From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Whoosh!” The football thudded heavily against the side netting, producing a crisp sound.

”Aaahhhh...!!” The Emirates Stadium erupted with a thunderous roar, soaring into the sky, making one wonder if this sound could be clearly heard from Highbury Stadium several hundred meters away.

”Oh...!”

On the sidelines, Henry held his head in his hands. His highest single-season goal tally at Arsenal was just 30.

In just 28 rounds, Ma’el had already blasted in 30 goals!

The divine striker!

The magical star!

”Ma-ehl moment...!” Wenger’s actions were similar to Henry’s; he too was holding his head, face full of shock and joy. Even if Ma’el stopped now, he would be etched into Premier League history.

In this arena, forwards who can score 30 goals in a single season are truly rare!

Absolutely top class!

”Come on... Ma-ehl...!!” The familiar rhythm reverberated throughout the stadium once more. The fans knew what kind of achievement their star forward had accomplished, and this time, they infused the phrase with even more fervent emotion.

At the center of attention, Ma’el confidently made his way to the edge of the field, crossing his arms in front of himself, mimicking Palmer’s iconic celebration move.

His hands brushed repeatedly across his arms as if embracing himself.

He knew well that with the heat of scoring 30 goals, this celebration move would go viral again by tomorrow and become a template for many to imitate.

After finishing the celebration, he turned and waved his right fist towards the sky of the stadium, then clenched both fists and shook them repeatedly in front of his chest, ”Yeah...!”

”30!” Van Persie was the first to come over, putting a hand on Ma’el’s shoulder, as if trying to uncover what was so special about him.

”Unbelievable!”

”The team record is now equaled; next is to surpass the team record and aim for the Premier League overall record!”

”Come on, come on!”

The other players also placed their hands on Ma’el, feeling it over and over, sharing a bit of his good fortune.

”Click, click!” Photographers on the sidelines snapped photos quickly, but apart from the ’embracing himself’ celebration move, they didn’t capture anything else notable.

Thus, the image of Ma’el with his arms crossed appeared on all major post-match covers.

”30 goals! In Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, Ma’el completed a brace, scoring his 30th Premier League goal! This feat equals the record left by Henry at Arsenal!” — Football Record

”The Great Emperor’s shock! Henry watched live as Ma’el equaled his Premier League goal record, with the latter doing in 28 rounds what took him 38 rounds!” — Baidu Headlines

”The divine striker emerges! Ma’el launches his final assault on the Premier League goal record! The player is expected to break the records of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole around the 35th round!” — Daily Mail

”23 wins, 5 draws! With one more match played, Arsenal once again extends the gap with Manchester’s Twin Heroes!” — London Evening Paper

”I must criticize the player; he now completely doesn’t know how to pass. In the Championship League, he averaged about 1.5 goals per assist, but why did he score 3 goals in 2 rounds this month without any assists?!” — Alan Shearer on social media

”Agreeing with Alan Shearer’s comments, Ma’el’s Premier League goals should be calculated by multiplying his 15 assists by 1.5; the current 30 goals you’re seeing is a lie (smirk).” — Andy Cole on social media

”If that’s the case, Alan Shearer and Andy Cole wouldn’t make it to double digits in single-season goals.” — Garrispeed on social media

”Ma’el’s celebration move goes viral again, with a total social media following approaching 45 million! The price of a single Twitter ad now exceeds £500,000!” — Marca

...

On March 9, after finishing morning training, Ma’el prepared to rest for half a day due to physical fatigue.

Another main reason was that Mendes was coming over today to finalize various advertising endorsement contracts and shooting dates with him.

Since Mendes hadn’t arrived yet, he turned on the TV to watch today’s Europa League matches.

Due to different scheduling from other events, Arsenal’s title rivals Manchester City and Manchester United both had two Europa League round of 16 matches this month.

As a result, they only had four Premier League matches this month, one fewer than Arsenal.

When Ma’el turned on the TV, the Manchester City vs. Sporting CP match was nearing its conclusion, with Manchester City trailing 0-2 away.

”It’s over.”

Watching Mancini’s disappointed expression and the fatigue on Manchester City players’ faces, he guessed that being shut out on the road would severely dampen their confidence on this front.

In the second leg at home, it might also be hard to come back. Mancini might try a mixed lineup but would likely save strength for the Premier League.

”Beep! Beep! Beep—!”

After this match ended, he turned to watch Manchester United’s away game against Athletic Bilbao, which was nearing halftime.

Like Manchester City, Manchester United was also trailing 0-2, and it was halftime.

The expressions on the players’ faces were noticeably off, and the game was gradually spiraling out of control.

In the 67th minute of the second half, Rooney instigated an incident, leading to a brawl among players at midfield, and Rooney was sent off with a red card.

Athletic Bilbao subsequently scored two more goals, but fortunately for United, Valencia scored a goal at the last moment, avoiding a shutout by Bilbao.

”Ding dong.” The doorbell rang, and Safina, who was playing on her phone near the door, opened it, ”Here you are, Mr. Mendes.”

”Hm.” Mendes walked in from the doorway, with the warming weather, he was back in his suit.

Seeing him, Ma’el couldn’t help but smile, ”So, Mr. Mendes? I’ve already scored 30 goals, soon to surpass the highest Premier League goal tally of another player under your management.”