From Arsenal to the Ball God

”You all make good points, but I still think Götze has a higher chance of winning. Not to mention... even if Ma’el performs better than Götze, he still has 3 more years. But Götze was born in ’92, next year may not be certain.”

”By that logic, they should just award it to someone born in ’91 then.”

Under this post by The Guardian, the comments weren’t too surprised anymore; most were discussing the Golden Boy Award.

That’s normal too. In the Premier League’s first round, Ma’el’s performance was simply outstanding, and they were already amazed once.

Now they’re too exhausted to marvel again... or rather, they’ve already considered Ma’el a player valued at ’30 million’ Euro on Transfermarkt.

But sometimes, when you think about it, this 18-year-old player is genuinely stepping onto the world stage in an incredible way.

He can already compete for the world’s best player under 20.

......

”30 million Euros.”

At the Korni Training Base, Wenger, having just finished the afternoon training, sat in the office with a group of assistant coaches, sipping tea and sighing.

”More than Wilshere.”

Philip thought of this and quickly shook his head, ”But it’s quite normal for him to surpass Wilshere.”

”Just saying, 18 years old and 30 million, it’s shocking,” an assistant coach said, smiling as he sipped his tea.

”The even more shocking news is coming.”

Outside walked a person, a member of the club’s board, Mrs. Smith, carrying 15% of the team’s shares, negotiating an acquisition with Kroenke.

Mrs. Smith heard the conversation just now and placed three faxes on the table, ”Three offers for Ma’el, two from old friends, one from a new friend.”

”Chelsea, Manchester United?”

Wenger guessed which two old friends, and he wasn’t too worried about Ma’el leaving. He smiled as he picked up the fax to look it over.

”40 million Euro.”

Mrs. Smith kept shaking her head to express her disbelief, ”Which means they might be willing to put up enough money equivalent to Suarez’s release clause to buy Ma’el.”

”Oh...” Although Wenger was prepared, he still was taken aback. He picked up the contract and looked at it carefully.

”So rich.”

Philip went up to pick up the other two faxes, inevitably thinking about Arsenal, ”Do you think, once Kroenke and Usmanov are done with their standoff, no matter who wins, they’ll invest in the team like that?”

”Who knows.”

Mrs. Smith raised her eyebrows, having been troubled by this issue recently, ”Maybe I won’t see that day, but for now, I support Kroenke.”

She’s not part of a consortium, standing more with Arsenal fans compared to the two foreign capitals.

She’s a loyal fan of the team, loving them all her life.

”Paris’s offer also reached 30 million Euro; that’s a big number.”

Philip put down the fax from Paris, then looked at Manchester United’s, suddenly sputtering, ”Manchester United’s offer is 22,500,001 Euro; they’re clearly trying to irk us.”

Last time, Manchester United’s offer was 22,500,000 Euros, this time adding 1 Euro, clearly knowing they can’t buy him but sending an offer just for fun.

Wenger put down Chelsea’s offer and picked up Ferguson’s, recalling that old rival’s expression on the other side, he couldn’t help but smile: ”Haha...”

”Tell Chelsea, Ma’el is not for sale; the player and the club are in the midst of contract renewal negotiations.

”Check Rooney’s release clause, add 1 Euro and offer it to Manchester United.

”Also, prepare for a second round of negotiations with Mendes, as the player has increased in value again.”

After finishing his last sentence, Wenger wasn’t sure whether he should put on a pained expression or a smiling face, his expression turning very complicated.

......

August 17th, Emirates Stadium.

”Come on you Arsenal...!!

”Keep telling us we are boring - we will just keep on scoring now...!!”

Over fifty thousand Arsenal fans sang the club’s anthem together, cheering for the upcoming match.

Arsenal would embark on their Champions League qualifying journey today, facing a strong team from Italy, Udinese!

This was also the team’s new season debut at the Emirates Stadium, a day eagerly anticipated by countless Gunners fans.

At 3:23 in the afternoon, players gradually gathered in the player’s tunnel, lining up in long queues waiting to take the field.

Ma’el, having prepared himself, walked out of the locker room, listening to the faint cheering sounds, stepping towards the player’s tunnel, gradually hearing the cheers getting louder and more exhilarating.

This was his first matchday at the Emirates Stadium and the first time standing here almost full house.

Reaching the tunnel entrance, he quickly saw a narrow passage only enough for five or six people to walk side by side, all covered in bright red, including the ceiling and the floor.

Looking straight through the passage, he could already see the waving Arsenal flags across, and the dense Arsenal fans.

”Hoo...”

He took a deep breath and soon stepped onto the Emirates Stadium with the team, a place he’d longed for.

”Go for it!”

”Go Ma’el!”

”Play well!”

Upon entering, he heard cheers from many Arsenal fans on both sides, fans who had likely taken a liking to him from his first game.

He turned his head to wave to the fans, once again eliciting a wave of cheers. This significantly boosted his confidence, making him feel certain he could make a remarkable home debut in this match.

”The Arsenal... Come on the Arsenal... the Arsenal...!!”

The resounding club anthem kept echoing, extremely loud and clear, making everyone expect the most sensational cheers to erupt later.