From Arsenal to the Ball God

May 5th, a sunny day, the entire Arsenal team set out to Hawthorn Field in West Brom for their first match after winning the Premier League championship.

This is their 37th match of the Premier League season, and after this, they only have the home game against Norwich on May 13th left.

"Clap clap clap.....!"

Before the match, West Brom players lined up on both sides of the entry tunnel, applauding the new Premier League champions as they entered the field.

This is a unique tradition in football matches; if a team wins the championship ahead of schedule, every subsequent opponent must applaud to welcome the champions onto the field.

Of course, this is not absolute. It depends on whether there is any historical enmity between the two teams and the opponent’s demeanor.

West Brom undoubtedly showed great sportsmanship, acknowledging Arsenal’s dominance this season, displaying a submissive stance as the lower-ranked team.

"Clap clap clap.....!" Their fans were also encouraged to offer their sincerest respect to the Arsenal players.

Thus, the 11 starting players of Arsenal marched onto the pitch with a glorious stride amid applause.

They did so with peace of mind because this glory was fought for with victory after victory!

Ma’el, upon entering, saw Sean Long in the opposing squad, an old rival from the Championship last season, renowned alongside Graham.

He still remembers the song that Sheffield United fans created—"Sean Long? Graham? Watch out... Ma’el is catching up from behind!"

After a year, old foes met again, both with a touch of sentiment in their expressions, exchanging a high-five and a hug.

Sean Long had a much better mentality than Graham, but his feelings at this moment were inevitably complex, unable even to speak the prepared words.

Last season in the Championship, Ma’el scored 40 goals and 27 assists, while he had 25 goals and 16 assists, basically half of Ma’el’s tally.

He initially thought that the gap between him and a genius was just a matter of halving the stats... he could at least be counted as half a genius.

But upon coming to the Premier League this season, he realized it was not the case at all.

Seventeen-year-old Ma’el was not in the same league as eighteen-year-old Ma’el!

This player’s most terrifying trait was not that he burst onto the scene at 17, but his astonishing growth speed!

Look at this season. Upon entering the Premier League, with its higher overall level, more intense confrontations, and greater difficulty, he managed to score only 8 goals and 2 assists, barely breaking double digits.

But Ma’el continued his dominance from last season, scoring 40 goals and 20 assists, six times as much!

Sean Long has lost count of how many times he’s been bewildered, holding his phone and looking at the data websites; compared to Ma’el, his self-proclaimed half-genius forward title seemed like a joke.

"Beep!!"

The match kicked off at 5:30 PM, with both sides deploying a 4-4-2 formation.

Wenger today experimentally placed Gervinho in the center-forward position to see if it would yield favorable results.

"Bang!"

In the 4th minute of the match, Ma’el cut in from the left side of the penalty area to the center and executed a dipping shot, firmly hitting the top right corner of the goal.

One to zero!

Arsenal took the lead with ease!

"OhAaahh...!!"

This was a start no one expected, with traveling fans cheering like they already saw an undefeated season beckoning.

Ma’el, after scoring his 41st goal, was very happy, celebrating with a somersault under the bright sunshine by the sideline.

"Yeah...!"

Another breakthrough!

This had already surpassed his goal tally in the Championship, showing that even in a stronger league, he still achieved more brilliant success than last season.

In the next season, with the support of Level 5 skills, he was determined to push for 50+ or even 60+!

He wanted to leave Suarez, who later boomed in stats, looking up to him, and Kane and Pharaoh Salah feeling unattainable, with the Norwegian beast Haaland giving up the pursuit of records!

His name would forever be associated with this field, becoming a legend!

Of course, he could not predict what stories he would experience in this field in the future. This was just a conjecture at the moment.

Perhaps he would use his feet to play out an even more marvelous and brilliant future... his conjectures had never been accurate because he could always do better!

"Beep!"

After the restart, Arsenal players enjoyed the match with smiles, but West Brom’s offensive push caught them off guard.

James Morrison, the focused midfield, assisted Sean Long in scoring a goal in the 12th minute!

Then, in the 15th minute, he intercepted Koscielny and assisted Dorans to score a goal that overtook them!

Two to one!

"Bang!"

"Snap!"

Thanks to Kyle Walker’s 30th-minute follow-up shot deflecting off McCarthy’s leg into the net, Arsenal equalized, entering halftime with a two-two score.

The team seemed a bit lax, something everyone could feel.

Even though they had countless times reminded themselves to hang in there and win the last two matches to conclude perfectly... humans are complex creatures, and after achieving massive success, it’s difficult to truly treat matches as seriously as before.

"I won’t repeat what I’ve said before, nor will I criticize you."

In the locker room, Wenger stood before the tactics board, looking at the ground and telling the players, "But what I want to say is, the choice of what kind of person or team you want to become is always in your hands.

"Don’t regret after losing, many opportunities in life come only once."