From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Beep!”

The match kicked off right on time at 7:30, with Ma’el partnering with Van Persie, Walcott, and Gervinho in the front line.

Facing a relatively average team, Wenger still opted for a 4-2-4 bombardment formation, aiming to finish the battle quickly.

”Dun dun dun dun! I have a friend!”

Surprisingly, as soon as the match started, the North Stand Norwich hardcore fans began to sing a familiar tune, ”He’s driving a Bugatti on the wing, dancing the Swan Lake on the defensive line!”

Each of their faces was filled with genuine smiles, seemingly finding this scene quite amusing.

Ma’el jogged slowly toward the Norwich backfield, paused for a moment upon hearing the song, and only realized it was the Norwich fans singing after seeing the Arsenal away fans not reacting.

Alright, alright.....this song is indeed a plague, it has spread even here.

Sagna really deserves credit, in his lifetime he actually got to hear rival fans sing a song for him that’s not mocking.

Of course, the main reason was his crucial shot in the last round of the previous season, which not only secured the championship but also indirectly helped others.

”Dun dun dun dun! I have a friend!”

At this point, the Arsenal fan area also reacted, joining in during the second verse of the melody, ”He’s on the wing...!”

The fans of the two teams thus established a friendly connection, singing together because of Ma’el; it started with joint singing, then became back-and-forth.

They even attempted line-for-line singing, but failed to coordinate.....yet they weren’t awkward, instead cheering and clapping at each other, ”Xuxu~ papapa.....!”

This scene was extremely rare, at least the two teams hadn’t encountered such a situation for many seasons.

Wenger on the sidelines couldn’t help but smile, finally raising his hands to clap. Thanks to Ma’el’s charisma, it’s unlikely this match would erupt into conflict.

...

Singing aside, Arsenal still dominated the match, playing sharp offensives.

In the 8th minute, seeing Ma’el on the left being heavily marked again, Arteta made a short pass to the right side.

Walcott and Sagna took turns attacking the opponent’s defense here, soon causing the Norwich defenders to feel some pressure.

”Boom!”

The subsequent crossing had a bit too much force, with Van Persie jumping up but missing the ball.

The ball was picked up by Norwich defender Norton, who took a step forward to clear it.

”Clap!”

Unexpectedly, Ma’el suddenly rushed in from the side, having already anticipated Norton might fumble with stopping the ball, and quickly intercepted it.

Norton’s expression shifted to shock, instinctively trying to grab Ma’el’s shirt to stop him.

But he soon realized Ma’el was unstoppable, his physicality from last season couldn’t hinder Ma’el’s steps.

”Bang!!”

Ma’el, while being pulled back, curled a shot to the upper right corner of the goal.

This time, Rudy didn’t have a second chance to save the team; facing Ma’el’s curving shot, he surrendered immediately.

”Swoosh!” The ball sailed into the net, and Ma’el ran smiling to the fans’ area to celebrate the goal.

Easy one-nil!

Scored again!

The 15th one!

”Oh.....!” Carrow Road Stadium echoed with cheers from Arsenal fans, while Norwich fans sat silently, realizing they couldn’t celebrate a goal against their own team, no matter how much they liked the player.

”It wasn’t my assist,” Walcott said with a forlorn face, complaining, ”Why didn’t anyone score off a cross, but instead scored solo after intercepting a defender?”

”Don’t be sad,”

Ma’el, without celebrating overly in his old friends’ stadium, turned and hugged him with a smile, ”I’ll get you a goal next.”

”I’ll hold you to that.” Briefly, Walcott pinned his hopes on Ma’el, returning to his position.

This goal was also the only goal of the first half for both teams, with Arsenal leading one to zero into halftime.

...

”Boom!”

In the 57th minute of the second half, Steve Morrison’s powerful shot equalized for the home team, slightly disrupting Arsenal’s rhythm.

The players’ ease was replaced with anxiety.....they didn’t want to be held to a draw by a newly promoted team.

After the kickoff, Arsenal hastened their attack pace, each player’s seriousness visibly increased, with passing rhythm and frequency significantly faster.

Norwich quickly felt the strain, retreating entirely into their own half, desperately defending their goal.

Even Hulahan, the offensive core, ran back, defending tirelessly, several desperate tackles recalling the coach’s pre-match words.

”Come on, come on!”

Their momentum slowly rose, gradually withstanding Arsenal’s first wave of counter-attack, dragging Arsenal into a tug-of-war.

”Clap!”

”Slash!”

Goalkeeper Rudy’s form also rose, repeatedly blocking Arsenal’s threatening attacks.

They saw hope for a point!

And saw hope to retreat unscathed in front of old friends!

Thus, the match time flew by swiftly, quickly surpassing the 70-minute, 80-minute.....85-minute marks.

Norwich coach Neil quickly made substitutions, bringing on a defensive midfielder and a defender, preparing for a desperate defense.