From Arsenal to the Ball God

March 9th, Championship League Round 36, Sheffield United hosting Nottingham Forest Team.

In this league round, Ma’el got a chance to rest, and Garrispeed saw that he had just returned not long ago, physically and mentally exhausted, so he simply let him rest.

Ma’el indeed needed a break. After the winter transfer window closed, he hadn’t rotated much, and his body was nearing its limit.

If it weren’t for the effects of improved diet and massage therapy supporting him, he might suddenly twist his foot or pull a muscle during a major redirect late in some matches.

Speaking of which, after numerous matches, he gradually realized the risk-aversion capability brought by the ’Coordination’ and ’Power’ skills.

Most Championship teams have rather rough playstyles, and he’s been on the receiving end of many reckless tackles and other malicious fouls; and has tried high difficulty directional moves when extremely exhausted.

The former is thanks to his adequate strength, with a solid build, allowing him to remain intact after nearly a season.

Ma’el remembered the moment Kimmich tackled Haaland. Due to the significant disparity in their power, Kimmich tackled fiercely, and Haaland took a hard hit.

In the end, the tackler was severely injured, while the tackled one staggered a few steps and continued to sprint with the ball!

This is the utility of power when resisting crude infringements... For a forward like Haaland, unless it’s a particularly malicious foul intended to break his leg, regular malicious fouls wouldn’t injure him.

The latter is his flexibility capability brought by coordination, which is also extremely important.

Whenever his body reaches its limit, yet he has to forcefully twist to perform actions, flexibility can always save him at critical moments, avoiding a sprain.

”These two skills must continue being practiced.”

Ma’el had a thought; protecting his body is his top priority, and he’s never careless about it.

Currently, he can be considered to be progressing steadily; as long as he continues down this path, he believes his future will reach heights unimaginable today.

In such circumstances, if one lacks self-protection awareness, always putting oneself at risk of injury, that would be incredibly foolish.

Of course, he’s not in a rush; there are still three skills currently being practiced, and physical ability has an upgrade to Level 4 in progress.

Once the training schedule eases up, he’ll consider practicing strength and coordination.

Just giving himself a reminder not to forget these two skills that have been quietly safeguarding him, he will surely continue practicing them in the future.

Just grind!

Grind to the end, then combined with good therapy and diet, it’s possible his future injury probability approaches zero!

[Skill: Level 3 Foot Arch Pass]

[Skill Level: (754/800)]

[Skill: Level 3 Burst]

[Skill Level: (659/2000)]

[Skill: Level 2 Weak Side Foot]

[Skill Level: (121/800)]

[Skill: Level 2 Physical Ability]

[Skill Level: (460/800)]

After finishing the day’s extra training, Ma’el glanced at the skill level panel, discovering Foot Arch Pass is close to Level 4.

With his increasing proficiency in this skill, he’s been using Foot Arch Pass more frequently in recent matches, leading to more ground ball assists.

”Once it reaches Level 4, it’ll be a major weapon.”

He had this feeling; ground assist passes have always been more common than high ball assists.

His crossing assists are numerous, partly because he has Level 4 crossing, indeed passes precisely; another factor is that he’s in the Championship League.

The Premier League of 2010-11 still played the 4-4-2 style, and the Championship tactics are naturally quite simple.

In a nutshell, it’s the short phrase known by all fans—long passes and charges, crossing from the goal line!

Once he goes to the Premier League, to Arsenal, at least before Giroud joins the team, the effects of his crossing might diminish somewhat.

At this time, possessing the ability to deliver threatening ground balls becomes critically important!

This ability will be key alongside other skills like long shots and dipping shots for him to establish himself firmly in the Premier League’s top clubs.

Without further thought, Ma’el went home to eat, and at 7:30, he turned on the Championship broadcast channel to watch this league round’s broadcast.

It’s Nottingham Forest that scored first, not much of a surprise; there haven’t been many games where the team scored first this season, and the defense is prone to lapses.

The two new full-backs are strong in one-on-one but too young and inexperienced; sometimes when the main squad lapses, they also follow suit.

In the 74th minute of the match, Luton made a sweeping pass into the center, and Evans pushed the ball into the net!

One to one!

”Good ball!”

Ma’el, while drinking skimmed yogurt, reached out to give a high-five celebration with Halisafina beside him.

Six minutes later, Luton dribbled from the wing again, cut into the center, and launched a magnificent long-range shot that rocketed into the net!

Two to one!

Luton, one goal, one assist!

”What’s going on with him?”

Harry glanced at Ma’el, teasing, ”Is Ma’el channeling through him?”

”Haha....” The three laughed together, and Safina added, ”It’s really possible, Luton’s position is right next to Ma’el; with Ma’el absent this time, maybe he really got into the zone.”

”No, no, no.”

Ma’el said ’no’ three times, shaking his head jokingly, ”Maybe he himself has astonishing talents, my presence on the field compressed his space, leaving him without the chance to show his abilities.

”I am truly the biggest villain on the team, my existence diminishes that of my teammates. I’m leaving football.”

”Haha....” The three laughed again. They finally saw a perfect ending, with Sheffield United defeating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at home!

This is a momentum!

A momentum infused by countless victories, where players are filled with confidence, believe in their own abilities, and are willing to persist until the end when the situation is unfavorable!

They are accustomed to victory but are not arrogant, so they can unleash combat power stronger than their true capabilities.

In some sense, this momentum is due to the arrival of Ma’el.

........

March 12, Championship League Round 37, the match against Leeds United arrives.

Ma’el stood on the pitch again, enjoying the familiar feeling, wonderfully enchanting and captivating.

After resting for a round, his condition was excellent, considered to be going into the match with full physical ability.

”Ma’el! Here he comes again! Fake a shot and pull it back, he’s charging into the penalty area! Li Haila fouled him! Penalty, it’s a penalty!”

”Janu Hans takes the kick, he’s the team’s first penalty taker, and after recovering from injury, he hasn’t scored or assisted for a while.”

”He shoots!! He scored!! He calmly slots it in, not giving Leeds United any chance! He runs towards Ma’el, wanting to thank the teammate who helped him regain his scoring touch!”

”.....”

”Ma’el roamed in the center, getting the ball, he’s always very active. If Janu Hans is the starting point of Sheffield United’s attack, then Ma’el is the endpoint!”

”Leeds United’s defender follows him closely, no chance to shoot! He can only pass it back, he’s still staying in the middle!”

”O’Brien takes action! He pokes the ball away from under Gilbert’s feet! Didn’t poke it far! Ma’el has the ball!”

”Attempt a long shot!! Deflection! Changes direction! The goalkeeper can’t do anything!”

”Ma’el’s 30th goal! He tied the Championship League scoring record! If he scores just one more, he will become the youngest player to score the most goals in a single Championship season at age 17!”

”And with 9 rounds left in the match, it seems like it’s not difficult for him, maybe he will achieve it in this game!”

”Incredible....! After shattering numerous ’youngest’ records, he’s finally reaching for the league records. His performance can only be described as terrifying!”

”.....”

”Janu Hans! The second! Sheffield United’s third!! He’s in excellent form today, with an assist from Ma’el with a low pass!”

”At the moment of ball control, he opened up his angle for shooting, and the subsequent shot was sharp, giving the goalkeeper no chance to save!”

”It’s already the 69th minute, you could say this goal extinguished Leeds United’s hope of a comeback!”

”.....”

”Ma’el was substituted by Garrispeed. He completed 1 goal, 1 assist, and 1 penalty creation today, a phenomenal performance!”

”Garrispeed prevented him from continuing his pursuit of breaking records in this match, has secured the victory, and saved the player’s energy for the next match!”

Ma’el waved to the fans as he left the field, no special emotions, and after high-fiving Garrispeed, returned to the bench.

In the 89th minute, Gilbert received Janu Hans’ pass on a corner kick and scored his 8th goal of the season!

Four to zero!

”Clap clap clap....!” Ma’el stood up from the bench, applauding and cheering for him.

Gilbert noticed him and brought his index and middle fingers together to his forehead, then flicked them toward him, making a very cheeky gesture.

Ma’el laughed, the former Arsenal U17 strongest captain, does not seem outstanding in this team.

But.... this friend who came with him still achieved impressive results today, 7 goals and 4 assists, creating 11 goal impacts.

At least, Gilbert won’t be at Cherry Street Cottage, spreading his hands complaining, lamenting things, or taking extreme behaviors frequently.

They are both slowly adapting to the league and will soon finish this season together.

......

March 14, training base.

”Thump... thump... thump!”

After a round of wall-kicking training, a peculiar feeling spread from Ma’el’s ankle and foot arch, slightly trembling.

[Skill: Foot Arch Arc Level 4]

[Skill Level: (1/2000)]

[Utility: After possessing all qualities required by normal short passes, you’re pursuing breakthroughs, gradually finding you can use the wobble and twist of your ankle during passes to add some curvature to ground balls! Breaking through defenses seems effortless!]

It’s here!

Level 4 Foot Arch Pass!

”Wobble Arc?”

Ma’el smiled excitedly, recalling the legendary series he watched in his past life, seeming to have a similar concept of ’Gun Shaking Skill’.

However, the ground ball curve on the football field truly exists, with later stars like De Bruyne, Arnold being masters in this aspect, often having extraordinary passing quality.

Summarize the abilities he currently possesses.

Heavy Cannon Strike Level 4, Curved Trajectory Guidance Level 4, Curved Blade Level 4, Foot Arch Arc Level 4, Strong Level 3, Burst Level 3, Flexibility Level 3, Judging the Situation Level 3, Single Bicycle Maneuver Level 3, Step and Shoulder Drop Level 3, Weak Side Foot Level 2, Physical Ability Level 2.

”Everything carries a bit of curve.”

Jokingly sighing a sentence, with a cheerful heart, ”The strength level is improving rapidly, I will eventually grind out a Ball God!”