From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Hi, looking forward to meeting you in the Champions League, see you in Zurich at the end of the year (smile),” — posted by Cristiano Ronaldo on social media.

”I also started my career at 17, people often call me a genius, but I want everyone to see what true genius looks like.” — Di Maria shared the Golden Boy Award news on social media.

”.....”

Peter browsed through these messages and quickly noticed one thing: these people are all athletes and coaches under Mendes.

”Jorge Mendes.”

He muttered, delighted: ”This is a great time to pick up momentum, it seems this wave of enthusiasm will last for quite a while.”

...

”Beep!”

At the Etihad Stadium, as the referee’s whistle blew, the second half of the game resumed.

The two teams switched sides and clashed again... for both sides, this was a match they couldn’t afford to lose.

The players fought for every ball, clashing in multiple areas of the pitch, where any second could see a new surprise, and any surprise could entirely influence the final result of the match.

”Hey! Offside!”

”Aren’t you calling it? He pulled on my shirt, weren’t you decisive in the first half?”

”Yellow card, ref!”

”I got to the ball first!”

The referee was under a lot of pressure during this process as well. He could only retreat as the opposing players came up to appeal, reminding them to focus on the football as much as possible.

As the clock ticked past the 60th minute, both head coaches came to the sidelines, concentrating on devising winning strategies.

”Koscielny.”

Wenger eventually decided to play it safe first, called Koscielny to warm up, and prepared to substitute him for Vermaelen.

The former has slightly better defensive ability, pairing him with Mertesacker gives a better chance to withstand Manchester City’s relentless attacks from the middle and front.

”Beep beep!”

In the 63rd minute, after touching the turf, Koscielny made his debut, with a serious expression on his face.

On the other side, after seeing this adjustment, Mancini thought for a while and also opted for a safe strategy, ”Milner! Milner! Warm up!”

In the 72nd minute, Balotelli went off, and the so-called ’tireless runner’ Milner stormed onto the field, ready to play a sweeping role in midfield.

Both substitutions showed the coaches’ trust in their respective frontlines, but they were worried about their defense in the middle and back.

”Swoosh!”

In the 75th minute, Milner successfully anticipated Alexander Song’s passing route, slid in advance to intercept the pass, and launched a fast attack.

”A chance for Manchester City, this time Nasri has the ball, his dribbling is equally superb!

”Nasri runs towards Alexander Song, he knows his former teammate well..... a quick feint throws off balance and slots the ball directly to the other side to David Silva.

”Aguero is asking for the ball near the back of the penalty area, he seems to want a lofted cross!

”David Silva hesitated... he still chose to trust his footwork and went for a dipping shot himself!

”Oh dear! It missed the target, Arsenal gets a goal kick! The goalkeeper chooses a quick release! Szczeny’s decisiveness!”

”...”

On the field, accompanied by David Silva’s regretful gesture of covering his face and sighing upward, and Aguero’s somewhat frustrated open-handed complaint towards him, Arsenal became the attacking side.

All the Manchester City players sprinted back, Yaya Toure, Milner, Barry, and others rushed towards their own backfield simultaneously.

”Boom!”

Ramsey then executed a simple and direct overhead long pass, the football bypassed Manchester City’s midfield line and fell on the left flank.

Ma’el calmly controlled the ball and then took an inside step to pass Sabaleta, moving inside a few steps and seeing the opponent’s three defensive midfielders approaching him, decisively chose to long-pass to shift to the weak side direction.

”A beautiful switch, now it’s a one-on-one between Walcott and Richards! As long as he gets past him, Walcott has the hope to create a threatening offensive!”

”A burst dribble! Beautiful! Walcott surged past Richards, Richards couldn’t catch up with him!

”Let’s see the quality of this cross!”

”...”

”Ouch!”

Near the edge of the penalty area, Van Persie excitedly signaled for the ball, followed closely by Arteta and Alexander Song, both eyeing the goal fiercely.

”Thump thump thump!”

After passing the ball, Ma’el didn’t stop, he charged to near the penalty area line, about six or seven meters behind Van Persie, and continued to get closer.

”Boom!”

Walcott didn’t hesitate too long, he delivered a high ball cross roughly towards Van Persie’s position.

The ball was a bit too high, Van Persie initially planned to leap for an aerial strike, but upon rising, he found he couldn’t comfortably connect with the football.

The football slipped beyond his control range, heading behind him.

”Ah.....!” Van Persie’s face was bitter in mid-air, just a bit more and he’d have the chance to surpass the score in the way he does best for the team.

He immediately looked backward, seeing Ma’el arriving at the path of the football, competing for position with the opposing center-back, Kompany.

Is there a chance?

Van Persie’s eyes shifted, but seeing the landing point of the football, he really didn’t know how Ma’el would handle it.

In the spotlight, Ma’el pushed off with his right leg, springing up and swung his right leg back in mid-air, using core power to burst his left leg out, striking the ball ahead of the defending players.

At that moment, he seemed to soar like Superman, striking an aerial shot in an unconventional way.

Kompany’s face turned to fear as he stretched his foot out to tackle the ball, but his movement was too slow.