From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Yes, in the afternoon.”

Outside the door, Ma’el picked up the phone and first invited Uncle Clément and his family, ”Tell Eva and the others to eat less now, there will be plenty of good food in the evening.”

”Alright then, that’s settled. I need to call others, see you this afternoon.”

He thought for a moment before calling Hans, ”Hey, is Mr. Wenger having a party today?”

”No, Wenger seldom drinks. He needs to recover after drinking yesterday. He said he’d invite everyone in a few days.”

”Then come to my place.”

”Really?!”

”Yes, bring your wife and kids along, in the afternoon.”

”Great! But my kids aren’t on holiday, so it might just be me and my wife.”

”No problem!”

After hanging up, Ma’el thought of Gilbert and opened their chat history, a faint hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Since the end of yesterday’s league match, there had been no contact... In fact, since the English League Cup final, Gilbert had been silent, as if he had disappeared.

Had he gone through a season of fighting alone and had his character changed?

Ma’el shook his head, unsure if he should call to ask if he was in London or wanted to come to the party.

While hesitating, he saw Mendes’ UK agent Pepeño’s number and decided to call him first.

Pepeño had helped him a lot this season. Though they seldom met, their relationship remained good.

Since Mendes couldn’t come, he would let Pepeño represent him as a gesture of gratitude for his efforts.

”Haha... don’t be so surprised, just get ready and come on over.”

While chatting with Pepeño, Ma’el’s eyes suddenly moved, locking onto the end of the road.

There, a white pickup truck roared in, and through the window, he could see two people smiling at him from the front seats, with a head quickly popping up between them.

He recognized this truck well because, back in the day, he and Gilbert used it to go to Sheffield!

It was Jorson’s truck!

This man, now an assistant coach with the Premier League teams, was driving the car filled with memories, bringing Garrispeed and Gilbert to find him!

Ma’el’s mouth dropped open; the surprise filled his entire being, making his hands holding the phone tremble and his tear glands uncontrollably activate.

”Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

He hung up the phone, put it in his pocket, and stood there waiting for the three to approach.

As the vehicle came to a gentle stop, the rear door opened first, and Gilbert, in casual clothing, jumped out, hands in pockets, and casually walked toward Ma’el.

”How?”

Gilbert glanced at Ma’el, noticing his extraordinary expression at the moment, ”Did you guess we were coming? Waiting here for us in advance?”

”It seems we’re really connected, we wanted to surprise you.”

As he approached, his eyes were filled with intense longing, realizing it had already been three months since they last met.

”Boom!” Ma’el clenched his fist and playfully punched Gilbert on the arm before laughingly opening his arms to embrace him.

”I talked to Wenger yesterday...” Gilbert rested his chin on Ma’el’s shoulder, and suddenly tears filled with complex emotions well up, ”Next season, I’m coming back, there will be a place for me on the first team.”

”Sorry I can’t control my emotions, I spent two years in Sheffield, and it’s hard to let go, but I also really want to fight with you, that was my goal before leaving.”

Ma’el patted his back, with a moving expression, ”Come back, we promised to achieve the greatest success together.”

”Yes!” Gilbert nodded, then went inside to greet Isabella and others.

”Mr. Double Crown!”

The second one to get out was Jorson, waving vigorously to Ma’el, ”Long time no see, this season Sheffield United really suffered under your foot.”

”Haha...!”

Ma’el laughed out loud, pointing at him, ”I am quite nice, you know, I didn’t even celebrate the stunning goal nominated for the Puskás Award.”

Jorson also smiled, hugging Ma’el tightly upon coming up, sighing, ”Even though I’m at Sheffield United, I’m proud of your achievements, you understand that.”

”Taking you to Sheffield United was the best decision of my life, witnessing the full growth of a superstar firsthand!”

Ma’el nodded, always grateful to Jorson; without him, he wouldn’t have matured so quickly.

Finally, Garrispeed, full of spirit, stepped up, sharing a smile with Ma’el before embracing him without a word.

”I really missed you.”

After hugging for a while, he finally spoke, ”It’s been so long since we hugged like this, even talking privately has been rare.”

”Yes.” Ma’el said with a mischievous smile, ”So rare that I didn’t even have the chance to ask about the secret you promised to tell me back then.”

”Haha...” Speed chuckled dryly without avoiding, ”I already shared that secret with the world on today’s program at the BBC, fulfilling my promise to you.

”As for what it is, you should see it yourself, it’s too soppy, I refuse to say it face to face.”

Ma’el nodded and gestured for them to enter, then picked up his phone to search for the BBC program.

He didn’t have to search hard because the news was already the BBC’s headline.

”In the time just after retirement, I couldn’t accept leaving the green field. I experienced a strong sense of fragmentation, which troubled me deeply.