From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Great job!”

He ruffled young Thomas Mueller’s hair, encouraging him for his recent contribution of breaking into the penalty area and taking a shot.

Thomas Mueller smiled happily, hugged Robben, and then high-fived a few teammates who came up closely.

The new season is about to start, and there are many newcomers in the team. These guys, who knows what heights they’ll reach, will they leave behind a glorious career?

......

In the 53rd minute of the match, Bayern Munich’s threatening offensive returned.

Whether for the German National Team or Bundesliga teams, they always give off an impression of cold-heartedness and mercilessness.

They never give their opponents time to breathe, never wait for rounds of attack and defense. As soon as they find a chance, they aim for your vital point to deliver a fatal blow!

”Bang!”

Once again, it was captain Lam initiating the attack, hitting a long diagonal pass from the full-back position, finding Toni Kroos on the right side.

Toni Kroos executed a wall pass with Gustavo in the middle, and when he received the ball again, he had reached an attacking midfielder position, with only Arsenal’s defense line in front of him.

”Watch out behind!” Vermaelen decided to go up and press him, simultaneously pointing to the gap behind him, reminding his teammates to cover quickly.

”Bang.” But still, he didn’t expect Toni Kroos’ passing technique was too superb; the opponent seemed to be aiming for the flank but shook his ankle the moment he kicked.

The ball headed towards where he stood, giving him a sudden chill down under, instinctively clamping his legs, yet the ball slipped away.

As Vermaelen turned his head, Robben appeared in his spot, and teammates on either side hadn’t anticipated this pass, giving Robben a direct chance to cut into the penalty area.

”Bang!”

Robben took advantage of the opening with a one-on-one, and his crisp and clean dipping shot directly curled the ball into the far corner, helping the team to complete a goal that overturned the score.

Three to two!

Robben scored twice!

”Well done!” Heynckes on the sideline swung his right arm wildly in excitement. Even for a friendly match, he didn’t want to lose to Arsenal, who are true championship contenders.

......

In the 57th minute of the match, Bayern Munich’s players continued to press up across the board, exerting high pressure in Arsenal’s half.

”Bang bang bang.....!”

This time, they didn’t get the desired result; in the defense Arsenal performed quick one-touch pass-and-run plays, completing multiple impressive two-on-one and two-on-two plays in various spots.

”Oh.....!” As Ramsey played the final ball towards left flank burst player Ma’el, a fierce cheer erupted in the stadium.

This, is the beautiful ball movement many fans hoped to see, is the romance exclusive to Arsenal!

They broke Bayern’s high press, and now it’s Arsenal’s turn for a fast attack!

Ma’el finally received a key pass from a teammate again, just over ten minutes ago, Bayern’s offensive was too intense, giving him few chances to receive the ball.

Every time he got the ball, the opponents’ defense had taken full positions, with quite narrow distances between each other, leaving no breakthrough space for him.

Most of the time, he returned the ball with one touch, or dribbled towards the middle, trying to attack gaps behind them.

This time, a breakthrough opportunity came!

”Bang bang bang.....”

He used the outside of his right foot to push the ball straight towards Alaba, with superb foot frequency, accelerating continuously while leaving no chance for Alaba to intercept.

Alaba lowered his center of gravity and retreated, always guarding against Ma’el pressing the ball, prepared fully for a chase after turning!

This attack, was not only an opportunity for Ma’el but also an opportunity for him.

He had prepared on the sidelines for a long time, even prayed twice, finally granting him a chance for a wing duel with Ma’el!

He wanted Heynckes to see his power!

To make the fans applaud his stunning sliding tackle!

To make the team superstars acknowledge him!

Charge!

”Bang!”

At Alaba’s peak of excitement, Ma’el also prepared fully, or perhaps he was exhausted with patience, for the third time in this match, he blasted the ball towards Bayern’s defense.

This burst was no longer within the range of ’dribbling’, more like a passing shot!

Bayern’s backfield space was vast, all of them had moved up to exert high pressure, seemingly forgetting his presence.

Before that moment in the King’s Cup final when Bell ’passed a ball to himself three seconds later’, he was going to perform such a spectacular moment on the field!

”Thump thump thump!!” Ma’el accelerated straight, using all his body parts desperately, with his mind constantly telling him - speed up, speed up more, use the fastest step frequency rate!

”Bang.....! Thump thump thump!”

Compared to Ma’el, Alaba had an extra turning movement, yet due to anticipating this push, his turning speed was quick, starting at the same time as Ma’el.

His long-awaited moment arrived; now, it was time to fully showcase himself!

Before entering play, he imagined that the image of two talented players on the wings competing in peak speed would surely be captured by the media as a highlight on tomorrow’s reporting cover, achieving a brilliant moment.

Even years later when released again, it might still be seen as a classic image in ’Football’s Memory Ranking’, recounted as a tale!

He frantically lifted his steps forward, in the first few steps, he could see himself keeping pace with Ma’el in his peripheral vision.

Their legs moved forward crazily, both bursting with amazing power and speed, giving him a sense of delight.

He could already imagine from a spectator’s angle how cool and electrifying their high-speed sprinting looked!

”Thump thump thump!”

Listening to his stud lugs pounding the ground, constantly lifting up, he couldn’t help but feel mesmerized; it was truly the world’s most primal, most delightful sound.

Come on!

Battle it out!

Let’s see who’s the fastest!

”Huh?!”

Suddenly, Alaba choked while running, his face changed dramatically, for he saw Ma’el gradually surpassing him, and he couldn’t keep up.

What’s going on?

He thought he was distracted, preventing him from bursting into his best state, biting his teeth in frustration while desperately moving his legs.

Slower instead?

”Ah?!” Alaba was shocked, as he fell farther and farther behind; he could only charge forward deviously, baring his teeth in disbelief.

No longer fired up..... only to be embarrassed.

He hurriedly tossed aside any idea of a ’classic image’, or ’immortal tale’, fought to narrow the distance just a little bit.

”Ka-chak ka-chak!” Suddenly, flashes flickered on the sidelines, with media capturing Alaba’s current state, planning to use it as a comparison image when publicizing Ma’el’s speed tomorrow.

Alaba noticed it, his face instantly turned red; how could everything differ so much from what he imagined...wanted when he came, unwanted when it arrived.

”Bang!”

Ma’el didn’t care a bit, upon seeing a defender losing track, he cut inside towards the middle, then delivered a diagonal through ball to the oncoming Gervinho.

Gervinho, after being trained by Lam for some time, was filled with a desire to perform, and on receiving the ball, swung towards the goal decisively.

The ball headed towards the bottom right corner of the goal, and Neuer swiftly reacted to save it, not expecting the ball to ’pop’ off Boateng, redirecting towards the far corner.

Deflection!

”Whoosh!” As the ball struck into the bottom left corner, the local Arsenal fans once again fell into a frenzy, everyone smiling and cheering, celebrating this lucky equalizing goal.

No, for Gervinho it’s fortunate, but for Ma’el not quite.

”Alaba was completely left behind.....”

In the broadcast room, Shen Fangjian’s commentary carried a mix of laughter and disbelief: ”This player, specially prepared by Heynckes to defend Ma’el, was defeated in the first head-to-head encounter of the match!

”Let’s watch the replay again, Ma’el’s choice is surprising, rather than dribbling through, he kicked the ball towards Bayern’s defense first, then accelerated to chase!

”The amazing speed ability! I have rarely seen a winger choose this way, Arsenal’s matches this season may be even more exciting!

”But poor Alaba, prepared well, disarmed in a flash!”

........

ps: Haven’t written games in a while, my hands are itching, the second warm-up match was directly abbreviated into the Premier League, details are well balanced later.