From Arsenal to the Ball God

”I took a look at your schedule for next month, still very packed... I plan to finalize all the advertising endorsements by February, then try to complete the shoot all at once.”

Ma’el nodded, recalling Mendes’ usual rhetoric, and smiled: ”Let’s determine the price after the English League Cup at the end of February. With one more championship, maybe the endorsement fee can increase by 100,000 pounds.”

They always did this, waiting for the Golden Boy Award, the Golden Ball Award ceremony, and this time, waiting for a championship.

”Haha.” Mendes chuckled, understanding Ma’el was teasing him. He shrugged and said: ”You and I are always like this, because you rarely miss, and I believe you can achieve anything.

”Alright, see you next time. The end of February should coincide with the opening day of your honors room; I hope for one more English League Cup trophy.”

Ma’el waved goodbye to him, watched Mendes get into the car from a distance, and then turned to leave.

These busy days are fulfilling and interesting. Sometimes, a strong sense of satisfaction suddenly surges from within him, feeling that this life is worth living, as if everything is steadily advancing.

He enjoys this kind of life and hopes he can live even more spectacularly.

...

”The second half top-of-the-table clash between Arsenal and Manchester United is coming soon, with 19 hours to go until the match starts. The BBC analysis program will air at 9 PM!” — BBC Column

”Kyle Walker transfers to Arsenal? The possibility of this deal is only 30%. The lure of a championship may not be enough to overcome the player’s moral pressure.” — UK’s ”442”

”Tottenham fans: Kyle Walker is a child they watched grow up. Wenger’s team won’t have an attraction for him, waiting until after the Manchester United match, Arsenal loses the championship contention.” — ”London Evening Paper”

”Is Kyle Walker waiting for the Arsenal vs Manchester United match? This is doubtful, but it can’t be denied that if Arsenal defeats Manchester United, the player might join the team at the right time.” — Transfermarkt Official

As the time approaches the kickoff of the top-of-the-table clash, discussions about this match become more and more intense.

Meanwhile, whether Tottenham’s most valued defensive rising star will join Arsenal has also sparked people’s heated discussions.

After all, the winter transfer window will end once this top-of-the-table clash concludes.

Arsenal has made no moves in this transfer window, aside from renewing key player contracts, they are striving for Kyle Walker. The club’s success in completing the transfer goal is a concern for every fan.

At 6 PM on the 29th, Tottenham manager Redknapp posted a message on social media.

”This is a relatively stable transfer window, the team makes no major moves, nor will it weaken our competitiveness; we will continue to challenge for the Champions League spots.”

This seems to imply that Kyle Walker won’t be leaving, at least Redknapp thinks so.

Once this message was released, it again sparked a war of words between Tottenham fans and Arsenal fans. Tottenham fans naturally relaxed, beginning to mock Arsenal’s unsuccessful defection.

Arsenal fans were forced to fight back, though disappointed, when facing rival fans, they wouldn’t be submissive, all standing out to counter Tottenham fans’ remarks.

This is also one of the fans’ joys, quarreling, adding fuel, paving the way for the future big match between the two teams, lifting their threshold for watching the derby in the future.

Following Redknapp, many Tottenham players stepped out to post as well, consolidating their ranks.

”The storm is gradually calming.” — Van der Vaart on social media

”Best defensive partner.” — Ledley King posted a photo with Walker

”United in heart and soul, achieving the Champions League goal!” — Modric on social media

However, when the time reached 8:30 PM, Redknapp quietly deleted his social media post.

This caught a lot of attention, many media outlets sensationalized this action, speculating whether there were any changes in the situation.

At 9 PM, the war of words between Tottenham fans and Arsenal fans had moved to Tottenham players’ social media, becoming the new battleground.

This time, Arsenal fans finally took the upper hand, constantly bringing up Redknapp deleting his social media post, while Tottenham fans struggled to refute.

Of course, reasoning isn’t the main theme of conversations between rivals; they might exchange a reason or two before escalating into pure cursing.

You could feel that the few Tottenham players who posted began to have difficulty, as their posts not only failed to stabilize morale but also became a hot potato.

Not knowing how the management would decide, they were uncertain whether to delete the post.

Delete it, and the team’s morale would be more unstable, public opinion would fully tilt toward Arsenal... This can sometimes affect player decisions, in case Walker feels he has no choice but to transfer?

Don’t delete it, what if Walker and Arsenal have already reached an agreement, then they’d be laughed at?

As everyone speculated, at 10 PM, Wenger suddenly held an emergency press conference, saying that there is a major announcement.

Media corporations around London instantly mobilized urgently, arriving at Emirates Stadium, finding that the beautiful reporter Amelia from Football Record and the photographer had already occupied the best position, adjusting the camera.

Wenger didn’t wait long. After seeing several authoritative media arrive at the scene, he began the press conference, ”It will take about 10 minutes to announce something exciting.”

”There will be a small ceremony later on site, it’s already late, I’ll get straight to the point.”

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