From Arsenal to the Ball God

Ma’el listened to his introduction, feeling somewhat intrigued. Gradually, he realized he should pursue the development of the spiritual realm.

He turned to look at Tazi beside him, Brother Ta wore a calm face, but with his appearance, he seemed somewhat bewildered, a bit idle.

”Is there a lot of pressure playing here?”

The German defender Mertesacker curiously asked, speaking in not-so-fluent English, with some grammatical errors.

There was no helping it; he hadn’t lived in the United Kingdom, so this was already quite good.

”It depends; it varies with performance and state.”

Van Persie casually plucked a leaf from a maple tree by the Thames River, using Ma’el as an example: ”If you can adapt to the team’s style like Ma’el did and put up high stats right from the start, then naturally there’s no pressure.

”But conversely, there’s quite a lot of pressure... Personal mentality also plays a part.”

Mertesacker nodded slightly, he understood half but could guess Van Persie’s meaning.

He glanced at Ma’el and chuckled softly: ”Luckily, I didn’t join other Premier League teams, or else, facing a forward like Ma’el, I wouldn’t really know what to do.”

”Haha.....” Ma’el chuckled twice, jokingly saying: ”I’ll take your compliment sincerely.”

”You’re really hard to defend against.” Arteta added calmly after watching Ma’el’s match: ”I estimate you’ve already become one of the top-ten forwards in the Premier League who gives defenders a headache.”

”Let’s talk about the first place some other time.”

Ma’el walked toward the roadside, ready to drive somewhere else, ”Who wants to ride in my car?”

”I want to ride.”

Mertesacker raised his hand, standing 198 cm tall, known for his tough defensive style, but in life appears somewhat shy, ”I haven’t been in a Ferrari yet, no one at Werder Bremen has this car.

”How much did it cost? I also plan to buy one later, having gotten a pay raise after joining Arsenal.”

”Altogether 235,000 pounds.” Ma’el explained to him, leading him toward the car.

”It’s really expensive.”

Mertesacker exclaimed, but wasn’t too surprised, as his salary was also substantial.

”Vroom vroom vroom.....!” The roar of the car engine sounded, compared to cars of later generations, the F430 wasn’t really that fast.

But its sound was definitely one of the loudest among sports cars, carrying a charm of the early internal combustion engines.

”Oh wow....” Mertesacker’s expression quickly shifted to excitement after sitting in Ma’el’s car, his eyebrows fluttering all the way.

Ma’el glanced at him, knowing soon enough the Ferrari flagship store in London would be down a car, and a tall individual from Germany would be out 235,000 pounds for the signing fee.

Soon enough, it was nearing dusk, a day of travel and play was about to conclude.

The group, at Ma’el’s invitation, came to the villa, planning to head home after dinner.

”My God.”

Van Persie parked the car at the entrance, looking at the twenty-meter-high luxury villa with envy: ”I’m going to report this to the media, let people see how the Young General who just played football for a year is living.”

This was said jokingly; players’ residences are usually private, not disclosed.

Chamberlain beside him said nothing, Andre Santos didn’t understand.

Only Arteta’s face showed longing, sighing: ”Are players from big teams all like this?”

He came from the La Masia Youth Training Camp, but never played in the first team of Barcelona, always wandering in mid-tier foreign league teams, never been in a big club.

If Arsenal hadn’t had financial troubles in recent years, which hadn’t been resolved, he wouldn’t have the chance to join a big club.

Therefore, Arteta was already prepared to play diligently upon arriving at Arsenal.

Not aiming to be the organizing core in the attack, he must, even as a soldier, ignite his passion for the team!

Now, after seeing this house, he seemed to have one more reason to strive.

”Of course not.” Van Persie waved his hand with a laugh, saying: ”The house he lives in might be the best in the team, mine is definitely not as luxurious as his.”

Mertesacker quickly walked over with Ma’el, mouth agape looking at the mansion in front, speechless for a long time.

Unexpectedly, Premier League players live so lavishly..... In Germany, apart from Bayern Munich and few other club stars, players’ residences are mostly ordinary.

”Alright.”

Ma’el looked at their expressions, led them inside, ”Don’t just stand there, this house isn’t mine yet, let’s talk when it is.

”Housing King doesn’t mean much..... Like Van Persie said, London is a football city, being the London Ball King is worth boasting.”

His words amused the five, but he himself didn’t laugh much; it truly was a small goal of his.

...

On August 25th, the entire Arsenal team headed to Udi City, Italy, for the second match against Udinese.

Ma’el was also on the roster but wasn’t starting. He and Van Persie among others got a rotation break.

Since the new signings had integrated well, Wenger boldly gave them playing time in today’s match.

This was somewhat risky, but fortunately, some core players were brought, giving chances to adjust substitutions at any time.

Overall, Arsenal’s lineup was as follows—Goalkeeper Szczeny, defenders from left to right, Andre Santos, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Sagna.

Midfield Alexander Song, Arteta, Rosicky, forwards Arshavin, Shamakh, Chamberlain.