From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Whew...”

Breathing out, Ma’el felt a bit of pressure rising in his heart. If he doesn’t play well, he will remember it for the rest of his life.

”Is Mr. Wenger also coming?”

Safina’s expression changed, curiously asking, ”What about your agent, is he coming?”

”He’s coming.”

Ma’el smiled, it seems Mendes has some influence in this circle, ”You all will be together by then.”

”Sure.”

Harry held the ticket, sighed, ”You must play well, so many important people are here, let us see you lift the cup.”

”I will.”

Ma’el clenched his fist, entered the room to rest, and when passing by Gilbert’s room, saw him meditating with headphones on, probably under a lot of stress too.

He didn’t disturb him and went into his room to rest, awaiting Harry’s massage therapy.

......

On the morning of May 6th, his uncle’s family arrived in Sheffield City, it’s their second time coming here this year.

”Little star!”

”Big brother is a big star!”

Compared to last time, they’ve gradually accepted Ma’el’s transformation of identity, getting along very well upon meeting.

Ma’el took them to a restaurant for a meal, arranged their accommodation, and got in touch with the business car heading to London’s Fulham District for tomorrow, before preparing to leave.

”Take two more tickets.”

He handed Wenger’s and Hans’s tickets to them, letting them keep them together: ”Mr. Wenger and Coach Hans will come together tomorrow, they’re very busy and will only arrive near the stadium before the match.”

”I will give you Hans’s phone number so you can contact him and hand over the tickets.”

”Okay.” Clément took the tickets and placed them inside his bag, knowing these are for important people and must be looked after carefully.

”Wait.”

Clément remembered something, his eyes lit up: ”Are we seated with Wenger?”

”Yes.” Ma’el nodded, knowing the shocking degree for his uncle’s family will exceed last time with McCabe.

In France, Wenger’s status is unimaginable. If Zidane represents French football players, then Wenger represents French coaches.

Their influence in the world is evenly matched.

”Fantastic!”

Clément showed two rows of teeth, exchanged a glance with Betty, both very excited.

Elder sister Maki picked up the youngest, Eva, to celebrate the chance of sitting with the old gentleman to watch brother play.

”Brother returning to Arsenal next season?”

Second brother Bruno’s eyes are filled with expectation, envisioning: ”If you return, we can watch you at the Emirates Stadium.”

That’s a totally different place, with over 60,000 attendees each match, the players on the field are familiar faces to fans worldwide.

”It’s already confirmed.”

Ma’el replied with a smile, understanding what they’re thinking, also anticipating, just wanting to take it step by step.

Without further chat, he left the hotel where the family stays, heading to a café agreed upon with Mendes.

”Long time no see.”

Mendes wore a ridiculously jovial red suit, slightly reflective material, making him look much younger, ”I thought next time we meet will be in London, turns out it’s still in Sheffield.”

”It’s actually London.”

Seeing him, Ma’el felt good, ”Queens Park Rangers’ home is in London, but you came to Sheffield first.”

”Wow.”

Mendes showed a dramatically shocked expression, wrapping his arm around Ma’el’s shoulder: ”Before such an important match, if I didn’t come see you first to stabilize your mindset, then I’m not a qualified agent.”

”What if you make me more nervous?”

Ma’el raised an eyebrow, joking with him: ”Some people, the more expectations they carry, the more nervous they get.”

”Afraid of losing?” Mendes summarized such people, shaking his head: ”Kid, you definitely aren’t that type of player. If you had this idea, you couldn’t have come this far with the team.”

”Haha...”

Ma’el laughed, the two of them had a coffee together, and after handing Isabella’s ticket to Mendes, said goodbye to each other.

He returned to the club, packed his things, and got on the team bus heading to Queens Park Rangers’ home ground.

The great battle is near.

......

The next day, countless firework vendors appeared on the streets of Sheffield City.

They heard that the city’s residents have been ordering fireworks lately, seemingly preparing for the final championship battle, rushing to capture the last day’s market demand.

”Two boxes!”

”I want five boxes!”

”How many pounds for one box?”

Indeed, this attracted many Sheffield people to buy fireworks, as many today cannot go to the away game, watching the broadcast at home instead.

Since that’s the case, why not buy more fireworks, and if the team wins the championship, light up the sky over Sheffield United with fireworks!

Let every Sheffield person, including themselves, know that at this moment, everyone is together!

Of course, don’t be too happy too soon, if the team loses the match, it would be a waste.

Fireworks in London’s Fulham District will surely sell out too, just see who will be laughing to light them into the sky.

At 3 PM, Sheffield United’s expedition army began to set off gradually.

Some drove themselves, some took arranged buses, all the way, escorted by Sheffield police on motorcycles to ensure order, preventing traffic jams and accidents as much as possible.

A total of 2,500 away tickets were released, but definitely more than 15,000 people traveled to London.