From Arsenal to the Ball God

”It’s in again! Truly a thrilling goal-scoring battle! A miracle ball contest!”

In the broadcasting room, Zhan Jun stared at the field, mouth agape, and said in his iconic tone, ”Van Persie’s overhead kick! This is one of the top five goals of the week, and a showcase of his tendency to score extravagant goals!”

”A header assist from Walcott, attacking organization from Ma’el, the chemistry between the three forwards is excellent!”

”Hehehe...”

Coach Zhang Lu, silent for a long time, seized the opportunity during the replay, saying, ”We must pay attention to Ma’el in this attack. He made an early backward observation and noticed Little Tiger’s intention to move.”

”After turning with the ball, he didn’t raise his head again... quickly delivering a precise long diagonal pass, with a bit of curve, truly spectacular!

”With this pass, his market value has to rise by two or three million Euros.”

”Today, Manchester United’s midfielders showcased excellent sweeping interceptions, not giving Ma’el and Walcott many chances for ball-control sprints, but they still seized the limited control opportunities to create a goal.”

”That’s what top players do, undoubtedly top players. His age cannot conceal his football IQ and ability.”

”His potential is very high... if only he could further refine his dribbling technique, shooting skills in various scenarios, including headers, he would have the chance to become the perfect forward.”

”But he’s doing just fine now.”

At the field’s edge, amid the Manchester United fans’ defeated expressions, Van Persie leaned back and knee-surfed in celebration, reciprocating Rooney’s earlier high-knee sliding celebration.

”Heya.....!”

Ma’el and Walcott quickly ran to him from different directions, the three aligning themselves perfectly according to their positions on the field, left, center, right, neatly.

”The first coordinated goal!”

”Two wings soaring with a divine striker!”

”Haha!”

Once Van Persie stood up, they all hugged each other’s shoulders and sprinted towards the corner flag area, despite nothing being there, despite it not being the Arsenal fan zone.

Yet there’s that special draw, enticing the three to run there laughing, releasing their emotions.

It might be a celebration style embedded in their bones, inspired by watching the Dutch Trinity, the German Troika, Ronaldo, Baggio, and other football legends as children.

They dreamed of racing across the field this way, celebrating a goal with the best partners, creating beautiful moments.

”I reckon I’ve redeemed myself.”

Van Persie embraced the two, full of emotion, ”I hope we can take away some points from this tough match.”

”We will,” Ma’el was confident at this moment, ”but it’s not about redemption; missing a penalty isn’t a big mistake. At least I made the follow-up shot and scored.”

”If that counts as redemption, then the goal would’ve been given to me for nothing, haha....”

”It was your penalty anyway,” Van Persie used this goal opportunity to hug Ma’el again, showing his gratitude, feeling completely relieved now.

After this goal, the referee blew the halftime whistle, and both teams’ players returned to the locker room to rest.

Ma’el felt quite satisfied, scoring one goal and orchestrating another..... compared to the initial outcome, it was decent enough.

They still have chances to pursue goals in the second half, with the confidence to challenge Manchester United’s formidable home field at Old Trafford!

Back in the locker room, Wenger first praised the players’ performance and then emphasized some defensive issues in the backfield.

When discussing the attack, he made some tweaks, ”Ma’el and Walcott need to drop back to receive the ball; Manchester United is marking you tightly, preventing you from exploiting your advantages.”

”Drop back to the wing midfielder or even midfield positions; Phil Jones and Evra won’t follow you there, otherwise their defensive setup will be muddled.”

”Additionally, adjust Ramsey and Arteta’s positions... Arteta needs to assist right-wing defense, Ashley Young’s impact is fierce, Ramsey can’t hold him.”

At this moment, Ma’el exchanged a glance with Ramsey, silently nodding in agreement, ready to partner in the second half.

...

”Beep!”

Van Persie booted the ball from the center circle, signaling the commencement of the second half. The attacking players had a face-off at the center line before all rushing into the opponent’s half.

This time, Ma’el proactively tagged Phil Jones, making him believe he’d stick to the forward line like in the first half.

Once he got hold of Phil Jones’ collar again, he noticed Jones’ shirt was already soaked, and after a wind-dry at halftime, it even felt a bit chilly.... his hair was moist too.

Must be quite stressful?

He smiled slightly, casting a glance at this diligent defender... no worries, there’s more pressure coming.”

Ma’el waited for an attacking opportunity, ready to drop back to the midfield for receiving the ball.

He noticed that with Ramsey moving closer to him, the entire wing was left open for him.

This space was created for him; this technically minded midfield player’s football IQ is commendable. It remains to be seen whether this gap can be exploited later.

...

In the 65th minute of the match, after a period of stability, both sides rekindled the offensive battle from the first half.

They accelerated in sync, experiencing a phase of rapid ball possession turnovers in midfield.

”Boom, boom, boom!”

As eight to nine players near the midfield area sprinted with full force, concentrating on passing and intercepting, the rhythm in the midfield region reached an absurdly high tempo.