From Arsenal to the Ball God

Ma’el smiled, quickly catching Deschamps’ eye. The other party also smiled slightly, and the two exchanged glances for the first time.

After this offensive ended, Arsenal started passing back and forth in their backfield again.

They tried a few forward attacks, and when it didn’t work, they were in no hurry, slowly looking for opportunities through passing.

”Come back!”

At this moment, Deschamps didn’t seem to want to press high; he signaled his players to return to their own half. He wanted to defend the one-point lead.

In Arsenal’s home ground, Emirates Stadium, taking away one Champions League point is an acceptable result.

”Boom!”

In the 88th minute, once again Vermaelen delivered a precise long pass, slicing through the opponent’s midfield line to find Arteta on the right.

This is the significance of his presence on the field... Even though Arsenal’s attack power is now very strong, he has gradually been unable to compete with Koscielny and Mertesacker. But as long as he is on the pitch, he can contribute to the team’s offense.

After Arteta controlled the ball, he passed it to Ma’el. At this time, Ma’el was the one in whom people placed more trust.

”Boom boom boom.....!”

This time, Ma’el moved quickly from ball control to acceleration, not giving Azpilicueta any chance as he cut towards the center, instantly speeding up the rhythm on the left half of the field.

”Thunk thunk!” But Azpilicueta reacted quickly, gritting his teeth as he managed to keep up.

This player’s physical ability seemed outstanding. After 89 minutes of play, he showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, it got him to his optimal physical state.

Considering the previous heavy defeat at the Marseille home ground, he was moved to action and burst into his extreme level.

”Boom!”

Ma’el observed the situation in the center. Seeing Walcott intending to insert into the flank, he brushed his right foot against the bottom of the ball, preparing to send an over-the-top pass.

”Screech!”

Azpilicueta was prepared for this and slid towards Ma’el’s feet.

He hooked Ma’el’s foot first and then also hooked the ball, causing it to deflect off the sideline towards the center.

”Bang!”

Ma’el uncontrollably rolled forward and, after landing, quickly got up to see the ball cleared by the opponent’s defender and then headed back into the box by Arteta.

He turned his gaze to the referee, dissatisfied, and chased after him, ”He hooked my foot first, aren’t you going to call it? He disrupted my chance to attack!”

The head referee ignored him, focusing on running towards where the play was developing.

Ma’el chased beside him, urgency on his face, ”You can’t let him go just because he got a yellow card in the first half, right? Or did you not see it clearly?”

Behind him, Azpilicueta showed several traces of worry on his face. Although the match was about to end, a card and ejection at this time would also have a huge impact on the team.

The breath he had been holding onto could immediately vanish into the air, making it easy for the opponent’s attack to break through their defense.

Deschamps kept his gaze on the referee, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that he still had no intention of making a call.

”Boom!”

On the field, Marseille defender Diawara headed the ball out of the box, with the ball landing near the referee’s position.

Marseille’s midfield Valbuena initially wanted to rush up and clear the ball, but hesitated for a moment upon seeing the referee, missing the best opportunity.

”Splat!”

A visibly dissatisfied and anxious Ma’el shifted the ball to the right side of his body. Since he had been running alongside the referee, he was the first to get the ball.

Taking a look at the opponent’s goal, he temporarily suppressed his frustration, swung his left arm, lifted his right foot, and kicked the ball hard while gritting his teeth.

”Boom!!”

At the moment of impact, he unleashed all the emotions he had been holding in his heart with one kick. The ball momentarily dented and flew with fierce force, striking towards the near corner of the goal.

Marseille’s goalkeeper Mandanda was standing near the corner, a habit of the goalie. Watching the incoming ball, he quickly lowered his center of gravity and fiercely judged the drop point with his eyes.

He slowly bent his legs, and his muscle memory from years of training enabled his body to react faster than his mind. Before he himself realized the drop point, his body was already prepared to dive towards the near corner.

”Swish!”

But everything suddenly stopped. The ball touched the dead corner of the goal first, pinning it firmly into the net!

”Wow.....!!!”

The shout of over fifty thousand Arsenal fans instantly reverberated throughout the stadium and spread beyond. At this moment, all the boredom accumulated throughout the game vanished into thin air.

The ball went in!

One to zero!

A golden goal to win!

In this match, fans expected a goal fest like the previous two, watching Arsenal thrash Marseille at home.

But the team disappointed them, fielding a substitute lineup and displaying not even a bit of flair..... As their expectations dropped lower and lower to the lowest point.

A stunning world-class strike came forth!

It seemed as if it had condensed all the goals from the goal fest into one, striking at their hearts and raising their emotions to the highest climax in a short amount of time.

”Yeah...!!”

On the field, Ma’el’s face was flushed as he roared and dashed toward the sidelines, passionately sliding on his knees across the ground. At this moment, he couldn’t think of any elegant celebration, only wanting the exhilarating slide.

No call?

Then a world-class goal, helping the team win the game directly!

This was not in his plan, even if the feeling was somewhat unexpected for him, but so what, the result is just like that!!

Now, his hands turned into dual guns again, firing furiously towards the referee and the opposing players, ”Boom...! Boom...! Boom.....!!”