From Arsenal to the Ball God

Although David Dein’s actions in some matters may not be considered very generous, today, at this moment, everyone who offers their blessings to Arsenal will receive their warm hospitality.

Moreover, after winning the championship again after 7 years, seeing the old friends of the club, those who were friends during the club’s peak.

It easily evokes their memories of those happy times and raises stronger expectations for the future.

”The first awards to be presented are individual awards, including the top scorer and the best player in the final.”

David Dein held the microphone and turned to smile at Ma’el, the meaning was obvious, ”Let us welcome the top scorer of this tournament, Ma’el, to receive the commemorative trophy!”

”He claimed this honor with 8 goals, he is the most aggressive forward in this tournament!”

”Ahhhaaa.....!!” Over 50,000 Arsenal fans at Wembley Stadium cheered for Ma’el, having watched this match live, their love for the player had reached the peak.

Ma’el is the new king of the team, there is no doubt about it!

”Clap clap.....!” Below, all the Arsenal players and coaching staff applauded, smiling as they looked at Ma’el.

”Ma’el!”

”Pass it to me when you’re done!”

”Haha... Actually, this award was supposed to be mine, I just let the young player have it out of courtesy.”

”Why don’t you say you were supposed to be the one to score a hat-trick in the final? Huh? Song.”

”Ma’el can win top scorer too? Ma’el neither penetrates nor passes, and yet loses the ball often.”

”Haha.....! Over the top!”

A burst of laughter sounded here, everyone teased Ma’el who was about to take the stage, but their eyes carried joy, seemingly pleased to see him win the award, believing it was well-deserved.

Without Ma’el, they couldn’t have won the tournament in February, reaping such great encouragement.

His contribution to this championship wasn’t just the 8 goals he scored for the team, but also his early commitment to this campaign.

Looking at it now, it was the best choice and result out of a happy accident.

If the team had given up on the League Cup journey in the first place and found the team still unbeaten in the latter half of the season, they would have been deeply conflicted.

Would they risk losing the ’invincible championship to achieve immortality’ to start the FA Cup journey, or the Champions League journey?

Or boldly go for the unbeaten league, aiming to secure the league championship steadily?

It seems no decision would be the most correct, choosing the former they would continue intensive matches, increasing fatigue, and the risk of injuries for everyone.

Perhaps they still had a 60-70% chance of winning the league championship, and a 20-30% chance of winning one of the FA Cup or Champions League.

But what about the unbeaten record?

What if due to more severe fatigue and a wave of injuries the entire campaign collapses and they end up empty-handed, or only with a flawed Premier League trophy?

Choosing the latter would mean putting all eggs in one basket, putting everyone under immense pressure.

If the unbeaten record couldn’t be maintained, even if they secured the championship trophy steadily, they would feel a great regret and think if they had only known what to do back then...

Overall, nothing is better than now, not only having the chance to win the Double Crown but also being able to march lightly towards an undefeated championship and gaining a major boost midway to fuel the team fully!

”Clap clap.....!”

Amidst a round of applause, Ma’el smiled as he walked past Wenger, raising his hands to greet the fans present.

He was very happy, being able to step onto the podium before everyone else on the team to receive his personal award.

”Congratulations.....!”

David Dein handed him a small crystal cup, which was inferior in terms of prestige compared to the Champions League and league Golden Boots.

Competitions like the English League Cup and FA Cup don’t strictly have a Golden Boot Award..... this crystal cup is merely a commemorative award given to the top scorer of the tournament.

But so what?

It helps Ma’el remember that in his first full season at Arsenal, he was the top scorer with 8 goals in the English League Cup, and that’s enough!

He wants to win all the awards he covets, naturally including all the top scorer awards!

Ma’el raised the crystal cup for the top scorer above his head, continually turning around to acknowledge all the Arsenal fans from all directions.

”Oh...!” This sparked another wave of cheers, with the fans never stingy with their encouragement, especially towards players they adore.

After Ma’el received the award, seeing that David Dein didn’t intend to say anything more to him, he prepared to walk off.

”Wait.”

David Dein, smiling, stopped him and joked, ”Going down so quickly, do you think you don’t have a chance to win the best player in the final?”

”Not at all.” Ma’el shook his head at him, ready to say a second sentence when he saw David Dein hand over the microphone.

He leaned in a little, smiled, and said, ”I just thought I should step down first, then come back up for the ceremony again.”

”Oh...!” David Dein laughed in surprise and raised his eyebrows high, not expecting Ma’el to be so confident.

But it made sense, with 3 goals scored, if the best player in the final wasn’t given to him, it couldn’t be given to anyone else.

”Hahaha...!” A burst of laughter echoed throughout the venue; receiving awards in front of more than fifty thousand people is like this, any emotions conveyed will immediately stir up the entire stadium.

On one side of the podium, Wenger and a group of Arsenal people applauded and laughed, whispering and joking about Ma’el.