovers, extending their advantage."

"Since the Premier League season kicked off three games ago, this kid Flee has scored in every single match."

"He currently tops the Premier League Top Scorers List with 6 goals in 3 games!"

"Andy, do you think Flee has a shot at the Premier League Golden Boot this season?"

Hearing his partner's question, Andy Gray thought for a few seconds, then shook his head, his tone uncertain:

"I don't know. We're only three rounds in—it's a bit early to talk about the Golden Boot."

"Whether Flee can actually win it depends on how he performs from here on out."

"After all, this is the Premier League, the toughest league in the world."

"Flee's current hot streak is largely because other Premier League teams don't know him well enough yet."

"As the season goes deeper, more and more teams will study him and target him."

"When that happens, whether Flee can maintain his scoring rate is a big question mark."

Martin Tyler didn't argue but posed another question:

"So how many league goals do you think Flee will finish the season with?"

Andy Gray answered without hesitation:

"Around 20, no more than 25."

"Remember, this is the Premier League, the best league in the world. For a young player to score 20 goals in his debut season would already be an incredible achievement."

"Back when Cristiano was at Manchester United in his first few seasons, he never scored more than 10 league goals in a single season!"

To back up his guess, Andy even brought up the early-season stats of Ronaldo, one of today's two footballing titans, during his time at Manchester United.

Martin Tyler disagreed and pushed back: "No, you can't compare Flee to Cristiano."

"At least the 18-year-old Cristiano was nowhere near the level of today's Flee."

"Back then, Cristiano was just a showboating step-over kid on the pitch..."

"In terms of both position and scoring efficiency, there's no comparison with Flee now."

"I think Flee can win the Premier League Golden Boot this season, and his goal tally won't be less than 25—maybe even 30 isn't out of the question."