"The results are in! Congratulations to him! The Puskas Award, for the best goal of the year, goes to Maël!"
In the CCTV-5 broadcast studio, host He Wei's voice carried a hint of poetry, "A year and a half ago, in the capital of Wales, in the port city on the border of England, at the Cardiff City Stadium!
"The young man, wearing the Number 31 shirt for Sheffield United, made his professional debut!
"He completed an assist and scored a brace in that match, seemingly carrying the title of genius from the moment he emerged! But I think that no one, including himself, could have predicted that he would rise so steadily and so quickly!"
"Under the spotlight in the Zurich hall, Messi, the Barcelona legend who had just won five titles, applauded him, and Xavi celebrated with him! These are some of the best players in world football, and they, along with me and you in front of the television, witnessed Maël's brilliance at the age of 18, accompanying him to a small climax in his career!
"What is Messi thinking? What is Xavi thinking? We don't know, but we are clear about the excitement in our hearts at this moment. This is our private happiness! Let's all think about it together. At this moment, in London, in Paris, in the pubs by the Thames River, there must be Arsenal fans cheering for him, his fans screaming and shouting for him!
"He will be the future helmsman of the French Team! A representative figure of Arsenal! A beacon for the younger generation, the hope of world football!
"Those who like him will regard him as a holy grail, because he rarely disappoints, and he always brings joy to people!"
"We saw complexity and covetousness in Ferguson's eyes, and amazement at the goal in Guardiola's eyes. The winning goal is now playing on the big screen!
"To have him is lucky, just like Manchester United back then and Real Madrid now have Ronaldo, just like Barcelona has Messi, Xaviesta!
"He may lead Arsenal back to the peak, allowing Wenger to find hope of competing for the title again at the end of his career!
"He can only move towards legend! Developing step by step and winning honors has never been what geniuses aspire to. They always want to do something special and win everything sooner! Finally, congratulations to him, Lionel Maël! After this awards ceremony, he will take a crucial step towards becoming a superstar! From any point of view, he fits the bill. He has the skills that amaze all football fans, the appearance that makes girls infatuated, and the legs and figure that boys envy!"
"That kind of phenomenon where .41 advertising covers have 40 from the same player may one day return to world football!
"Finally, ending with the player! If he can look back now, he may be able to see himself practicing on the muddy grass, remember the confusion and pain at that time, and remember the bitterness of sweat falling into his mouth!
"But when he turns back and looks ahead, everything is already full of flowers, and the red carpet of success is crisscrossed, all the way to his doorstep!"
After finishing this long commentary, He Wei picked up his water glass and took two sips of Pu'er tea. He smiled, feeling a dryness in his throat.
But he didn't regret it. Looking at the spirited young man in the camera, looking at his flawless face and the vigorous vitality in his temperament, he deserved all the praise.
Perhaps, many people don't have the same opportunities as Maël, but just sitting somewhere or lying somewhere watching him can make them feel good.
"Clap clap clap!"
At the Colney Training Base, in the First Team meeting room, everyone present witnessed the first moment of Maël winning the Puskas Award.
"Nice!"
"He did it!"
"It's his!"
In terms of gold content, the Puskas Award is far inferior to the Ballon d'Or, but it depends on who wins it.
If it is an Asian or American third- or fourth-rate league player, who is not outstanding in himself, but occasionally has a wonder goal to win this award, it may not cause much sensation.
At most, it will bring some attention to him and engrave his name permanently in the history of world football.
But if it is someone who is already playing extraordinarily well at Arsenal, and who is currently ranked first in the Premier League scorer list with 23 Premier League goals this season, then it is different.
Maël's current data performance is already that of a super giant. The player is now in urgent need of some awards and championships with gold content to stabilize his superstar status, and urgently needs the accumulation of these honors!
With this award, he will enter a new stage, whether in terms of personal influence, commercial value, or the feelings he brings to fans.
Everything is different!
"I also want a Puskas Award." Van Persie, as a specialist in wonder goals, looked at Maël holding the trophy, his eyes full of envy, "I hope to get my wish once in my career."
"Who doesn't want one." Alexandre Song stared blankly at Maël giving his acceptance speech, looking at his glamorous appearance, he couldn't help but twitch again.
People are always extremely envious of things that seem very close to them, but are actually out of reach.
For Alexandre Song, his style of play almost destined that he could not win this award. He could not score a super Long Shot like Ronaldo, nor could he score a one-man goal like Maël.
"Hahaha!"
In the front row, Hans seemed to be chatting with Wenger about something happy, or perhaps he was just in a good mood at the moment, and kept laughing.
Wenger laughed more restrainedly, but also had a feeling of elation, "I heard that you also have a pair of his shoes in your collection?"
"Yes." Hans nodded, his face coated with a layer of brilliance, "There is also a very meaningful sentence on it, the collection value is very high."
"Of course."
Wenger had heard about this before, but only mentioned it to Hans today, "If it was just a pair of shoes before, now it's a pair of collectible shoes, ready for auction.
"Everything related to Maël will increase in value along with him.
"Fortunately, as partners at different times in his growth, we all got something related to him, and can enjoy the benefits of his increased value.
"For you, it's these shoes; for Sheffield United, it's that championship, it's the Premier League; for Arsenal and me... it's value, it's competitiveness, it's the hope of a championship."
He was very talkative today, as he always is when he's in a good mood. At times like these, he's never introverted or pretentious.
"You're right, Mr. Wenger." Hans nodded. In his heart, Wenger had always been a very cultured person, and he admired the coach's scholarly demeanor.
Wenger looked at the big screen, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Once the U19 year is over, and they enter U20, the coach's influence on a team is not that great. It's time for you to leave this team.
"This team has produced Maël, Gilbert who is now playing in the Premier League, and Ian in the EFL Championship. This is a very successful class, and you can retire with honor."
"Ah?" Hans was a little stunned, not understanding what he meant.
Was he being asked to leave this team to coach younger players, or to leave Arsenal altogether? Had he done something wrong? He didn't want to retire yet.
"Your current coaching license is UEFA A level, right?" Wenger saw his panic and quickly explained, "You've been in this position for quite some time, it's time to take it a step further.
"I will recommend you to The FA to study for the UEFA pro course. After you finish, you can join the Arsenal First Team coaching staff and become my assistant."
Hans was shocked, and his face instantly lit up with joy. 'Pro' is the highest level for coaches, and this certificate qualifies him to coach a Premier League team.
Could it be that after Maël and Gilbert became famous, he was about to usher in the second turning point in his life? If he could get the pro certificate and join the Arsenal First Team, he would have a higher salary, higher visibility, and social status.
He could also learn more and share all the honors with this great team! In the future, if his outstanding disciples Maël and Gilbert helped this team win the championship, his resume would also include that trophy!
Moreover, if he had greater ambitions, after achieving success at Arsenal, he could completely choose an EFL Championship team or even a lower-tier Premier League team to start his head coaching career.
He was finally about to reach the peak of his coaching career, nearing the end! "Okay!" Hans replied, his voice slightly trembling. Although he didn't fully understand why Wenger made this decision, he thought it must be related to Maël.
Was he afraid that Maël would be lonely in the First Team, so he wanted him to be a sparring partner?
Then so be it!
He was very clear that as long as he got close to his former disciple, his life would definitely take a turn for the better.
...
Zurich Conference Center, the awards ceremony continued to move forward.
"It's 72 degrees zero chance of rain!"
To cool down the heavy and tense awards ceremony, British pop singer James Blunt, nicknamed the Captain Poet, took the stage with his guitar to perform at this year's ceremony.
The scene was briefly joyful, with everyone clapping and dancing to the rhythm.
"Haha...!"
Maël and Neymar sat together on their seats, engaging in a dance-off, causing Robert Baggio beside them to laugh from time to time.
One of them was in a great mood, and the other had Samba dance genes in his blood.
After the joyful segment, this year's awards ceremony finally ushered in the final moment, and the big screen once again played a round of Ballon d'Or nominees' highlights.
The first award presented was the women's Ballon d'Or, also known as the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year! Shakira and Blatter, as the presenters, exchanged pleasantries with the host for a while, and then picked up the card in their hands, "Homare Sawa!"
"Clap clap clap!"
Wearing a kimono, Japanese women's football player Homare Sawa got up amidst the applause, came to the stage to receive the Ballon d'Or, and began to deliver her acceptance speech.
She and her national team coach had swept all the women's football awards at this year's ceremony.
The current women's football leagues are not yet mature, and in major tournament years, the World Cup champion team usually sweeps all the major awards.
After that, as the host invited Ronaldo to the stage, the most exciting moment arrived, the men's Ballon d'Or award was about to be presented!
"Clap clap...!"
Maël clapped along with the others, but wasn't too excited, mainly because he already knew the result of this award in advance.
Others might still expect that this award would be given to Xavi, to give this player, who has consistently held a core position in the Spanish national team and Barcelona and has won countless honors, a lifetime achievement award.
But in reality, it wouldn't happen. Xavi never won a Ballon d'Or.
From 2008 onwards, the world football scene entered the battle of the unparalleled twins. This year, after Messi's three consecutive wins, he would win his fourth next year.
In the next 5 years, Ronaldo would win 4 Ballons d'Or, and the two would dominate this award for 10 consecutive years! But with his arrival, this pattern may soon change, and he will definitely complete the goals that Neymar and Hazard and others have not achieved.
"Lionel Messi!"
Amidst Xavi's slightly disappointed expression, Messi smiled. With over 80 goals created throughout the year and the achievement of winning five titles, he secured the Ballon d'Or for the third consecutive year!
As a club teammate, Xavi's disappointment didn't last long, quickly turning into a smile as he stood up to congratulate Messi.
"Clap clap clap!" Enveloped in even more enthusiastic applause, Messi walked confidently to the front, first approaching the microphone to deliver his acceptance speech.
He was wearing a dark purple and crimson suit, exuding elegance and luxury. The Argentinian forward had been in explosive form recently, with many saying he had a chance to score a three-digit number of goals this year.
"I want to thank my team, my teammates and coaches who have always supported me, and my family."
He wore a constant smile. At this time, he was only 24 years old, with no other controversies surrounding him, only shining with brilliant starlight. He was simply the best-performing player of the past year.
...
After his acceptance speech, he went to an FA official to receive his 2011 Ballon d'Or trophy, the most prestigious individual honor! Maël, sitting below, could clearly see the shape of the trophy and the golden light it reflected under the lights. He could almost feel the weight and texture of the Ballon d'Or.
His eyes showed longing as he swallowed hard. It was a trophy somewhat similar to his Golden Boy Award, but with a brighter overall color, made of gilded material and crafted by the best artisans.
He had also been nominated for the list this year due to his excellent performance, and the rankings would be released later.
But when would his first Ballon d'Or trophy arrive? "Huff... huff..." His breathing quickened. He came here not only with anticipation for the Puskas Award but also with the expectation of seeing the Ballon d'Or in person.
Now, he had seen it, and he had a clearer understanding of what his goal was.
Honestly, competing with Ronaldo and Messi for the Ballon d'Or around 2010-2015 was definitely hell-level difficulty.
This was different from the battle of the gods between 1992 and 2008. These two superstars not only maintained a consistently high level of performance year after year but also continuously accumulated their foundation through sustained and efficient play.
This foundation would become a moat they built for themselves, sometimes becoming an added advantage in awards, making it more difficult for challengers.
Some say it was harder to win awards in the era of the gods fighting, while others say it was harder to win in the Messi-Ronaldo era.
Maël felt it was about the same, each with its own difficulties. He had to consider the problem from the perspective of whichever era he was in.
"Don't think so much."
He cleared his mind of distractions and stared at the stage, watching Messi receive the Ballon d'Or in the same spot he had just stood, feeling a desire to replace him.
He must put on an even better performance, win more championships, and launch an assault on the highest honor! At this moment, he suddenly noticed that many people were looking at him, many turning their heads to look at him.
He subconsciously glanced at the broadcast screen and saw that the camera had been focused on him all along, probably having noticed his gaze earlier and continuously capturing it.
This time, he didn't feel embarrassed. There was no need to hide his desires. Since others already knew, he would simply raise his chin and acknowledge it all.
"Haha...!"
Many people laughed, some finding it interesting, some expectant, and some feeling it was all too early.
But they wouldn't change Maël. He had already decided to go full throttle to challenge the highest honor! "Clang clang clang!" After Messi walked off the stage with the Ballon d'Or, a cheerful song played as the Ballon d'Or voting results and final rankings were displayed on the big screen.
Each nominee could see their name and ranking.
Maël instantly became excited, looking from top to bottom, searching for his name.
First: Messi -- Second: Ronaldo -- Third: Xavi -- Fourth: Iniesta
Fifth: Rooney -- Sixth: Suárez -- Seventh: Diego Forlán -- Eighth: Eto'o -- Ninth: Casillas -- Tenth: Maël -- Eleventh: Neymar -- Twelfth: Alonso
Tenth!
Maël's brain suddenly felt a bit congested. Even though tenth place was still quite a distance from the top three, being in the top ten for the Ballon d'Or at the age of 18 in the Messi-Ronaldo era was a great honor.
This meant that based on his performance in the second half of the season with Sheffield United and the first half of the 11-12 season with Arsenal, he had already entered the ranks of the world's top players! Even if his and Neymar's rankings seemed a bit weak among the superstars, lacking a solid foundation.
But they had time to solidify their rankings and launch an upward assault.
Moreover, the weakness of their rankings was only due to a lack of honors and a lack of long-term and efficient data performance, not because their abilities and current form were being questioned! As long as he won honors with Arsenal this year and had a good performance and ranking in the European Cup.
He would definitely be able to continue to rise, overthrowing Casillas, Eto'o, Diego Forlán, Suárez, Rooney, Iniesta, and others, and reach the top three!
Don't forget, he was currently the top scorer in the Premier League. Rooney and Suárez were only ranked above him due to their long-term accumulation and the added boost from their performances in their respective national teams.
He would soon have all of that! He would definitely follow Deschamps and participate in this year's European Cup to close that gap!
"Congratulations." Neymar, beaming with joy, came over to hug him. After that, the two exchanged contact information and couldn't help but start dancing on their seats again.
Robert Baggio next to them had been wanting to come up and express his congratulations, but he couldn't find a good opportunity and could only stand by and watch.
"Come on, young man."
By the time he finally embraced Maël, many people were already standing beside Maël and Neymar, including Mendes, Florentino, Guardiola, and others.
"I will take you as an example and launch an attack on the Ballon d'Or." Maël exchanged a few simple pleasantries with him, then turned to look at his agent.
"Kid."
Mendes smiled brightly, spreading his arms: "Top ten in the world at 18, what is impossible for you to do? Didn't I say before that we would start accepting endorsements from £1.6 million? Now I've changed my mind again, we're going to start calling for £1.8 million!
"Of course, not every endorsement and advertisement will exceed this price, but try to keep it around this.
"Congratulations! You are not far from being the best, let's take some time in January to go to Puma headquarters."
"Okay." Maël nodded to Mendes, then hugged him, "At this level, I still have to rely on Mr. Mendes' resources to help."
"You're welcome."
Mendes separated from Maël and said with a smile: "Football Record is developing very well, and it will also become your right-hand man.
"By the way, that show is likely to start filming directly. Mr. Wenger has talked to me, and he will give us all kinds of portrait rights."
"Haha..." Maël laughed twice, this is really a series of good things.
Next, Mendes introduced him to Florentino, the legendary chairman of Real Madrid, while Guardiola was talking with Neymar.
"I've admired you for a long time."
Old Buddha came forward with a smile on his face, but he gave people a sense of oppression. That was the temperament brought about by holding power for a long time. With the blessing of the top light at the scene, he even looked a bit like Marlon Brando's Godfather.
Maël had an illusion for a moment, always feeling that he would come up and say, "You don't even want to call me Godfather."
Of course, reality is not always so magical. Florentino's opening remarks were still very normal, "Congratulations on winning the Puskas and being in the top ten of the Ballon d'Or. Don't worry, I won't talk about the club here.
"I just want to get to know you. This is my business card. I hope we can have each other's contact information."
Maël took the business card, thought for a while, and nodded, exchanging contact information with him.
He certainly doesn't have any ideas about going to Real Madrid yet, but it's good to get to know such a legendary chairman, and it's not like he's going to refuse him.
After that, Florentino didn't say much and soon turned and left.
Maël and Mendes went out, accepted some routine interviews in the press area, and then came to the outside of the venue to meet with the four members of the team.
At the moment of walking out of the venue, feeling the outdoor air and noise, Maël suddenly felt a trance for a moment, as if he had been in a dream, and had just walked through a dream.
But how could that be a dream, that was his experience today, he has already entered the center of world football! "Yes!"
Outside the venue, Safina maintained her enthusiasm. She not only raised her hands to congratulate Maël, but also raised one leg back, truly dancing with joy, "Great! We watched the broadcast outside!"
"Top ten! Top ten!"
"Puskas! Puskas!"
José and Harry and others shouted with a smile, the strong lights outside the venue hit their faces, making their excitement very clear.
This kind of extremely happy performance does not seem abrupt in this atmosphere at this moment, and reporters and fans can understand it.
If they also knew Maël, at the moment he left the venue, they would even want to grab a handful of flowers and sprinkle them out, fire a few salutes, and then take some cake and slap it on his face.
"Haha..."
Maël laughed, hugged the four of them one by one, and Mendes also high-fived them. Everyone was in a festive atmosphere.
"I'm going back today."
After the celebration, he prepared to say goodbye to Mendes, "The game against Swansea is on the 16th, and the team has a lot of injuries... To maintain the unbeaten record, I must play."
Mendes originally wanted to invite Maël to relax in Zurich for a day, but when he heard him say this, he had to nod: "It is right to focus on your career."
"I need a personal doctor." Maël then put the long-delayed plan back on the agenda, "The situation in the second half of the season is urgent, and many players in the team are injured. I can't get injured again."
"I will contact you before January." Mendes patted Maël on the shoulder, agreed to this matter, and then said with a smile: "I won't see you off. It is foreseeable that the phone at the brokerage company will be blown up tonight.
"Your endorsement and advertising merchants will come like a tide, and I will choose good ones for you.
"Be prepared, next year you may be able to earn tens of millions of pounds a year just from advertising endorsements."
"Okay." Maël smiled and waved his hand: "Bye, I'll talk about anything later."
"Bow!"
"Messi wins consecutive Ballon d'Or awards! Maël wins the Puskas Award + tenth in the Ballon d'Or! This is the youngest top ten Ballon d'Or in world football history!" - Spanish Marca
"Arsenal youngster wins the Puskas Award with a goal on December 31st, dribbling past several players. His record of 20+ goals and 30+ goal contributions in the first half of the season also puts him in the top ten for the Ballon d'Or!" - British The Guardian
"A strong challenger to Messi and Ronaldo? Maël steals the show at this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony and once again boldly declares that he will win all the awards!" - Italian All Sports
"The first since Henry! Maël is the first Arsenal player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or top ten since Henry left Arsenal!" - British Football Record
"Compared to Messi and Ronaldo, he is still too green. The player must first win a league title and a Golden Boot, and show competitiveness in the Champions League, to have a chance of entering the ranks of contenders. Otherwise, he is far from Xavi and Iniesta." - Spanish legend Camacho
"Maël's sharp eyes (pictured), the player's desire for the Ballon d'Or, will he have a chance to get his wish in 5 years?" - Chinese Zhibo8
"I was first nominated for the Ballon d'Or top 10 in 2000, when I was already 23 years old. I then entered the top 10 for 7 consecutive years, but never won. Maël will help me and Arsenal realize our dream and win this honor." - Henry's social media message
After the Ballon d'Or ceremony ended, or rather, from the moment the Ballon d'Or ceremony began, news on major social media platforms was constantly being released.
Often, when fans see an interesting report and think about coming back to read it later, it has already been pushed to the bottom by other reports and can no longer be found.
This is how hot it is right now!
And most of the heat and eyeballs on this day are focused on the battle between Messi and Ronaldo in the top three of the Ballon d'Or. This is a topic that will always be hot, especially during the annual awards.
As for Xavi, who came third in the Ballon d'Or, what attracts people more is a kind of tragic temperament.
The Spanish star's career is not long, and if he doesn't get it this time, he will have almost no hope in the future. This will be a major regret in his career.
In addition to the hot discussion about the top three in the Ballon d'Or, the next most popular is Maël, who won the Puskas Award and the top ten in the Ballon d'Or.
His move has broken many records in a row, taking the 'youngest' record for many awards.
"Maël's Twitter followers surge by 3 million overnight! His Facebook and Twitter followers are about to break the 20 million mark, and Instagram has also exceeded 2 million!" - London Evening Standard
"It is rumored that Maël, who is only 18 years old this year, is one of the major shareholders of Instagram. This media has developed rapidly since it went online, and has cooperated with Maël many times, gaining extremely rapid growth." - British Daily Mail
"Is Instagram going to be acquired by Facebook? The price of this transaction may reach 1.5 billion US dollars. If Maël is really an Instagram shareholder, he will become the youngest billionaire among athletes!" - American Wall Street Journal
"Rumors! There were also rumors that the recently emerging Football Record also has shares in Maël. An 18-year-old young man, an athlete, should not have this kind of investment vision. Reject rumors, praise and kill traps." - French L'Équipe
"Suspected love affair exposed? It is said that Maël and two women entered a suit shop for a date the day before the Ballon d'Or, and only came out after staying for about half an hour." - The Sun with pictures
"I've encountered some bad things recently, and the Sheffield United charity event will be put on hold for now." - McCabe's social media
"Damn it." - Maël's social media
While news from the outside world was flying all over the sky and the heat was not diminishing, Maël was focused on preparing for the remaining schedule in January.
How the public opinion ferments is all external, only by maintaining a long-term and efficient performance on the court, and working hard to improve his ability off the court, can he achieve his goals.
"I still underestimated other stars before. If assessed according to proficiency, historical players like Messi and Ronaldo must have several lv4 skills, and even one or two lv5, or abilities close to lv5."
This is the guess Maël came to after participating in this awards ceremony and evaluating the performance and data of the two.
Perhaps it is not accurate enough, perhaps there are certain team blessing factors, but no matter what, some of the abilities they sometimes show are absolutely close to the lv5 human limit level.
Otherwise, there would not be a long-term annual 60+ or even 70+ goals, and the feat of 91 goals in a year at the peak moment.
Of course, Maël will not underestimate himself. His current comprehensive ability is definitely close to the two.
As long as he slowly makes up for some weaknesses, has more lv4 skills, and then has about two lv5 skills, he believes that his performance will definitely surpass the two at their peak! This can also be reflected in the data, his performance in the same period must be better than the performance of the two in the same period.
Even, in the history of football, except for Ronaldo and the ancient ball king Pele, he has almost no opponents among players under the age of 21.
And he will definitely not have the attributes of a glass man, and he will definitely not stop there, so completely crushing Ronaldo and Pele is only a matter of time.
Now very few people compare him with Ronaldo, which is a very good explanation.
"Spray! Spray!"
On January 15th, when Maël returned to Colney Training Base for the final day of training before the away game against Swansea, he was greeted with two salutes as soon as he entered the locker room.
"Greeted?!"
He didn't expect this and was taken aback. When he came back to his senses, he saw everyone looking at him with laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Surprise!"
Maël was both happy and helpless. He really wanted to grab one or two typical examples and let them see what a real surprise is.
But he still integrated into the team very well again. This is very important after participating in a large awards ceremony. He must adjust his mentality and help his teammates adjust their mentality.
"Dang dang dang dang. I have a friend!"
As the familiar Maël's Song rang out once more, the locker room erupted into chaos, with all the players joyfully dancing.
Maël danced with Henry, even getting a critique from The Great.
"Brother, your ball control is a lot like mine, but your dance moves are nowhere near as good as mine." Henry clasped his arms, and with an arrogant expression and a swaggering gait, he began to dance.
Maël almost burst out laughing beside him, spreading his hands and saying, "I'm not going to sign up for a dance training class, that just doesn't fit with anything about me. You can hardly imagine me practicing dance."
Football is inseparable from joy, and joy is inseparable from dance, which means that players are bound to dance after winning a game or when they are happy.
The Samba is a prime example, with Brazilian players being the representatives of this type of dance.
"Haha...!"
Henry glanced at Maël's physique, thought about it in his head, and realized that he really couldn't imagine it. "Forget about learning, let's be more serious when celebrating in the future."
"No, no, no." Maël wagged his index finger at him, put his hands in a six shape on both sides of his cheeks, then kept turning his hands and moving his head from side to side.
"Next time I score, I'm going to use this celebration! Ronaldinho used to do it, I will definitely become the spokesperson for elegance and violent aesthetics at the same time."
...
On January 16th, at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales, the 21st round of the Premier League kicked off.
On this day, the weather was clear, and the Liberty Stadium, which could only accommodate a little over 20,000 people, gave a refreshing feeling, much like their team name, 'Swansea' meaning 'a place where swans gather'.
Maël was very happy to be able to return to Wales for his first game after winning the Puskas Award. As commentators everywhere introduced, Wales was where he made his professional debut.
Returning to his old stomping grounds after winning an award easily made him recall those times, clearly seeing his growth over the past year or so.
Even though Swansea wasn't the team he faced in his debut, it was also a promoted team, and having played against them twice last season could intensify his various feelings.
However, apart from that, there was nothing else that benefited him and the team.
First Team right-back Sagna felt unwell during the pre-match warm-up. For safety's sake, Mr. Wenger had to replace him with young player Mikel, facing Swansea with a depleted lineup.
It was truly an unpredictable January, with one bad news after another, and one surprise after another.
Hopefully, he and the Arsenal players in the attacking line could carry the flag together and keep the team moving forward.
"Beep!"
The match kicked off at 3:30 p.m. that day, with a biting cold wind, and some people put on soft, tight-fitting shirts and pants to keep warm.
Swansea was playing a 4-3-3 formation today, seemingly knowing that Arsenal had been encountering some changes recently, and they had a chance to win.
The situation after the start of the match also matched what they thought. Through the impact of Maël and Walcott, and Van Persie's ghostly runs, Arsenal was often able to create threats.
But Swansea was not bad either, their several attacks were very threatening, testing Szczęsny twice.
"Bang bang bang!"
In the 26th minute of the match, Maël, wearing black gloves, launched an attack on the opponent's full-back Caulker. After a few quick changes of direction, he got past the opponent and came to the baseline.
However, Swansea certainly wouldn't send only one person to watch a player in the 'Top Ten of the Ballon d'Or'. Their midfielder Joe Allen and centre-back Neil Taylor quickly came to cover.
"Bang bang!"
Maël cleverly used a varied-speed sprint, briefly shaking off the two, and then sent a curved Cross into the middle.
After sending the pass, he stood in place to watch the situation in the middle. The ball landed in a good spot, and Van Persie was fighting for a header with the opponent's centre-back.
"Bang!!"
Robin Van Persie, the pride of this Netherlands striker, then emerged victorious in the fight. In Maël's first game back, he steadily seized his good brother's pass and shook his head to blast a header.
"Swish!" The football passed through Vorm's defense and rolled into the net.
"Oh!!" Arsenal's travelling fans roared excitedly, feeling much relieved.
"How was that?!" Van Persie came to Maël's side, beaming, "Didn't waste your breakthrough pass, did I!"
"Of course not."
Maël excitedly slapped hands with him, just like that, a pass assist earned him £15,000.
More importantly, the team had a lot of room for error, not particularly afraid of being caught off guard by the opponent exploiting the emptiness of the defense to widen the score gap.
"Beep!"
In the 45th minute of the match, Arsenal gave the opponent another penalty. This time it was Mikel who pulled down Nathan Dyer, who was cutting inside, on the wing.
Good defenders are very important to a team, and Maël feels this deeply, not only from the defenders he has faced but also from players like Mertesacker.
Their one-on-one abilities are strong, and they have a certain probability of intercepting forwards like him.
More importantly, they rarely make mistakes. Even if they are often dribbled past, they can reduce the gap with the attacking side through methods such as defensive cooperation, and they certainly won't often give away penalties.
But young defenders find it difficult to do this; they cannot maintain Stabilization, and they easily run into problems when flustered.
"Bang!"
Scott Sinclair then scored the penalty, leveling the score before the end of the first half, and the two sides entered halftime with a score of one to one.
After the start of the second half, both sides experienced a period of calm, during which everyone's defense was well done.
However, the third goal still came, and it was somewhat fatal.
In the 76th minute of the match, Swansea midfielder Joe Allen passed the ball to Nathan Dyer, who once again exploded past Mikel's defense with his extremely strong breakthrough ability, cutting inside to the center.
"Bang!"
He then passed Djourou and completed a spectacular Curved Shot World Wave.
"Wow!" The Swansea fans at the scene stood up ecstatically, erupting in cheers, and Nathan Dyer became their hero of the match.
Mr. Wenger on the sidelines rolled his eyes high; he only hoped that the team could escape from Swansea's away game unscathed.
Maël ran back to the center circle, sucking in the cold wind, waiting for the restart. The situation of this match was already very unfavorable for Arsenal.
"Bang!"
Unexpectedly, just four minutes after the restart, center-back Djourou, who had been criticized, suddenly made an accurate Long Shot pass, finding Walcott, who was left open on the right wing.
The Little Tiger then broke into the penalty area, hitting a small goal past the goalkeeper, helping Arsenal equalize.
A golden goal!
In the 80th minute of the match, Arsenal equalized, two to two!
"Aahh!" Everything seemed to be back on Arsenal's side, and Maël and Van Persie and others rushed to Walcott to celebrate together.
As long as they maintain their unbeaten record and take one point away from home, it is a victory!
But Swansea seemed not to have given up their pursuit of goals. Watford striker Graham, who was surpassed by Maël in the scorer list last season, then came on as a substitute.
Gylfi Sigurðsson, who was later known as the Icelandic Sniper, also came on, and the two joined the battle as new forces.
"Bang!!"
This substitution had a miraculous effect. In the 86th minute of the match, Gylfi Sigurðsson's Cannon Shot from outside the penalty area caused Szczęsny to fumble.
"Bang!" Graham bypassed Koscielny's marking and poked the ball into the net with a stab.
Three to two! There are still variables!
A chase!
"Yeah!!" The Liberty Stadium completely let go. For Swansea fans, it was naturally extremely enjoyable to watch such a resilient home game.
On the sidelines, Mr. Wenger, with a slightly confused look on his face, immediately replaced Henry and Rosický, and withdrew Mikel and Arteta, starting a strong attack.
Maël came to the center position, constantly running up and down, using his Stamina advantage to create opportunities.
He didn't quite believe that his first game back with the team after the awards ceremony would be the one where he lost hope of winning the title undefeated.
That day could be any day, but it couldn't be today!
Apart from that pass, his performance in this game was not good, probably because he hadn't really settled down yet.
No one can immediately concentrate all their attention and focus on dealing with everything after such a grand event. What he thought before may have been an idealized situation.
But these three goals should also wake him up. He is unwilling to lose the hope of impacting the immortal miracle of 0304 in his first top league season.
"Bang!!"
In the 88th minute of the match, Maël dribbled past two players outside the penalty area, and then used an Outside of the Foot Shot to bypass the defending players, heading straight for the far corner of the goal.
After Henry came on, he came to the center, and in a situation where the angle was not very large, an Outside of the Foot Shot could come in handy.
"Pa!" The Swansea goalkeeper stretched out his right hand and desperately dragged the ball out of the net, preventing him from completing an easy goal.
Rosický then went to take the free kick. Henry's header wasn't working, so he followed him, thinking of some tactical cooperation to seek a cross closer to the penalty area.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
They successfully executed a one-two, with Henry delivering the final cross.
"Bang!!" This time, it was center-back Koscielny who headed the ball. He had also joined the attack, as no one wanted to give up on this game.
"Slap!" But Swansea's goalkeeper Vorm once again used a lightning-fast reaction to push the ball away from the net.
Still a corner!
"Bang!"
The second corner was headed by a Swansea defender, and the ball flew outside the penalty area. Maël met the incoming ball and unleashed a very violent volley.
"Whizz!" Unfortunately, due to the dense crowd in the penalty area, the ball hit the opponent's midfielder Joe Allen and flew out of the baseline.
Corner kick!
The third one! Joe Allen could have laid down for a while after being hit, but he still got up rubbing his chest, which earned him the goodwill of many Arsenal players.
"Bang!"
Rosický and Henry didn't plan to cooperate on the third corner. The former directly curled the ball in, but the quality was average, and it was cleared by an opponent defender at the near post, sending the ball back to the baseline.
Corner kick frenzy!
The fourth consecutive one! The fourth official on the sidelines began to adjust the added time board. Regular time had passed, and next was injury time.
"Bang!!"
Watching Rosický take the corner again, Maël rushed to the near post position to seek an opportunity, but this time he was out-jumped by opponent defender Ashley Williams, who cleared the ball out of the penalty area first.
He felt a little frustrated. It seemed like the first defeat was getting closer and closer. Was it really as He Wei said, that success is only temporary, and failure is the main theme? For him, who possessed a proficiency panel, failure couldn't be the main theme, but it seemed like he had encountered quite a few.
"1 minute of added time!" At this moment, the added time board was raised on the sidelines, and the stadium DJ announced the news to everyone.
Maël gritted his teeth and told himself not to give up, continuing to stay in the penalty area and wait for an opportunity. He believed his teammates would find a way to get the ball in.
"Bang!"
Outside the penalty area, Ramsey got the second ball and passed it to Henry on the wing.
Carrying everyone's hopes, Henry began to break through against the opponent's full-back. Maybe he couldn't complete a solo goal anymore, but it shouldn't be difficult to shake off the angle and pass the ball.
"Bang!" He quickly shook off Caulker, moved the ball to his right foot, and sent a cross towards the center.
Maël sprinted towards the near post position, but saw the ball fly over his head towards the far post.
He didn't give up hope and turned his head to see Koscielny standing at the far post. However, his jump timing was late, and even if he could head the ball, it wouldn't pose a threat to the goal.
Wait, this header angle, it's possible he's going to pass it back!
Maël turned around first, waiting for the opportunity. Koscielny indeed heavily headed the ball back into the penalty area, back to where he was!
"Here it comes!"
He stepped forward, meeting the ball headed back by Koscielny, his core Strength instantly erupting as he headed the ball fiercely towards the goal.
"Swish!" The ball broke through the net, extinguished the hopes of the Swansea players, and cleared all the pressure from the Arsenal players.
Goal! Tenaciously equalizing the score!
Preserving the undefeated streak!
"Yeah!"
The moment he landed, Maël raised his right hand high and ran towards the corner flag area on the sideline. His shouts intertwined with those of the Arsenal fans, shaking the entire Liberty Stadium.
In the world of football, last-minute goals are common, because at that moment, it must be the period when the players' desire to score is the strongest!
But if you calculate the probability, it must be a small probability event. No one can always get their wish at this moment. More often, it is the pain of dashed hopes and the discomfort of digesting failure.
But today, with the header he had just practiced, Maël gave everyone an unexpected blow! "Come on!"
He roared, already unable to control his emotions. After seeing Henry's excited face, he remembered the celebration he had talked about.
He suppressed his emotions, raised his hands in a 'six' gesture, and moved them up and down in a rhythm, shaking his head from side to side.
After such a goal, he chose to use an elegant and flamboyant celebration to conclude the match!
"You did it again!"
Henry came up and excitedly hugged Maël, "It's always you! Always you!"
"Maël!" Van Persie also rushed over, leaping onto Maël's back in one stride, his voice hoarse as he said, "Everything is saved! This month has been tough, but we'll always get through it!"
On the sidelines, after seeing Maël's goal, Mr. Wenger breathed a long sigh of relief, clenching his upper and lower teeth together to appear as calm as possible.
He turned and walked back to the bench without saying a word, just drinking a bottle and a half of water in a row.
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