From Arsenal to the Ball God

”If it doesn’t work out, just aim for Smolin, he’s tall and an easy target.”

Smolin, standing nearby, heard this and turned around with a very speechless expression.

”Dun dun... dun dun dun!”

Ma’el stepped in place, took a few small steps to find his footing, and then charged forward.

He ran faster and faster, and when he was about thirty centimeters from the ball, he planted his supporting foot, then swung his right foot back fiercely.

De Gea was startled by what he saw; as a top goalkeeper, he was skilled at judging the direction and technique of a shot based on the forward’s supporting foot distance and position.

If it was a volley, the supporting foot should be almost parallel to the football, not with such a big distance.

It’s an outside foot strike!

He’s going for the near post!

De Gea immediately thought to command his left foot to push off the ground quickly towards the near post, but the body needs reaction time, and he couldn’t move over before Ma’el took the shot.

”Bang!!”

A dull thud sounded, Ma’el’s ankle tightened downward, and his foot viciously whipped the middle-bottom of the ball with the outside, using all his strength to create a perfect curve.

At the moment of the shot, his body arched backward, allowing for better power, rather than raising the center of gravity, a standard position for an outside foot strike!

The football slowly lifted off the ground, spinning intensely as it curved outside the wall.

Smolin on the outer side of the wall also judged Ma’el’s intention to curl it to the near post with the outside foot, attempting to expand his defensive range.

But this shot was aimed at an awkward spot for defenders, waist height, impossible to block with a leg, only with a hand... which was even more impossible.

And the speed was too fast, so whatever he did, it wouldn’t have mattered, he could only jump and quickly turn his head to watch.

The ball spun past them and sharply curled inward, the curve was amazing, then instantly touched the net at the near post, making a crisp sound, ”Swish.....!”

It wasn’t even spinning in from the post, it was close to the center position now!

And De Gea, since he was standing too far from the near post, couldn’t rush over in time to make an effective save.

The ball went in!

One to zero!

A golden goal!

”Wow...!!” At this moment, Arsenal fans seemed to witness a scene from the 1997 International Friendly Tournament where Robert Carlos’s incredible outside foot shot bended, this goal wasn’t as far as Carlos’s, but the curve was even more astonishing.

They took the lead!

”Yeah.....!”

Ma’el, his burst of energy slightly dissipated after the shot, saw the ball enter the net, making him tense up again, and excitedly ran towards the Arsenal fan zone at the edge of the pitch.

The 25th goal!

The outside foot technique came in handy!

”Boom...Boom...Boom...!!”

First, he delivered three consecutive farmer’s punches, each punch stronger than the last, shaking more and releasing more emotion.

Then, when Walcott came over, he placed one hand at his crotch and the other high in a gun pose, making comical sideways jumps with a smile, doing the whimsical dance move.

This celebration was first performed by Griezmann during the 2018 World Cup, inspired by the character from the 2017-launched game ”Fortnite”.

The playful jumps and humorous dance moves captivated the world after Griezmann performed them, becoming a popular celebration among many soccer stars.

”Fortnite” hasn’t been launched yet, so they couldn’t find the source, everyone just assumed it was his original creation.

”Ah.....!”

”Haha.....!”

Arsenal fans close to Ma’el screamed with laughter, watching his celebratory moves, not knowing how to react.

”So sexy!”

”Huh? It felt a bit cheeky to me, pretty funny!”

”It’s cheeky, more precisely, the celebration is mainly cocky!”

”Yeah, bouncing left and right, as if playing around and just scoring a goal!”

”A bright and cheerful celebration, quite stylish.”

”I’m going to mimic his moves and post them on Twitter!”

The fans were all fired up, not only accepting Ma’el’s celebration but also wanting to imitate it.

”22 rounds, 25 goals!”

On the sidelines, Wenger clapped for his player with a smile, laughed heartily, and then looked at Henry, ”Your single-season league scoring record is about to be broken, surpassing 30 goals is just a matter of time for him.”

Henry clapped his hands, with a dazed expression, ”It’s only natural for him to break my record. I reckon Alan Shearer and Andy Cole are already trembling.

”Their Premier League single-season scoring record is only 34 goals, which isn’t far for Ma’el.”

After these words, Henry remembered the time, it was already the end of January, and by early March, he would be leaving for the MLS for a high-paying retirement, slowly fading from the fans’ view.

Originally, he didn’t think much of it, he’s getting older, and it’s time to prepare for retirement.

But now seeing the team’s spirit, he suddenly had a thought to strengthen his training and stay a few more years at Arsenal; even being a substitute for Ma’el wouldn’t matter.

Who wouldn’t want to accompany their youthful team to win the championship? It’s such a blessing for a player.

”If we win the championship in the end, do I get a winner’s medal even if I’m joining and leaving midway?”

Henry looked at Wenger and asked with a smile, ”I guess there is such an agreement, right?”

”Yes.”

Wenger nodded at him with a smile, ”If we win the championship this season, you’ll receive a Premier League winner’s medal in the United States; also, your career record will state that you’ve won three Premier League championships.”

Henry nodded, that question was just an introduction, what he really wanted to ask came next, ”Then if by the end of the season I’m in good shape and want to come back, would you sign me?”