From Arsenal to the Ball God

This remark caused a small commotion of laughter, but looking at their faces, it was clear these laughs were mostly bitter.

Nowadays, the race for the championship has become increasingly tense; a minor change or mistake could have widespread consequences... they can no longer joke around like they did at the beginning of the season.

The critical period has arrived!

...

January 20th, the FA Cup fourth round match arrives, with Arsenal facing Aston Villa in this game.

This is the third-to-last match of the month; after this round, Arsenal will face Liverpool in the second leg of the English League Cup semi-final on January 24th, competing for a spot in the final.

Following that, on January 30th, they will face Manchester United at home.

With the severe situation of player fatigue and injuries, this is a very tough schedule, and there’s no room for error in the two matches at the end of the month... Dropping the FA Cup seems inevitable.

Wenger predictably fielded an entirely rotated lineup, ready to abandon one front, and the core players weren’t even on the match list.

In the villa, Ma’el, along with four team members and a few club teammates, is watching the match together.

They are eating fruit and drinking beverages, overall relatively relaxed.

The FA Cup is an important front, and if asked before the season, they would certainly say the FA Cup is more important than the English League Cup.

But now, only two matches away from the English League Cup championship... at this moment, only reaching the fourth round in the FA Cup doesn’t seem as important.

The criticality of the battlefront changes constantly based on the current situation; no one can plan everything from the start and proceed accordingly.

”Bang!”

In the 32nd minute, Villa defender Dunn outjumped Mikel during a corner to head the ball into the net, changing the score to 1-0.

”Ah...!”

A sound of regret echoed, leaving no room for the last bit of hope in everyone’s hearts.

Then in the 59th minute of the second half, Villa showcased a silky one-touch play in the front, ultimately their striker Darren Bent pushed the ball into the net, further widening Villa’s lead.

Two-nil!

”Is Mertesacker about to return?”

”It seems so.”

”The only question now is whether Kyle Walker can come; Mr. Wenger had Ma’el contact him, right?”

”Contacted him already.”

The group tacitly changed the topic, diverting their attention, as they no longer wanted to discuss this match.

Ma’el took a sip of water and suddenly heard his phone buzzing—it’s Mr. Mendes calling.

”Taking a call,” he explained to the group and went upstairs to his room to answer the phone.

”Wenger has been urging me to renew the contract negotiations, I’m preparing to come over, and I’ll go to Puma with you this time— they really want to see us recently.”

The other party seemed to be at a party; it was quite noisy, ”If we accept the 1+1 renewal terms like we discussed before, the weekly pay should increase by 45k, reaching 150,000 pounds.

”Don’t worry, this number might seem intimidating now, but trust me, you absolutely deserve it.”

After a pause, he continued, ”However, I think it’s hard for Arsenal to casually offer such a contract given their current financial situation.

”They might mitigate this gap by increasing the signing bonus and promising you more conditions.

”I’ll discuss it thoroughly with them this time to secure the highest price; rest assured, leave it to me.”

In matters like this, Ma’el absolutely trusts Mendes. He didn’t continue discussing the contract and, after chatting a few words, hung up the phone.

”Oh.....!” Pushing open his bedroom door, he heard cheers and the sound of someone slapping the table downstairs.

Thinking of something, he hurriedly went down and saw everyone jumping around excitedly, with a look of disbelief.

Ma’el glanced at the screen; the score was 2-2, Arsenal had equalized.

”Ah?” His eyes widened—upstairs had excellent soundproofing, he didn’t hear the sound from downstairs during his call.

But still, his call lasted about 3 minutes, how could it turn around so quickly?

”Yennaris!” Alexander Song pointed at the young midfielder on screen, laughing, ”He earned a penalty in the 61st minute, which Gervinho converted, and then scored a world-class goal in the 63rd minute.

”It’s a draw! We hope to enter the fifth round... A replay is not bad either, giving young players another high-intensity match to gain experience.”

Ma’el calm down and sat on the sofa, alongside Van Persie and Alexander Song, rekindling his expectations for the match.

Li Ke is impressive—looking at it now, he is definitely one of Arsenal’s future players, why didn’t he make it in European football?

”Bang!”

As the match reached the 82nd minute, amidst the group’s hopeful and tense mood, Li Ke executed a crossfield pass to the wing, where Gervinho promptly delivered a cross.

In the central area, loanee Benayoun dived forward, heading the ball into Aston Villa’s goal.

Three-two!

Comeback!

”Yeah...!”

Ma’el raised his arms and embraced Van Persie and Alexander Song and others, celebrating excitedly.

Arsenal is advancing to the fifth round!

This excitement transformed into genuine happiness after the match ended.

Arsenal ultimately defeated Aston Villa 3-2, advancing to the fifth round of the FA Cup, the round of sixteen!

”Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah...!”