From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Boom!!”

The two discussed for a while, eventually ending with a high shot from Aguero that posed no threat.

”Manchester City’s offensive was very fierce in the opening stage, as if they suppressed Arsenal.”

”During this phase, their workhorse midfielder Barry performed very well, with proactive defense, good awareness, and excellent experience.”

”Compared to Nasri and D Silva, he’s not as famous and has passed 30, but he is one of the most admired players by many Manchester City fans!”

”In the 14th minute of the match, we saw his presence in multiple positions. He intercepted Arteta’s pass twice and completed a tackle on Song!”

On the field, Barry pulled Ramsey, who had fallen to the ground, patted the Welsh midfield genius on the head, and walked away.

Not far away, Ma’el gestured to Ramsey and others to use more direct long passes to find him or target Sabaleta’s back.

Let him charge first, then talk about other things. As long as he fights through, it’s a good chance!

...

Outside the field, in the hotel where Arsenal Team was staying, Peter and Amelia were still in Ma’el’s room.

In front of them were three laptops, two for work and one playing the broadcast of Ma’el’s match.

The duo was smiling as they browsed major headlines on the internet with their phones.

”18 years and 144 days old! Ma’el becomes the youngest Golden Boy Award winner in Europe!” — The Guardian, United Kingdom

”Crowned Golden Boy! Ma’el becomes the first French player to win the Golden Boy Award, making history!” — L’Equipe, France

”The best world-class forward under 21 in football, Ma’el! He completed 18 goals and 8 assists in the last 16 league rounds!” — Asi Bao, Spain

”Live broadcast of Arsenal vs. Manchester City match, first match after winning the Golden Boy, please visit ESPN official website!” — ESPN sites

”The Louvre Museum houses many talented works, and Ma’el himself is a pure genius.” — Highly praised comment

”If someone on the Ballon d’Or shortlist can’t win the Golden Boy Award, then Torino Sports Paper shouldn’t even exist... I’m worried now, Ma’el might take my Premier League goal record.” — Alan Shearer on social media

”Also my goal record, do you mean he’ll take it this year or later?” — Andy Cole replied

”Does it make a difference? As long as he stays in the Premier League, our records will eventually be taken... to say the least, this season he could challenge Henry’s single-season 30-goal league feat.” — Alan Shearer replied

All these elements pushed Ma’el’s popularity to a peak, at this moment, football fans worldwide were talking about the new Golden Boy Award winner.

Ma’el’s fan base skyrocketed, further boosting the followers of Football Record and Instagram.

”It’s blown up!”

Peter laughed, clapping his hands excitedly and punching the table a few times, looked at Amelia and said: ”Quickly edit the post in advance, this wave will definitely surged with his goals or assists.

”This way, you prepare one for each, a version for goals, and a version for assists, just change a few key details and post directly when the time comes.”

Amelia nodded in understanding, then joked with a smile: ”What if there are no goals or assists?”

Peter looked at her and shook his head slightly, confidently said: ”I’d carefully analyze if you said this for any other match, but today is an exception, I believe he won’t leave empty-handed.”

....

Inside Etihad Stadium, the match progressed to the 29th minute, with Arsenal’s offensive gradually picking up.

”Boom!”

Ma’el and Walcott’s simultaneous bursts on both flanks were a nightmare for Manchester City’s full-backs.

It’s fortunate that Kompany had better defensive experience, doing well in several coverages, otherwise, their goal might have been breached by Ma’el already.

In the 35th minute, Ma’el received the ball from the left flank and attempted to cut towards the center while dribbling.

After two steps, he heard heavy breathing behind, indicating someone was catching up.

He glanced sideways and saw it was Nasri, so he continued without much concern, continuing to dribble and cut inside.

Nasri came up aggressively, jostling left and right, using all his might actively to intercept Ma’el.

”Bang!”

Ma’el originally wanted to shake him off directly, but seeing his resolute stance, he specifically stopped and bumped back... Nasri side-flipped over, falling awkwardly on the ground.

”Oh.....!” Arsenal’s traveling fans cheered, naturally delighted by this.

Perhaps this cheer stimulated Barry nearby, who came up to bump into Ma’el with a significant position play and pushed a few times from the side.

Their bodies collided again, and Ma’el’s strong impact knocked down the bumping Barry, but he also fell due to the opponent’s shoves.

”Beep!”

The referee’s whistle sounded, penalizing the foul and promptly showing a yellow card again: ”Yellow card warning! Barry!”

Barry got up without complaining, knowing it was a tactical foul, prepared to take a yellow card beforehand.

Ma’el stood up, brushed off the grass from his socks, and said nothing upon the referee’s yellow card, preparing to take the free-kick.

”Boom!!”

The ball still had some distance to the goal; he blasted a powerful long shot with the instep, and the football shot like a cannonball towards the right corner of the goal.

”Pa!” Joe Hart refused to be the backdrop for another miracle ball, diving sideways to save the ball.