From Arsenal to the Ball God

”About to break the unbeaten record? Arsenal has consecutively drawn with Fulham and Swansea, and at the end of the month they will face Manchester United in their 22nd Premier League match. After suffering several injuries, they are likely to lose the top-of-the-table clash!” - ”Manchester Evening Paper”

”Leaderboard One: Arsenal with 16 wins, 5 draws, 53 points! Leaderboard Two: Manchester United with 16 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss, 52 points! Leaderboard Three: Manchester City with 15 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses, 49 points!” - Premier League Standings

...

Manchester City, Carrington Training Base, Conference Center.

Ferguson and his assistant coaches sat here watching Arsenal’s match against Swansea.

Seeing Arsenal earn a draw at the last minute, the Old Lord’s face did not look pleased. He had expected the team to level with Arsenal by the end of this round.

”It’s fine.” An assistant coach sensed a slight lull in the atmosphere and spoke up: ”The team’s injuries and fatigue are already quite serious, we’ll defeat them by the end of the month.

”By the end of the month, we’ll still have a 2-point advantage and firmly hold the initiative in the title race!”

Clearly, the fierce title race has already begun in January.

With Manchester’s Twin Heroes and Arsenal having a clear advantage over other teams, the next matches for all three teams are crucial, especially the pivotal ’six-point’ matches between them.

This is a great opportunity for lower-ranked teams to narrow the gap or even overtake the top spot... It’s also a chance for the top teams to widen the gap.

”What about Mertesacker?”

Ferguson looked at the assistant coach, inquiring, ”I heard someone say he is about to return, which is significant for Arsenal.”

”Don’t know...” The assistant coach shook his head; this kind of news is often kept secret by the team, and outsiders aren’t privy to the real situation.

”Then what about Kyle Walker?” Ferguson frowned, ”There have been rumors about him and Arsenal, how’s that transfer progressing?”

”Him?”

Regarding this, Manchester United’s assistant coaches remain somewhat unclear, but they can confirm one thing, ”Kyle Walker cannot possibly join Arsenal, there’s no chance.

”This time, at most, Tottenham will feel pressured to give him a high-salary new contract.”

Ferguson stood up from his seat, recalling the match at the end of the month, his eyes narrowed, ”In the next few days, we need to practice our defensive formation well, we cannot let Ma’el and the others pull off more than 3 goals per match again.

”As long as our defense holds up, we can destroy Arsenal’s defense through our offense.

”This season we were eliminated from the English League Cup, had bad luck in the FA Cup, and didn’t advance from the Champions League group stage, so Premier League is our best chance to contend!”

He knocked the table twice, ”The team must unite from top to bottom, take advantage of Arsenal’s internal upheavals, and ensure we win the match on January 30 to reach the top position!”

”No problem!”

”Go for it!”

The room was filled with motivational cheers, and the coaches’ high spirits were quickly passed on to the entire team.

As the conference room slowly quieted down, Ferguson crossed his arms, pacing the front stage, sighing softly after a long time: ”I’ve missed out on Ma’el, I can’t miss out on the Premier League title again.

”Otherwise, I’d be outdone completely by my old rival Wenger, which is an unacceptable defeat, as you can understand.”

...

Manchester City’s training base, Conference Center, where Mancini’s coaching team had also just finished watching the match.

Mancini wore a dark grey coat, and even with a calm demeanor, he carried an aura of melancholy, typical of Italians.

”Ah, Ma’el.”

He ruffled his hair, ”He’s really like a magician; whenever he wants, he can conjure goals.

”Yet another goal and an assist, if I had him, I could already be 5 points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United.”

Shaking his head, seemingly not wanting to moan anymore, he turned to ask, ”They’re facing Manchester United at the end of the month, right?”

Seeing an assistant coach nod, Mancini slowly took off his gloves and gazed out the window, ”I hope they draw, then our gap with those two teams would be just one game.”

”A draw seems unlikely.” An assistant coach shook their head, ”Given Arsenal’s condition in the past few days, they’ll likely be directly defeated by Manchester United.”

”Yes, even in the first half of the season when fully fit, it was extremely difficult for them to play against Manchester United, now with a depleted squad in the second half... no chance.”

”Even if Ma’el and Van Persie are in top form, Zhu Lu and Mikel are too poor.”

”Once Manchester United gains momentum, they will pin down Arsenal in their half and not let the ball slip into the backfield.”

They continued chatting about the match, unaware that Mancini’s thoughts had drifted elsewhere, he suddenly turned and said, ”Do you think if I was coaching this current Arsenal squad, would I have a chance to win the title?”

Assistant team: ”.....”

Though speechless, they started playing an analytical game with Mancini, and after nearly 10 minutes of intense discussion, they arrived at a conclusion.

”So basically.”

Mancini understood their thoughts and his own clarity emerged, ”As long as Ma’el and Van Persie can collaborate to score 80 goals in a season and I reinforce the defense through acquisitions, there’s hope?”

”Yes, the team now relies on these two; other strong players are there mainly to support them.”

”I also agree, if even one of them misses, they’d be at least 10-15 points short.”

Mancini smiled, tucked his hands in his pockets, shaking his head with a smile, ”We could have had a Ma’el and Van Persie strike force, but unfortunately our ’Ma’el’ doesn’t develop their brain.”