From Arsenal to the Ball God

Including the team members who have been living at his house and getting closer to him, countless Arsenal fans, the Arsenal Club, Wenger, Van Persie, and so on.

Will a part of him also belong to these people?

However, no matter what, his leader must be himself. He has a complete personality and values, knowing what he should do.

Through his own efforts and the help of the skill level panel, he has gradually grown into a player who can influence others and become a source of power for others!

Hope he can keep improving, always bringing joy and satisfaction to those around him and those who support him, and fulfill his own goals and pursuits, making his life more exciting.

...

On March 23rd, the 30th round of the Premier League arrived, with Arsenal hosting Newcastle United at home.

This team was their opponent in the season opener, where Ma’el scored a hat-trick, helping the team secure a five-nil victory and start the new season with a bang.

After that game, Newcastle’s mentality collapsed, going through a period of slump, almost falling into the relegation zone.

Ultimately, they made a painful decision and increased their investment in the winter transfer window, spending 57 million pounds to strengthen the team, fully replacing players, and even dismissing their head coach.

They played extremely well in the second half of the season and are now ranked 7th in the league, very close to the European competition zone.

”Boom boom... boom!”

In the 14th minute of the first half, Ben Arfa, on loan to Newcastle, used his exquisite dribbling skills to shake off Mertesacker and took a shot before Koscielny could block.

The ball stumbled and ultimately slipped through Szczeny’s hands, nestling into the bottom right corner of the net!

One-nil!

The visiting team scored first!

”Oh...!”

Ben Arfa spread his arms in celebration, rushing towards the sidelines, breaking through Arsenal’s goal at the Emirates Stadium, which was no easy feat, definitely worth celebrating openly.

”A beautiful goal! Newcastle United fights for revenge, and also to strike into the European competition zone! They are totally renewed!

”One of the four little swans of France, Ben Arfa gives the team the lead! A brilliant dribble breakthrough! A brilliant strike!

”Arsenal is in trouble, Newcastle United has shown a very resolute attitude! They are definitely not an easy opponent!”

After the restart, Arsenal players appeared a bit impatient. In their recent matches, they’ve played very well, rarely letting the opponent take the lead with the first goal.

Moreover, their attacking progress today is not smooth. Newcastle seems to know they cannot defend against Ma’el and Van Persie, so they are focusing on restricting passes to these two players.

This is common in this season’s Premier League, but rarely can a team do it as well as Newcastle.

The distance between each of their defenders is perfectly maintained, and their filling and coordinating defense never makes mistakes, rarely leaving passing lanes open.

Even if they do, they can react immediately, creating a localized group defense against Ma’el and Van Persie, blocking all the space.

”Beep! Beep——!”

Until the end of the first half, Ma’el and Van Persie didn’t get too many good opportunities. They were talking to each other as they left the field.

”As soon as I get the ball, four defensive players are blocking the lines, and they concentrate so well, they rarely get tricked.”

Van Persie glanced at the Newcastle players walking towards the tunnel and shook his head slightly: ”Several times I wanted to find an opening behind them to attack their flanks and let you charge, but I couldn’t pass it through.”

”They are too excited today.” Ma’el also glanced to the side, ”They are desperately seeking revenge... Didn’t expect the last few rounds’ opponents to be so tough.”

Van Persie sighed and explained: ”That’s Premier League for you, and another reason, our own pressure also affects our form.

”This is my 8th year here, and I deeply understand what pressure represents.

”Back in those years, if the team was still fighting for the top 4 at the end of the season, every match would be harder than the last, everyone is so eager to win but afraid to lose, extremely tense.

”The pressure then couldn’t compare to now... hope we can get through this.”

Ma’el walked into the player’s tunnel, patting his shoulder, ”We definitely will, let’s keep pushing in the second half, I believe we can come back.”

Van Persie nodded without saying anything, and walked into the dressing room ahead.

After the second half started, under Wenger’s direction, Ma’el began to pull back to the midfield to receive the ball, this time retreating deeply.

Not only to increase his chances of holding the ball but also to lower Newcastle’s defensive alertness, exposing flaws.

This change wasn’t obvious at first, as Newcastle understood their intention.

Ma’el could mostly only launch flanking assaults after getting the ball, either crossing from the baseline or cutting inside to shoot, he didn’t get many good opportunities for a while.

Until over 70 minutes into the game, Newcastle’s physical ability rapidly decreased due to the sustained high-intensity running, and they gradually lost concentration.

”Boom!”

In the 76th minute, Ma’el flicked his ankle and sent a ground straight pass towards the flank, an excellently executed pass, not only with speedy pace but also with a curve.

The ball initially seemed to roll towards the corner of the six-yard box, but as it reached the penalty area, it elegantly arced towards the front of the goal, creating a larger shooting angle.

”Boom!”

Van Persie quickly dodged away from the defender, and upon catching up, he directly volleyed the ball into the near corner without stopping.

One to one!

They’ve equalized!

”Yeah.....!” The long-silent Emirates Stadium finally shifted its mood and became lively once again.