After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

Just three days after the Champions League match ended.

Arsenal will host Burnley in the FA Cup at home.

That's how the Premier League schedule works; you can't stand firm here without an iron body.

Wenger continued his reasonable rotation strategy, allowing some veteran players to get plenty of rest.

The stage was handed over to energetic young core players such as Yan Yuan, Saka, and Nketiah, supplemented by some main players.

The intensity of this match was far less than the fiery clashes of the Champions League knockout stage a few days earlier.

However, the highlights interspersed throughout are still quite interesting.

The entire competition went smoothly.

The gap in strength, coupled with the eagerness of Arsenal's young players to prove themselves, put Burnley on the back foot early on.

Yan Yuan remains the undisputed top attacker on the right flank, his passes always managing to penetrate the gaps in the opponent's defense.

In the 30th minute, he received the ball near the sideline, but did not attempt to break through the close marking from Burnley players.

He looked up and scanned the restricted area, his body slightly turned to the side, and seemingly casually flicked the outside of his right foot!

A perfectly curved, high ball, with just the right amount of power, scalpeled the Burnley center-back pair with surgical precision, finding Nketiah who was making a ghostly run at the far post!

The young center forward comfortably controlled the ball, then unleashed a powerful shot that found the back of the net!

1-0!

The goals came easily, and the assists came even more effortlessly.

Just three minutes into the second half, Yan Yuan once again showcased his art of feeding cakes.

This time it was in the right-center area. He played a one-two with Iwobi to get past the defense, and then sped towards the side of the penalty area.

After attracting the attention of two defenders, he did not try to score, but instead used his left foot to deliver an extremely tricky, low through ball that seemed to be right in his mouth.

The ball slid past the outstretched foot of the Burnley defender and found Saka, who was rushing to the scene!

All Saka had to do was gently push the ball into the net!

2-0! Yan Yuan's crucial pass once again proved fatal.

In the 65th minute, Yan Yuan received a pass from his teammate just outside the penalty area, leaving only Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who was eager to block the angle, in front of him.

At this point, Burnley's defensive line had pushed back as a whole, creating obvious gaps.

Instead of taking a powerful shot or passing the ball, Yan Yuan made an extremely realistic stepover motion.

My body swayed violently.

Heaton had anticipated that Yan Yuan would shoot directly, so he lowered his center of gravity and prepared to make a save.

But Yan Yuan's realistic feint fooled the experienced Heaton instantly.

He thought Yan Yuan was going to dribble the ball laterally to break through the gap, and in his haste, he actually lunged to his left side in advance!

Heaton, who had completely lost his balance, lost his footing.

He seemed to have been tripped by an invisible rope, and he slipped and fell to the ground in a sorry state.

"Whoa—!" A gasp of disbelief and barely suppressed amusement swept through the audience!

Just as Heaton fell to the ground, Yan Yuan seized the opportunity and very easily pushed his right foot forward with a gentle push.

This shot by Yan Yuan wasn't a powerful volley or a chip shot; it was just a slow, leisurely shot, like an old man taking a leisurely effort.

The ball slowly rolled into the empty goal under everyone's watchful eyes.

3-0!

This goal was certainly not a thunderous bombardment.

This was more like a "humiliation" with a touch of mockery.

Yan Yuan used extremely calm handling and realistic feints to completely outmaneuver the opposing goalkeeper and easily and comfortably scored the goal.

After scoring, Yan Yuan smiled and ran towards Saka, who had passed him the ball, and the two gave each other a high five.

Heaton sat on the ground, covering his face with his hands, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed.

The gun fans in the stands applauded with good-natured laughter, and this scene instantly became a viral GIF on social media.

Yan Yuan's personal highlight reel has been updated with another item.

The commentator couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh... poor Heaton, he was completely fooled by Yan Yuan. That goal was... so humiliating. I bet Heaton would have preferred that long-range shot to go in rather than this."

Ultimately, Kolasinac scored another goal after coming on as a substitute.

Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 victory over Burnley at home, advancing to the next round of the FA Cup.

An easy victory for the rotation lineup added a touch of relaxation to the tense schedule.

Before the joy of the FA Cup had fully subsided, the Colney training ground had already resumed its high-intensity preparations for the Champions League.

The second leg against Paris Saint-Germain will be of paramount importance.

Wenger is paying even closer attention to the details, and Arsenal's training is in full swing.

It was on this ordinary training day evening.

After Yan Yuan finished training and returned home, he turned on his tablet to prepare for his routine review of some details of the FA Cup match.

However, my attention was drawn to a sports news push from the distant Iberian Peninsula.

The title is very eye-catching.

[A historic breakthrough! New signing Wu Lei scores his first La Liga goal! Helping Espanyol come from behind to defeat Levante 2-1!]

"Wu Lei?"

Yan Yuan remembered this name.

Although he doesn't watch the Chinese Super League much, his dad does watch it frequently.

Yan's father had been mentioning Wu Lei's name frequently recently, so Yan Yuan was very familiar with it.

After checking the information, Yan Yuan learned that this was a new signing from the Chinese Super League, and also the Chinese Super League Golden Boot winner. He joined Espanyol in La Liga during the winter transfer window.

After clicking to view the detailed report and highlights:

In the video, Wu Lei, wearing Espanyol's number 24 jersey, displays impressive speed and positioning.

In the 59th minute, Wu Lei received a long pass from Dald and, like a cheetah smelling blood, instantly started his run.

He surged forward at high speed, and with accurate anticipation and aggressive sprint, successfully broke the offside trap.

Facing the onrushing goalkeeper, Wu Lei remained calm and composed, using the outside of his right foot to push the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The entire Levante home stadium fell silent instantly. Wu Lei, wearing a blue away jersey, excitedly rushed towards the corner flag, pumping his fist and roaring!

In the footage, Wu Lei's teammates swarmed around him, celebrating!

This marks the first time in over 10 years that a Chinese player has achieved this feat since Shao Jiayi.

He scored again in one of the top five European leagues!

"That was really hard-won, and that goal was so inspiring." Yan Yuan felt a surge of genuine joy and warmth.

He quickly browsed related reports and social media.

This news, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, has stirred up a huge wave on the Chinese internet.

The top trending topic was #WuLei'sFirstLaLigaGoal#!

Following closely behind are #WuLeiMakesHistory# and #WuLeiIsAwesome#.

The number of views on the Weibo topic has surpassed one billion at an astonishing rate, and it is still climbing wildly!

Major sports apps are vying to launch special features with eye-catching and inspiring titles.

"Wu Lei breaks the ice! First La Liga goal by a Chinese player!"

"After a decade, Chinese players are once again on the green fields of the top five European leagues!"

My WeChat Moments was instantly flooded with posts saying, "I'm so touched, everyone!"

"Who says Chinese Super League players can't make it in the top five European leagues?!"

Major football forums are flooded with posts discussing the details of the goal, Wu Lei's speed advantage, his positioning awareness, and his future prospects at Espanyol.

In the domestic football circle, the screen is usually dominated by entries related to Yan Yuan, or other stars from the top five leagues, such as "Yan Yuan's world-class goal", "Yan Yuan's hat-trick", and "Yan Yuan's amazing lob shot".

But today, all the attention is focused on one name: Wu Lei!

This player from the Chinese Super League scored a goal in one of the top five European leagues.

In an extremely inspiring way, he temporarily surpassed Yan Yuan's popularity and became the most down-to-earth hero in the hearts of domestic football fans!

This news made Yan Yuan genuinely happy for Wu Lei, as he also hopes for the future of Chinese football.

Next, he opened the full replay of the Espanyol vs. Levante match to review the game.

The entire match was unremarkable.

However, Wu Lei's positioning really caught Yan Yuan's eye.

Yan Yuan himself has a deep understanding of positioning, so he can see at a glance how exquisite Wu Lei's positioning is.

Wu Lei's offside-beating start when he scored was textbook perfect.

Wu Lei also created an excellent one-on-one opportunity.

Unfortunately, his final shot was too central and was saved by the goalkeeper.

Yan Yuan leaned back on the sofa, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the tablet as he murmured to himself.

"The speed is good, the one-on-one skills are a bit lacking, but the sense of positioning... wow, absolutely top-notch."

"His technical characteristics and playing style are very suitable for the pace of La Liga, which emphasizes space."

As long as he doesn't suffer serious injuries, establishing himself in Spain and even achieving greater success is not a pipe dream. The key lies in the environment, confidence, and... a little bit of luck.

Yan Yuan is optimistic about Wu Lei's future.

With this appreciation in mind, he opened his Weibo and typed "Wu Lei" into the search bar.

He intended to keep an eye on things quietly, but unexpectedly, the officially verified account @武磊 popped up in the search results.

It turns out that Wu Lei was already on his fan list.

Wu Lei had already followed Yan Yuan, but Yan Yuan hadn't noticed Wu Lei yet.

Yan Yuan followed Wu Lei back without hesitation.

Then, he quickly edited a new post.

No pictures, no fancy labels, just sincere words from the heart:

[@Wu Lei, I just watched the highlights of your goal against Levante, it was fantastic! Perfect positioning, calm finish. Congratulations on scoring your first La Liga goal, a historic moment! I'm so happy for all Chinese football fans, keep it up and lead Chinese football forward!]

He clicked "send".

This post caused a huge stir.

Wu Lei, currently playing in Spain, is clearly in good form.

Just a few minutes later, Wu Lei's reply appeared in the comments section (and was pushed to the top):

Thank you @Arsenal player Yan Yuan. It is a great honor to receive your recognition. You have always been a role model for me. Your achievements in the top five leagues are remarkable and have brought great encouragement to all Chinese players.

I also hope to be like you, constantly improving and proving myself in the top five European leagues. Let's both keep going! I hope to have the opportunity to learn from you!

Yan Yuan and Wu Lei are both humble, sincere, and full of respect.

This remote interaction instantly ignited the Chinese football fan community both domestically and internationally.

"Holy crap!! Yan Yuan posted a congratulatory message for Wu Lei!! And Wu Lei even replied!!! I'm so moved, everyone!"

"This is absolutely an epic interaction—a top Chinese-American superstar and our homegrown top shooter!"

"Yan Shen and Lei Zi are both so charming! Their attitudes are amazing!"

"When Wu Lei can be more consistent in one-on-one situations, then he will be able to have a stable career in the top five leagues."

"Family members, does anyone want to see Arsenal play Espanyol? Yan Shen has a lot of influence, so let him talk to the club and see if a friendly match can be arranged (doge emoji)."

"Arsenal vs. Espanyol? Wow, you've got some ideas, but honestly, I'd love to see it too."

"When the match actually happens, it should go like this: Arsenal 100 to Espanyol 58. Yan Yuan performs an 1800-degree bicycle kick, scoring 98 goals. Wu Lei makes a 100 km/h sprint down the wing, scoring 50 goals. Both goalkeepers retire on the spot, and Wenger has no choice but to come on (doge)."

"Upstairs, this is a football match."

"Aaaaaaah! Yan Shen posted again!!!"

"Sisters, let's settle this."

In a short time, topics such as #YanYuanCongratulatesWuLei#, #TwoWaysForChineseFootballStars#, and #YanYuanAndWuLeiInteract# quickly rose to the top of the domestic hot search list.

This heartwarming and meaningful interaction not only solidified Wu Lei's popularity due to his goal, but also significantly enhanced Yan Yuan's image in the hearts of Chinese fans.

He is no longer the technically brilliant but seemingly unattainable "foreign" genius, but more like a fellow Chinese who cares about Chinese football and is proud of his compatriots.

On this unexpected night, two rising football stars emerged from different backgrounds.

They resonated in the warmest way, together igniting a light of hope and pride in the hearts of Chinese fans.