From Arsenal to the Ball God

With this idea, Wenger had been keeping an eye on Giroud of the France team and had already put him on the transfer list, but hadn’t thought of taking action before.

Now he had this idea... Arsenal is a team strong in attack but weak in defense, which is related to his initial insistence on an attacking football philosophy.

Since it’s impossible to rely on a solid defense to score, it’s better to pin all hopes on the front line and play with a 4-4-2 or even 4-2-4 formation with wings flying together.

With two explosive players like Ma’el and Van Persie, if that center forward is strong, it’s not extravagant for Arsenal to average more than three goals per game against others.

Time to make plans!

Arsenal has a chance to win the league this season, so more attention and seizing opportunities is a must!

If money is really tight, selling a few players who no longer play is also viable. From his observation, some people’s bodies are amazingly strong, and as long as rotation is maintained, they are less likely to get injured.

...

On the field, Ma’el alone came between the two central defenders of the opponent, turning into a forward, playing the role of a pivot or counterattack.

”Boom!”

”Boom!”

Seeing Manchester City players in the front attempting shot after shot, he often broke out in a cold sweat, fearing the opponent might level the score with a last-minute goal or even score two in a row.

Manchester City has a tradition of making comebacks.

After increasing the number of defenders, Arsenal’s backfield became slightly more stable, but this was only a temporary fix... Being pressed like this would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later.

The urge to do something bubbled up inside him, but without getting the ball, all that desire to score was wasted.

”Clap!”

In the 86th minute, David Silva’s dipping shot hit Mertesacker and bounced out of the penalty area, with Alexander Song controlling the football.

”Someone!”

Ma’el saw Nasri rushing forward, fearing he might turn around directly, reminded, ”Pass back!”

”Boom... Boom!”

Alexander Song clearly heard and passed the ball to Mertesacker in front, who then passed it forward to Arteta.

Brother Ta turned around smoothly, facing the attack direction, seeking a passing line for Ma’el.

It’s almost over. At this time, letting Ma’el go to the sideline to shield the ball could at least give the backfield a breather.

”Clap!” But Milner reacted very quickly, constantly blocking Arteta’s passing line, and completed a sliding tackle interception in the final chase.

At that moment, Ma’el in the front stopped in frustration, realizing he could not push forward further. Next time, when his teammates got the ball, he needed to come back for it or pull to the side, solving the problem with his best methods.

In the 87th minute, Manchester City launched another wave of continuous attacks, starting with Adam Johnson putting the ball in from the left, and Aguero missing with a swing at the back post.

”Boom!”

Immediately after, Nasri from the right side set the ball into a reverse triangle, and the approaching David Silva fired a low shot.

The shot wasn’t too tricky in angle, which Szczeny saved but deflected to the other side.

After the recent crossing, Adam Johnson got the second ball, saw it was difficult to handle, and directly swept a low pass towards the goal.

”Sizzle...” The ball skidded quickly across the front of the goal. Szczeny went down but didn’t save it, luckily none of the trailing players could connect to push it into the net.

So close!

”Hiss.....!”

After this attack, Arsenal’s midfield and defensive players were pale, sucking in cold air, and even Wenger on the sidelines didn’t look very well.

Szczeny dared not take short passes from the goal anymore, attempting to send a long pass as far as possible to the opponent’s backfield, allowing his team’s lines to press forward a bit.

In Manchester City’s defense, Kompany headed towards Ma’el beside him, thinking he posed little threat, wanting to head the ball to his partner Kolo Toure on the other side to receive it.

”Boom!” This was supposed to be a secure ball control, with Manchester City retaining possession solidly, then steadily pushing forward to launch an attack.

But at this critical moment, Ma’el suddenly executed a stunning overhead kick with surprising flexibility towards the flight path of the ball, ”Clap!”

The ball hit his toe, everything stopped at this moment. The hearts of Manchester City’s players and coaches seemed to skip a beat.

Intercepted!

”Danger! Ma’el has intercepted the ball! This is a predictive interception executed with lightning reflexes, snatching the ball away!”

”We all know Ma’el has a monstrous physique, Kompany was careless! This is an incredibly massive blunder!”

”No, it’s Ma’el’s amazing overhead kick that turned Kompany’s reasonable header touch into a low-level mistake!”

Zhan Jun’s voice sharpened, with Zhang Lu next to him constantly agreeing, as if serving as commas and periods due to being too absorbed, not knowing if ESPN would regret paying him.

In Manchester City’s backfield, Kompany’s face turned pale instantly. He hurriedly rushed forward, hoping to foul Ma’el to stop him, but Ma’el cushioned the ball and sidestepped outside.

Kompany only wished he’d cleared the ball earlier... damn it, why did he look to set up his teammate at all.

Now, as long as Ma’el took the ball to the corner area, the last few minutes would slip by, and Manchester City would lose any hope of getting points.

”Boom boom...!” Ma’el took a couple of steps towards the right, bypassing Kompany’s defensive zone, creating an open space.