From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Second-Chance Strike!

”Don’t make wild shots!”

A voice came from the backfield; it was Ian, frowning as usual, always ready to criticize Ma’el whenever he had the chance.

”Good attempt, keep it up!”

However, the head coach Hans clapped and encouraged him from the sidelines, firmly standing by Ma’el, saying, ”Take a shot whenever you have the chance!”

With those words, many Arsenal players who thought the quality of the shot was good chimed in.

”Good shot.”

”Don’t worry, Ma’el, we all believe in your shooting. We hope you can score your first goal for Arsenal U17!”

”Well played, just get it on target!”

Ian felt awkward this time, as his voice was drowned out by the chorus of praise, attracting no one’s attention at all.

He watched Ma’el gesture with his hands to the teammates as a sign of regret, shaking his head, and then saw Ma’el’s gaze skip over him, choosing to ignore him.

Clenching his jaws, he moved with the team’s formation.

”No complaints, more encouragement.”

Goalkeeper Hopkins stood behind him and reminded him, ”Ma’el is not the same as before. You’d better not give him a hard time given his current shooting and confrontation ability.”

Ian huffed, saying nothing.

He instinctively turned to look at Wenger on the sidelines, trying to see the first-team manager’s reaction to the shot.

Unfortunately, Mr. Wenger remained expressionless, giving away nothing.

”Bang!”

The Liverpool goalkeeper then fired a goal kick, opting to direct the ball toward the frontfield to launch a quick attack.

The match resumed normalcy as everyone concentrated, engaging in a duel with the opposing players.

”Thud, thud, thud...!”

The sound of passing echoed continuously as the rhythm on the field sped up, with ball possession switching rapidly, and intense confrontations occurring from time to time.

Never assume that Wenger’s presence on the sideline merely inspires Arsenal players; it does the same for Liverpool players!

Everyone on the field today is eagerly showcasing themselves, dreaming of catching the professor’s eye and soaring into the Premier League.

Many players are courageously executing plays, be it the defenders’ positioning and sliding tackles or the attackers’ single bicycle maneuvers and cow-tail dribbles, showcasing an abundance of personal skill moves.

”Oh...!”

”Get him! Get him! Well done!”

”Get past him!”

This easily ignited the fans’ interest, as watching such a match is sometimes more entertaining than watching a dull Premier League game.

The turning point that changed the game flow came in the 13th minute of the first half when Arsenal captain Gilbert made a mistake, leading to a Liverpool fast counterattack.

”Bang!”

Their winger made a precise guided pass to their number 9 forward, and at that point, there was little suspense left.

”Swipe!”

The Liverpool number 9 jumped high and headed the ball into Arsenal’s net before Ian could react, leaving goalkeeper Hopkins helpless.

One to nil!

Liverpool takes the lead!

”Haha!”

”Yeah...!”

The Liverpool players laughed and rushed to the sidelines in groups, high-fiving each other before finally hugging together, indulging in the joy of scoring.

On the Arsenal side, however, there was a brief period of silence, with everyone lowering their heads and not speaking.

Coach Hans scratched his head, looking a bit helpless as he returned to the coaching bench, secretly observing Wenger’s expression.

Still expressionless, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.

”Sorry, my bad, everyone.”

On the field, Arsenal captain Gilbert was the first to raise his head, gesturing to his teammates, ”I thought... never mind, a mistake is a mistake.”

”It’s okay, no one’s blaming you.”

”Let’s go again, there’s still plenty of time to equalize.”

Voices of encouragement sounded, and Ma’el also approached Gilbert, patting him on the back, ”Pass it to me if you get a chance; I’ll get it back with a long shot, and you can get an assist to make up for it.”

”Haha...”

Those half-joking words brought a faint smile to Gilbert’s face, and he didn’t refuse, saying, ”You said it, don’t let me down.”

”Of course.”

Ma’el shrugged and then turned his head towards the direction of the attack.

”Bang!”

As the Arsenal center forward Gabi restarted the game, Ma’el casually jogged into the opponent’s half, waiting for an opportunity.

Having just adjusted to the pace of the youth team’s game, all his pre-game worries had dissipated, leaving only the anticipation of scoring.

Now, with some ability to confront, holding his position wasn’t difficult.

Holding the position wasn’t difficult; obtaining ball possession was certainly not difficult either, consequently making the last shot wasn’t difficult.

If given two or three more chances, he had great confidence he could send the ball into the opponent’s net!

The second shooting opportunity for Ma’el arrived in the 21st minute of the match, and it was indeed captain Gilbert who passed the ball to him.

”Bang.” He judged the trajectory, glanced briefly, saw that the goalkeeper was positioned towards the left, then directed the ball towards the center, aiming for the far right corner.

”I’ll take it!”

A confident voice rang out as a Liverpool central defender came in trying to intercept Ma’el’s shot.

He had witnessed the confrontation between their fullback and Ma’el and knew the fullback couldn’t handle it, so it was better for him to come and reinforce.

He was strong and sturdy, with extraordinarily good confrontation ability among youth players.

Ma’el initially wanted to fight for a shot but sensed that the central defender was approaching too quickly, so a direct shot would likely be blocked.

Feeling a bit helpless, he stepped forward with his left foot, using his right leg to forcefully bump his body to the left, trying to push the defender back.

”Boom!” The sound of bodies colliding came forth, and both of them staggered before steadying themselves.

The Liverpool center back’s eyes showed visible surprise; how could Ma’el, with his smaller frame, match him pound for pound?

In a place unnoticed by anyone, Wenger moved his eyes, somewhat surprised.

”Boom!!”

A second later, Ma’el was the first to react, folding his right leg as he unleashed a heavy cannon strike toward the far corner of the goal.

The ball shot off the ground, with almost no spin, heading straight for the far corner, gaining height as it flew through the air.

”Smack!”

Fortunately, the Liverpool goalkeeper swiftly moved, diving left to knock the ball out before it could hit the net.

A spectacular save!

That was everyone’s immediate reaction on the field, as they all saw how high-quality that shot was.

”Phew...” The Liverpool goalkeeper silently exhaled, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead with his glove.

Conceding a corner would be the best outcome.

That Arsenal number 31, is his long shot really that good?

”Boom!!”

Before Ma’el outside the penalty arc could finish his regret, the corner had already been taken.

The first point, unsurprisingly, was cleared by the taller Liverpool defender, heading it out of the penalty area.

As for the second point...

When the Liverpool players turned to look toward the outside of the penalty area, they saw a face they least wanted to see.

Their expressions showed a trace of horror, seemingly aware of what was about to happen.

”Boom!!”

Stopping the ball, that figure smoothly drove the leg’s explosive power and unleashed another mighty and unstoppable heavy cannon, akin to an ancient archer’s arrow released at full draw.

The Liverpool goalkeeper closed his eyes, lunging towards the approximate path of the shot, yet unfortunately lunging at empty air.

Upon reacting, all that remained was the sound of the ball hitting the net behind him, ”Swipe!”