From Arsenal to the Ball God

Ma’el followed the team through the pre-match ceremony, and the starting lineup for this match had only one change compared to the last match — Frimpong behind him was replaced by Rosicky.

Champions League playoff, only two games home and away, no more matches.

Wenger definitely wanted to pursue aggression at home, aiming to strike Udinese down in one blow to avoid a longer and more complicated affair away.

After the ceremony, Ma’el went to his position and stood. He felt a bit disappointed that the Champions League theme wasn’t played before this playoff match.

As a player on the field, hearing the Champions League theme had been something he long awaited.

”No rush, it’s not the main Champions League yet, let’s wait for the main event.”

He wasn’t in a hurry, just more eager to defeat the opponent. If he can defeat Udinese, he will appear on the Champions League stage this season and compete alongside the world’s top shooters.

As he saw the referee raise his right hand, about to blow the whistle to start the match.

Ma’el once again looked around the grand Emirates Stadium, thinking this would be the place where he would battle for a long time in the future, accompanied by these fans from the UK football scene onto the world stage, feeling a surge of emotion.

”Beep!!”

The referee then blew the whistle to start the match, Ma’el dashed first from the centerline, rushing towards the opponent’s half.

Today, his matchup was against Danilo, a defensive full-back from Brazil.

But this Danilo is not that Danilo; he is not top-tier, even though he shares the same name and nationality.

......

In the 3rd minute, Ma’el received the ball on the flank and faced Danilo for the first time.

His right foot swiftly met the ball, sprinting towards the opponent at high speed.

Danilo maintained a distance of about two meters, hoping to have a reaction when Ma’el made his move.

”Bang!”

Ma’el pushed the ball towards the byline, attempting a cross, wanting to test this defender’s level.

”Smack!” As he sent the cross with his left foot, he saw Danilo slide in, his toes just touching the ball and sending it out of bounds.

Not bad, with speed, reflex, and tackling... Ma’el took him a bit more seriously and ran towards the center, waiting for the corner kick.

”Come on.....!” A sudden roar came from behind him. He turned his head and saw Danilo chest-album with his teammate center-back, celebrating the successful block.

”Bang!”

The corner kick followed, Sagna got the first point but fired out of the baseline, unable to create a chance.

Ma’el continued to move according to the team’s formation, the pressure from Udinese wasn’t as intense as Newcastle United.

But this doesn’t mean they are weak; they just don’t play a high-pressing game and opt for mid-low defense while seeking counterattack opportunities.

In the 8th minute, when Alexander Song suddenly had the ball broken by Udinese’s variation attack attempt, Arsenal players felt the sharpness of this Serie A team.

”Bang... Bang!”

With two passes, they handed the ball to the right midfielder Badu, who quickly launched an assault on Gibbs.

Though he didn’t get past Gibbs, he pressured Arsenal’s defense into the box, leaving space at the arc top.

Badu suddenly chose to pass, Asamoah received the ball in the center and passed it to forward Di Natale.

”Bang!”

Di Natale carried the ball into the box and, under Koscielny’s interference, took a high-quality shot towards the near corner.

Luckily, Szczeny was concentrated and did well to block the near corner, punching the ball away.

”Ah.....!” Arsenal fans broke into a cold sweat, feeling nervous as the qualification for the Champions League main event is quite important, and no one wants the team to have an accident in such a match.

........

In the 17th minute, Arsenal grabbed the ball in the midfield, Rosicky with flowing long hair carried the ball forward.

”Bang!”

Seeing opportunities on both sides, he chose a diagonal pass to the left.

Ma’el had evidently more threat on his side than Gervinho’s, passing to him might suddenly lead to an assist or a pre-assist stat.

”Bang Bang Bang.....”

On the left flank, Ma’el with the ball launched another raid towards Danilo, inspired by sitting close to numerous Arsenal fans which boosted his performance desire.

”Hey!” Danilo was also quite excited today; it seemed the slide tackle gave him confidence. He suddenly shouted as if to rush up, then swiftly retreated, posing ready for an opportunity to tackle.

Trying to intimidate?

Ma’el faced plenty of this in the Championship, didn’t flinch a bit, didn’t give him a chance to intercept.

His left shoulder sank, made an exaggerated move with his right foot, pretending to burst forward along the byline.

”Bang!”

But instantly, he pushed the ball towards the center, cutting horizontally.

Though Danilo wasn’t entirely deceived, he still missed the best chance for a close follow-up, couldn’t catch up once accelerating.

One to one!

The duel had wins and losses for each!

Upon reaching the center, Ma’el spotted Gervinho positioned at the far post behind the opponent’s defender, indicating his head, very thoughtful.

”Bang!”

He tapped out a beautiful curve with his right foot towards the back post of Udinese’s goal.

With no defender’s close marking, he padded this ball comfortably, almost performing at his best.

”Oh.....!!” Many Arsenal fans in the Emirates Stadium stood up, seeing the quality of the ball, seeing Gervinho speeding ahead of the opponent.

”Bang!!”

As he leapt high for a header, the ball, with fierce momentum, smashed into Udinese’s goal.

”Aaahh...Yeah....!!” Over 50,000 Arsenal fans roared like a bell, igniting the entire stadium; the first home goal of the new season has arrived.

Gervinho’s goal!

Ma’el’s assist!

Two new signings!

”Oh oh.....!”

Gervinho excitedly dashed towards the pitch side, leaping into the air, punching towards the sky; it was his first goal of the season.

Ma’el then ran beside him, giving him a high-five, teasing: ”I realized that whoever most expects someone’s pass never gets it; instead, ends up assisting the other.”

”What do you mean?” Gervinho, somewhat puzzled, asked curiously.

”You’ll see.”

Van Persie came over, hugged both and said to Ma’el: ”So, I’ve decided not to expect your passes now, but you can start expecting mine.”

Alexander Song heard their conversation from the side, said with a smile: ”Hey? Ma’el, be honest, do you expect my passes?”

”Enough chattering.”

Ma’el pointed to his head, complaining: ”My mind’s scrambled, doesn’t matter who from whom, as long as we score.”

”Yes!”

”Let’s go!”

Arsenal players embraced each other, cheering each other on..... The new season’s first appearance at this Emirates Stadium seemed promising.

....

ps: Each day I’ll write down the day’s word count and monthly target, today 18,000, this month 335,000, target is 450,000.