From Arsenal to the Ball God

”What do we do now? We’re already trailing two to nil, there’s only one way forward—go all out. Since we’ve chosen to be aggressive, the coach can’t suddenly choose to retreat entirely to avoid a disaster.”

”That would put him under immense public pressure, no less than actually suffering a tragedy!”

”Blackburn kicks off from the center circle, organizing from the backfield. Arsenal’s players quickly push forward; today they not only want to win but also achieve a glorious victory at the Emirates Stadium!”

”Givvi’s misplaced pass! Ah... he doesn’t have the stability he used to have; he seems flustered as Ma’el charges in!”

”Ma’el carries the ball towards the penalty area! Givvi is the first to defend him!”

”.....”

At the corner of the penalty area, Ma’el intercepts Givvi’s pass intended for Dane, dribbling the ball directly at Givvi.

”Boom boom... boom!”

The opposing penalty area seems quite empty at this moment, so Ma’el didn’t opt for any complicated dribbling moves; nor did he cut into the crowded area at the top of the penalty arc. After making a feint, he directly dribbled the ball along the bottom line.

Givvi clearly couldn’t keep up with him, reached out to grab his shirt but then withdrew his hand, remembering they were in the penalty area.

”Boom!”

Ma’el glanced at Van Persie, who was marked tightly in the middle, but instead passed the ball to the inverted triangle position—this was a strategic pass aimed at deception.

The Blackburn defenders running towards the goal were stunned, turned around to sprint out for defense, but it was too late.

”Boom!!”

Chamberlain caught up with the ball, even had time to stop it once, before fiercely shooting towards the far corner of the goal.

The football crashed again into the Blackburn Rovers’ net, sending out a crisp sound, ”Swoosh!!”

Three to nil!

Chamberlain scores twice!

Ma’el assists twice!

”Wow.....!!”

The Emirates Stadium fans vented their emotions with cheers, simultaneously encouraging the players; they hadn’t expected to witness such a goal fest at the home ground today.

After several tough matches in a row, their hearts were inevitably filled with some unease, fearing the team might slip up again somewhere.

Now it seems, no chance!

”Ma’el!”

Chamberlain, who scored a ’gifted’ goal, proved more proactive than Walcott; he ran directly towards Ma’el at the goal side, took a leap when close, ”Thanks for your pass, your vision was amazing!”

Ma’el caught him, put him down, and feeling equally thrilled, shouted several times towards the fan section.

assists in the league!

Created 39 goals!

Just one more!

Seems like not only his passing foot feels hot today, but also his teammates’ shooting feet.

He often experienced passing four or five threatening balls, only to see his teammates squander them... today, without much effort, just three threatening passes resulted in two assists.

This gives him confidence in Arsenal’s new generation of players; if they all stay with the team in the future, they could indeed become his right-hand men.

”Van Persie!”

After celebrating, Ma’el smiled and called out to Van Persie: ”Where’s my assist? You promised me some passes last game, haven’t seen even one yet?”

Van Persie looked at Ma’el; knowing he’s boasting about his two assists, he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

He gestured five fingers towards Ma’el, signaling to wait a moment, letting him make his move.

...

”Boom boom boom.....!”

The 51st minute of the second half, Arsenal was controlling the ball in the forward area; every pass they made seemed bold, giving the impression Blackburn Rovers could intercept at any moment.

”Slash!”

”Scrape!”

The Blackburn Rovers players thought the same; after several failed attempts to snatch the ball, they began frequently sliding in tackles to intercept Arsenal’s ball control.

But the loss of defensive positions in exchange still left them just barely short.

Arsenal’s passes continued to flow smoothly, while their defensive line was the first to fall into chaos.

In the central position, Van Persie received the ball, stepped outward towards the left, then turned right, promptly executing a roulette move to shake off the challenging central defender.

”Thump thump thump!!”

Near the side corridor, Ma’el diagonally inserted into the gap behind another central defender, knowing the linking opportunity both he and Van Persie were waiting for had arrived.

”Boom!”

Van Persie indeed followed with a through pass, sent towards the small penalty area line, making for a perfectly comfortable shooting angle.

No matter if the goalkeeper came out or not, Ma’el should easily send the ball into the net.

”Come on!”

Blackburn Rovers’ goalkeeper Robinson still charged out, lowering his center of gravity but didn’t dive immediately.

When he felt Ma’el relaxed his guard, Robinson suddenly reached for his feet.

Using his brain?

”Slash!”

Surely Ma’el wouldn’t be fazed; as he stopped the ball, he used the outer part of his foot to lift the ball, raising it about half a meter high.

Robinson was an all-or-nothing dive, hadn’t reserved the power to react twice in mid-air. Seeing Ma’el flick the ball up, all he could do was watch helplessly.

He watched the ball rise from the ground, reach above his head, then fall behind him.

It’s over!

Robinson wanted to glance back and look, tilting his head backward, coincidentally meeting Ma’el’s eyes.

Ma’el: ”...”

Robinson: ”...”

One above, one below; one in front, one behind; they stared at each other from an awkward angle, puzzled why the other would look back at this critical moment.

But this didn’t affect Ma’el’s next connection in the slightest.

He angled past the goalkeeper; before the ball landed, he delivered a powerful shot, sending the ball into the empty and unguarded goal.