September 21st, the EFL Cup third round kicked off, and Arsenal officially began their three-pronged campaign.
This was all of their campaigns for the first half of the season. The FA Cup would begin in January in the second half of the season, at which point it would be a four-pronged campaign.
Inside the villa, Maël and four team members watched the live broadcast of the match together.
Unexpectedly, in the 16th minute of the match, Shrewsbury's forward James Collins stole the ball from under the feet of rotated goalkeeper Fabianski and scored the first goal.
"Ah."
Watching Wenger's anxious appearance on camera, Maël sighed softly, a hint of nervousness in his expression. He didn't want to lose a campaign at this point.
"Is the EFL Cup important?" Safina asked, seeing this. "Do you want to compete for the championship in this campaign?"
Maël nodded in confirmation, then explained, "The team is fighting on four fronts. If we want a title, the FA Cup and EFL Cup would be the guaranteed trophies.
"The Premier League and Champions League are very difficult, and the difficulties are different. No one can guarantee that the team will have a chance to compete for the championships in these two competitions this season.
"Of course, I myself can't be afraid before the battle. I won't stop pursuing higher honors, but I know the difficulty.
"At this time, if we can first win a guaranteed title in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, it will ensure the team's floor for this season."
Beside him, Davis, who had served as a stamina coach for a Portuguese Super League club, nodded slightly, agreeing with this idea.
He recalled the EFL Cup schedule and added, "And in the English professional system, the EFL Cup final comes earlier than other competitions.
"If I remember correctly, the final of this competition will be held at Wembley Stadium at the end of February in the second half of each season.
"This is the most suitable guaranteed option. It is three months earlier than the championship contention of other competitions."
"Yes." Harry also agreed. He and Safina had been physiotherapists for Premier League teams. "If we can win a championship at the end of February, the team will have extraordinary confidence and foundation for the next three months.
"This will improve the team's combat effectiveness in other campaigns. If there is still a campaign that is expected to win the championship, the whole team will go for the double or even... treble."
When he spoke at the end, his voice paused, as if he didn't think Arsenal had any hope of competing for the championships in three campaigns.
The last time this team won a championship was back in the 04-05 season, when Wenger's team won the FA Cup.
After that, they had come close to winning the FA Cup and EFL Cup many times, but without exception, they lost the finals.
Even if the team's combat effectiveness has been strengthened this season, and the start of the new season has been very exciting, they are clearly lacking the ability to compete for more than two championships.
"And..."
Maël stared at the TV screen and smiled lightly, "If the team wins the EFL Cup, I will trigger at least a £1 million championship bonus clause. This is just the surface. There will be other benefits behind it.
"It cannot be denied the importance of money to a player. I also want to take down this £12 million house as soon as possible and invest $10 million in Instagram at the end of the season."
The other four shook their heads and said nothing. On this kind of issue, they had nothing to talk about with the boss.
The speed at which Maël makes money alone, they add up *10 and may not be able to compare.
"Gibbs!"
In the 35th minute of the match, everyone suddenly stood up. They saw left-back Gibbs dribbling the ball into the penalty area.
This silent and conscientious defender took on the important task at this moment and leveled the score with a steady shot!
One to one!
"Oh!" The five people in the villa cheered, high-fiving and hugging each other, breathing a sigh of relief.
After that, the match was completely taken over by Arsenal. Their offense became more and more fierce, and their ball control rate soared from 68% to 80%.
This is very amazing in football matches. As far as the viewing experience of the match broadcast is concerned, you can't notice Shrewsbury's ball control at all.
"Boom!!"
In the 58th minute of the match, Chamberlain used a super World Wave to blast open Shrewsbury's goal again, giving the team a lead.
More than ten minutes later, rotated forward Chamakh received a pass from Chamberlain and pierced the opponent's net with another low shot.
Three to one!
Got it! "Beautiful!"
When the referee blew the whistle to end the match, Maël got up again and celebrated with the team's staff. The team advanced to the fourth round.
Also known as the 1/8 finals.
This match, vying for a spot in the top 8, will kick off next month.
"Rotation wins feel so good."
The tension on Maël's face vanished, replaced by pure comfort. "No need to exert myself, yet I'm moving forward with the team."
"Haha..."
Harry chuckled twice, and hearing him say 'rotation' reminded him of something. He asked, "You've been saying you wanted to find a personal doctor after coming to London, any news on that?"
The other three turned their heads. After working with Maël, they had built good relationships with each other, and each had learned a lot from the others.
As elites in their respective fields, they deeply understood the importance of various professional knowledge to themselves, and their desire for professional knowledge was very strong.
If a great doctor could join them, they would surely be able to absorb a lot of nourishment from him.
"Too busy with the new season, haven't had time."
Maël had indeed put this matter aside for a while. After calculating the time, he said, "I'll try to get it done in the first half of the season."
After this round of cup matches, Arsenal had only two games left in September.
One was the Premier League Round 6 match against Bolton Wanderers; the other was the Champions League Round 2 match against Olympiacos.
Overall, they were both crucial. Whether in the Premier League or the Champions League group stage, the performance against mid-to-lower-tier teams would affect the final result.
Many teams would go all out when playing against strong teams, and often achieve good results; but when playing against weaker teams, they would lose many points they should have gotten because they were too relaxed.
Such teams would never have the makings of champions. The Premier League's title-winning score in previous years was around 85 points, or even over 90.
This meant that the champion team would have to win 25-28 games, and lose no more than 5 games if they wanted to win the title relatively securely.
The Champions League matches were the same. You not only had to strive to qualify from the group stage, but also strive to qualify as the group leader as much as possible, so that you would have an easier opponent in the round of 16.
On September 24th, Arsenal was stationed at their home ground, the Emirates Stadium, welcoming the challenge of Bolton Wanderers under the cheers of more than 50,000 fans.
Maël started again, partnering with Van Persie and Walcott to form the front three.
"N'Gog is injured and leaves the field. Only 3 minutes into the game, Bolton Wanderers have to use a substitution.
"He fell in a confrontation with Mertesacker. It was a normal collision, but Mertesacker is too strong. Maybe only a striker like Maël has the ability to confront Mertesacker."
In Zhan Jun's passionate commentary, the game officially kicked off, and Arsenal in the broadcast lens played extremely calmly.
"Bang!"
In the 19th minute of the game, Maël started directly the moment he got the ball on the left, dribbling past the opponent's fullback Robinson. Next, facing the defense of center-back Wheater, he also quickly got rid of him easily with a Bicycle Kick.
Dribbling data *2!
Dribbling the ball towards the center, he sought a chance to shoot, but he didn't expect Wheater to quickly and exasperatedly come up and trip him with a kick.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the foul whistle and took out a yellow card from his chest, raising it over Wheater's head.
Maël got up from the ground. Apart from a slight pain in his right calf, he was fine.
Seeing that the referee had already issued a card, he didn't say much. After coming to the position of the free kick spot, he waited for the kickoff whistle.
Wenger had already entrusted him with handling this kind of close-range free kick. The original free kick taker Ramsey had no objection. His idea was to share the set-piece rights with Maël.
He would handle long-range free kicks and corner kicks, and Maël would handle close-range shots.
Maël also gladly accepted this. In his first season with the team, he couldn't take everything into his arms.
"Bang!!"
He then blasted a Curved Shot with his right foot, but unfortunately, because he wanted to exert too much force, it went wide of the goal, missing a good opportunity.
He squeezed his face for a moment and then turned around and ran back to the field, not too discouraged. No one could guarantee that every shot would go in.
Time continued to move forward. In the entire first half, Arsenal bombarded 8 shots, but none of them hit the target.
The two sides eventually entered halftime with a score of zero to zero. Wenger didn't change any tactics, but just focused on the psychological aspect, giving the players some encouragement and confidence.
"Bang!"
The second half of the game started in the 1st minute, Ramsey passed the ball straight to Van Persie, who broke into the penalty area and shoveled a shot into the far corner before falling to the ground, giving the team the lead.
One to zero!
Van Persie came to the sideline and threw an uppercut, then turned around and carried Ramsey on his back, waving to the fans.
After that, Bolton Wanderers launched a frantic counterattack, putting a lot of pressure on Arsenal's defense.
Until the 67th minute of the match, Arteta's diagonal pass found Maël.
Having just experienced a counterattack, most of Bolton Wanderers' players had not returned, leaving only three defenders and two defensive midfielders in the backfield.
The side back on Maël's side was not in the defensive zone, and Wheater, who already had a yellow card, was marking him.
Looking at the nervousness and ferocity on Wheater's face, he knew that the other party would likely choose to make a fierce tackle again.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Maël dribbled the ball towards him, maintaining a steady rhythm for the first few steps, slowly approaching Wheater, until he poked the ball far away the moment he was about to make a tackle.
Wheater regretted it as soon as he made the tackle, but he couldn't take it back.
"Bang!" Maël ran forward at high speed, and soon his thigh collided with Wheater's raised knee, and he rolled painfully to the side.
It really hurt, but he was also secretly happy, knowing that Wheater was very likely to be sent off.
"Beep beep!!"
The referee strode over and, amidst the shouts of Bolton Wanderers' players and coaches, resolutely reached for his chest.
"Sh*t!" Wheater waved his hand angrily above his head, cursed, and turned his face towards the player tunnel.
"Come back!"
"Please come before me!"
"Last warning!"
The referee stood on the spot and shouted three times in a row, his face getting worse and worse.
A Bolton Wanderers player saw that the situation was not right and ran to persuade Wheater, but the latter refused.
"Red card! Straight red!"
The referee finally withdrew the second yellow card and showed a red card directly.
Although the result seemed similar, the standards for post-match penalties were different, and Wheater would face a longer suspension.
"Huh?!" Wheater finally became anxious when he saw the red card, roaring and trying to rush forward to argue with the referee.
But he was quickly pulled away by his teammates... He was already acting like he was sick, it would have been better to just serve a 1-match suspension, why did he have to look for 3 matches himself? Now, rushing up again, was he planning to be suspended for 6 matches? Just like that, amidst the expression of Bolton Wanderers' coach who looked like he was suffering from misanthropy, and the expression of Wenger who couldn't hold back his laughter, Maël did a carp jump from the ground and strode towards Bolton Wanderers' backfield.
His running posture was extremely elegant, without any injuries at all, as if he had been resurrected with full health.
When the camera shone on his face, there were even a few bright smiles on his face.
Causing a red card 1!
"Pa pa pa!" A burst of laughter and applause rang out in the Emirates, Arsenal fans encouraged Maël's contribution while laughing at his insidious behavior.
In the following time, the game was easier to play, and Bolton Wanderers no longer had any forward offensive.
As long as they couldn't help but attack, Arsenal could definitely punish them with a shot within 1 minute.
In the 71st minute of the match, Walcott received Maël's long pass and rushed towards the opponent's penalty area.
Just like the previous three-man connection, he tapped the ball to the center, Van Persie went around the defender's front point, and a push shot that swung his ankle sent the ball into the net.
Two to zero! The 4th Premier League victory is coming! The Arsenal Three Gun Kings reunited again, hugging each other and rushing to the sidelines of the Emirates Stadium, enjoying the admiring gazes of the fans.
Although Maël didn't have any goals or assists in this game, he still smiled happily. It was also very important for the team to achieve honor.
As long as he could win the game, as long as he could play and make a certain contribution, then everything was fine.
In the 92nd minute of the match, Arsenal got a corner kick opportunity at the last moment.
"Bang!"
Ramsey stood in the corner area and kicked the ball to the back point in the center, where Mertesacker was lurking and headed it back.
This was a corner kick tactic that had been practiced long ago, with Mertesacker heading the ball back to find Van Persie.
However, Mertesacker didn't head the ball well. Under the interference of the opponent's defender, he headed the ball slightly behind.
The only fortunate thing was that Maël was standing there, marking the first time in this game that he had received the ball so close to the goal.
He watched the incoming ball, turning sideways to make a move to stop and protect the ball.
"Apply pressure!"
Bolton Wanderers' defense was immediately in a panic. The goalkeeper directed the defenders to push forward while turning his head to observe the other Arsenal players.
Everyone knew that Maël, who currently had 4 assists, possessed excellent vision and passing ability.
If he were allowed to stop the ball and distribute it, there would be a high probability of creating a threat. No one wanted to concede a goal in the final moments.
"Boom!!"
But then, the sound of a shot suddenly rang out. Maël suddenly stretched his body sideways and sprang up, his right leg swinging extremely flexibly in the air, chicly extracting the football.
His beautiful hair danced in the wind, his thigh muscles were tense, and the lines were extremely beautiful, his whole body like an artistic sculpture.
"Swish!!"
Not to mention Bolton Wanderers' goalkeeper and defenders, even everyone at Arsenal didn't react to this ball. The football finally smashed into the right side of the net, the goalkeeper without any movement.
Three to zero! Maël's 8th Premier League goal! "Wow!
"Yeah!!"
The Emirates Stadium was once again filled with jubilation, with more than 50,000 Arsenal fans dancing their bodies and arms. Some even tore off their clothes and waved them wildly.
"Oh!"
Wenger's expression on the sidelines even carried a bit of pity for the opposing goalkeeper. He frowned and shook his head, empathizing.
"You're a fucking genius!"
Standing in front of the goal, Van Persie revealed two rows of white teeth and laughed as he rushed towards Maël, "Mertesacker is really lucky, he can have an assist by mistake."
"Isn't that common knowledge?"
Alexandre Song was also standing on the side, he looked at Maël's back and sighed: "I've seen him trying volleys often in training recently, I didn't expect it to work out, how many kinds of shooting abilities do you still want to develop?"
The shock of a Volley is also very strong, no less than a Long Shot World Wave. It is a very beautiful way to shoot.
Thinking that Maël would gain countless more female fans this time, Alexandre Song was very jealous, convulsed for a while, and couldn't help but imitate the action of the Volley, wanting to practice it in private.
"Yes!"
Enjoying the attention of everyone, Maël laughed and came to the sidelines, waving excitedly to the stands.
He then looked back, confirmed the positions of Van Persie and Walcott, and then clenched his fists with both hands, tucked his elbows inward and placed them in front of his abdomen, shaking them left and right.
"Haha!"
Van Persie quickly saw the famous Rock-a-bye Baby celebration. He understood what Maël meant by looking back just now, and came to his side to dance with his rhythm.
Alexandre Song saw some hope of grabbing the spotlight, and immediately stepped forward to join the two.
"Whoosh!"
A gust of wind sounded from his ear, Walcott sprinted past at full speed, as if he had just dribbled the ball past him, not like he was going to celebrate.
Alexandre Song: "..."
Are you going to steal this too?! "Wuhu!"
Next to the corner flag, Maël was in the center, dancing the Rock-a-bye Baby with a cheerful rhythm. The two people next to him looked at him with smiles, imitating his movements, and often twisting their butts and shoulders, as if in a ballroom.
In the sunlight, the smiles of the three people were extremely pure and extremely cheerful. They seemed to be deeply trapped in a football paradise, with no other worries.
This scene couldn't help but remind people of the classic scene of Bebeto's lullaby at the 1994 World Cup. At that time, he made this most tender celebration to celebrate his son's birthday.
Maël didn't have any children, he just wanted to pay tribute, to feel the happy scene he saw when he watched the World Cup.
"This is the best of times, this is the worst of times!
"Football geniuses from various countries are emerging like a blowout, gorgeous South American football collides with precise European football, and all kinds of players have the opportunity to play against each other! "And we are slowly having the conditions to see their figures from TV broadcasts and experience every important moment with them! "There is no doubt that Maël, who has already scored 8 goals in the Premier League, has shown the demeanor to calmly deal with the top league.
"I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of report card he will hand in at the end of this season!"
After finishing the celebration, Maël waved towards the stands. He turned around, ready to high-five and hug his other teammates.
When it was Alexandre Song's turn, he suddenly noticed a strange emotion in the other man's eyes, his body trembling slightly, a bit distorted.
He didn't understand why, and thought his hyperactivity was acting up, so he patted him down a couple of times.
"Do you remember me?" A red-haired reporter with braces smiled sweetly, holding the microphone in front of Maël.
"Of course." Maël pointed to her braces and laughed, "A very memorable detail."
"Haha..." The red-haired reporter chuckled lightly, leaned closer and said, "Then you must remember, we agreed that once you score 10 goals in the Premier League, I would get an exclusive interview."
"No problem." Maël nodded and smiled, "I remember you're a reporter from Sky Sports, but why are you holding a microphone from another media outlet today?"
"I changed jobs."
The red-haired reporter lowered her head slightly shyly and said, "Actually, I was laid off and now I work for a small, quiet publication. Would you refuse the interview because of this?"
"No." Maël shook his head. He didn't have any other thoughts, just out of principle, "If I promised, I will do it."
He didn't chat with the reporter too much, waved goodbye and said, "Okay, work hard, don't get laid off again. I will score 10 goals soon, I hope you're still around that day."
He turned and left, leaving the young woman alone, staring at his back for a long time.
ps: I stayed up all night yesterday, and was busy all morning. Fortunately, the burial was completed in the afternoon, and I will start heading home tomorrow.
There will be another chapter later. I haven't closed my eyes, but I insist on finishing it. Before the 3rd, I will write no less than 10,000 words every day.
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