March 10th, three days before the Premier League's 29th round of matches.
Maël took the lead in reaching an endorsement deal with local brand pepe-jeans, and began shooting promotional videos and various advertising magazines.
From the brand's name, you can tell it's a fashion brand that focuses on denim style, with highly individual T-shirts, denim jackets, and jeans.
It's hard to say how it looks on others, but for an athlete like Maël, who looks slim in clothes but has muscles when he takes them off, wearing it is extremely attractive, and the photos taken also look very tasteful.
It's hard to say whether this is a cross-over collaboration with a football star; it seems more like they specifically sought out a stylish male model.
"Fantastic!"
"Just like that, great!"
This discovery surprised the people at pepe, and they urgently brought in several female supermodels to take some photos with Maël.
"Definitely worth more than the price." Someone whispered to the person next to them, "Some people seem very charming in their own industry, but once they cross over, their whole image collapses."
"There are quite a few people like that, especially in the sports world, but not him. I can confirm that he's the kind of person who's just blessed by God."
"I don't know how to describe the feeling he gives people. There are many, many handsome people, but many don't seem charming, at least not to guys."
The person got more and more excited, gradually gesticulating, "So I would think it's a kind of temperament, the composure to face everything that comes with being famous at a young age, and a little bit of flamboyance, and the sunny feeling of youth, and so on."
Someone nodded in agreement, echoing, "The first time I saw him, although I could still see the youthfulness on his face, I felt that he must have seen too, too many big scenes."
"From the perspective of his industry, I think it's the scenes where he won the Golden Boy Award, top ten in the Ballon d'Or, Puskas, and other important awards."
"As well as the experience of enduring many difficult matches, unexpected matches, setbacks, and difficult choices, etc."
Someone else added, "Missed a point, he lives in praise... Yes, this kind of praise is very important, it will affect a person's temperament and personality."
"And, most importantly, he is not arrogant. I think this is commendable, and it may be why he can give people a feeling of resilience."
Their praises were not quiet, and many people around could hear them.
It's not like they were talking bad about someone behind their back, so there was no need to hide it. As long as Maël didn't hear it, there wouldn't be anything... Even if he did hear it, at most everyone would just smile awkwardly together.
Many supermodels waiting nearby heard everything clearly.
The supermodels who originally lived in London and Paris were fine; they had a wide range of information and must have some understanding of cross-over football stars, and might even like watching football on weekdays.
But the key is that there are many models from small towns in small countries such as Latvia and Lithuania, who know very little about this.
At most, they know that today they are shooting with a young football player, but they are not very clear about what kind of person he is.
Sometimes the information barriers between circles are quite high, especially for these supermodels who are just starting to work hard. They are just shooting and climbing up every day, how can they have time to contact other things.
"He? Is he very powerful?" A tall Latvian supermodel looked curious, looking at Maël with bright eyes.
"Sounds like it, let me search him." A supermodel from South Africa took out her phone and searched for Maël's name, and soon her eyes widened, "22.91 million Twitter followers!"
"Ah?!" A burst of exclamations rang out here, and many people covered their mouths, their eyes on Maël changing again and again.
"I didn't even know him."
"How did I only find out now?"
"Young, handsome, and powerful, how can there be such a person?"
"If I had known, I should have searched before coming, Anna, how do I look today?"
"How do you look?"
"Sexy?"
Anna: "..."
She rolled her eyes, nodded, and pointed in Maël's direction, "It's my turn to shoot."
Anna stepped towards Maël. Although she despised the appearance of her colleagues, when she went to Maël's side, a sense of pressure and commotion surged in her heart, and she felt a little uncomfortable.
"How much is his endorsement fee?"
"Let me ask."
"." Whispers sounded from behind, Anna slowed down and pricked up her ears.
"Ha!" She heard a gasp of surprise, followed by the rapid 'clack, clack' of high heels, and then the response: "£2 million a year! Plus £500,000 in bonus clauses."
"Shit, £2 million would take me five years of not eating or drinking to earn, and he gets it just for a few commercials."
"He's even more attractive now."
"I have to meet him!"
"..."
Anna's mouth also slightly opened upon hearing this, and her gaze towards Maël seemed to be drawing silk, she slightly cleared her throat, licked her lips, and adjusted the hair in front of her forehead with her right hand.
Even after preparing herself, she still couldn't help but feel a little nervous when she came before Maël, "Hello, my name is Anna, I'm very, very happy to meet you here."
"Hello." Maël politely nodded at her, sitting in place and looking at the messages on his phone.
Filming was quite interesting for him, but it wasn't all good. Sometimes, doing one action for too long, or continuously changing expressions, would make him feel mentally exhausted.
Maybe he just wasn't used to it yet. He didn't really want to talk anymore, just wanted to finish filming and leave quickly.
"You're a Football player?" Anna asked, seeing that Maël didn't react much, sitting next to him and awkwardly trying to start a conversation, "I heard you're very good, can you take me to play Football sometime? "Look, don't I have a lot of physical talent, right?"
She raised her two tanned long legs, hooking her black and red-bottomed high heels, and only then did a confident expression appear on her face.
Maël subconsciously, or perhaps politely, glanced at them, nodding and smiling politely, "Haha... maybe."
"Can I get your contact information? Or follow each other on Twitter? I have a lot of free time usually, and I stay up very late at night, ah, I can go with you to learn Football anytime."
"No, thanks." Maël shook his head, "I'm usually too busy, so, sorry."
Anna's disappointment was evident, she smiled awkwardly, turned her head to pick up her phone, her face turning red.
She organized her words, took a few deep breaths, and wanted to speak again, but the filming started.
After finishing this set of shots, Maël said goodbye to the photographer and the pepe-jeans person in charge, and then went to the side of the street to prepare to drive away in his Ferrari.
Unexpectedly, several supermodels pushed each other and came up, surrounding his car, each taking out their phones.
"Maël, my name is Dier."
"Can I get your contact information?"
"I have 22,300 followers, haha, that's exactly 1/1000th of yours, isn't that a coincidence."
Maël raised his eyebrows and shook his head, using the same rejection line, got into the car and sped away from here.
A group of supermodels ate his exhaust fumes, standing sullenly in place.
Anna, seeing this scene from behind, felt much more relieved, and a smile returned to her face.
"Hi, next time you're filming, can you please hire me? I can only charge half the fee." Someone walked towards the pepe-jeans person in charge, flattering him with a smile.
This quickly gave many people ideas, and suddenly the pepe-jeans person in charge was besieged by a group of supermodels again, falling into an awkward predicament.
"Me too."
"I only need 1/3."
"It's with Maël, it's not like this with everyone."
This person in charge kept retreating, until he retreated to the side of a camera, and then stood firm and waved his hand, unable to bear it any longer, "Give up, he already has a girlfriend, she's the daughter of a real estate tycoon."
...
On March 11th, before Arsenal's Premier League Round 29 match had even started, Manchester City and Manchester United both welcomed their own Premier League Round 28 matches.
Maël and the entire Arsenal team watched Manchester City's home game against Chelsea in the meeting room, studying the opponent's tactics, observing the characteristics of the opponent's players, etc.
They had already finished their first and second half matches against Manchester United, and had not yet played their second half match against Manchester City, so they still needed to pay attention to this opponent.
After all, their encounter at that time would be a 6-point battle, a battle that could very likely determine the ownership of the championship!
They had to be prepared!
In this match, Chelsea's star striker Drogba scored early, helping the team take the lead.
Manchester City had not equalized the score until the 65th minute of the second half, and it seemed that the situation was gone.
"Is it over?"
Van Persie looked expectant, "Does this mean that the point difference between us and them is really going to be 7 points?"
"Not necessarily." Maël watched the broadcast screen, meticulously observing Manchester City's repeated attacks, and casually asked, "How's the Manchester United game going?"
"They should be fine."
Van Persie shook his head, indicating there was no suspense. "Rooney scored two goals early on. West Brom clearly lacks the means to score against Manchester United, with an expected goal count of only 0.7 before the match."
Maël focused his attention on the game in front of him. Deep down, he was actually hoping Manchester City would drop points.
Not that he didn't trust himself, but he just wanted to secure the first top-flight league title of his professional career as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, things don't always go as one wishes. Former Arsenal player Nasri cut into the penalty area along the right flank in the 76th minute of the match and slotted a shot into Chelsea's goal.
One-one!
Arsenal's players were somewhat silent. Everyone gathered together to watch Nasri score what might be the equalizing goal, and it didn't feel good.
"It's okay."
Alexandre Song showed his mischievous side at this moment, with a unique perspective. "Nasri must be watching us score goals every day at Manchester City, and more importantly, we're at the top of the league table.
"He must be feeling worse than we are. If we swallowed a fly, he directly ate shit."
"Yep!" A chorus of agreement sounded, and the expressions of Arsenal's players improved slightly. After thinking for a while, many realized that this was indeed the case.
No need to think about anything else, just put yourself in his shoes. Nasri's Manchester City has been pressing down on them, and they know what it's like to be at the top of the league table.
Moreover, they didn't have any animosity towards Manchester City, only towards Nasri.
Nasri was different. He ultimately left by going on strike + having his agent contact the media to put pressure on the club, which was only slightly less intense than Fabregas's departure, and could be considered a falling out with the club.
In this situation, watching them stay at the top of the league table and charge forward all the way, the discomfort must be much greater.
What's more, due to siding with Fabregas when Maël first arrived at the team, there must be mutual antipathy between him and Maël.
Watching Maël become a superstar at Arsenal step by step and lead Arsenal on the road to revival, he must be sleeping with complexity and regret every night.
"There's another layer."
Koscielny added with a smile at this time: "Nasri's relationship with Maël was only so-so when he was in the French Team, and later he was whipped by Deschamps and almost became a typical example.
"If he still wants to play for the French Team, he has to find a way to actively improve his relationship with Maël.
"This is undoubtedly the final blow to him. I don't know if he can handle it in his heart."
As mentioned before, European players in this era, mortal enemies are mortal enemies. Whether it is the mortal enemy relationship between clubs or the mortal enemy relationship between players, they are all at the forefront.
They will not let go of these things just because they are from the same country or the same national team.
Most of the time, they will consider issues from the perspective of the club they play for, the club they have feelings for.
"Haha...!" His words caused a burst of laughter in the meeting room, and many people turned to peek at Wenger, only to find that he was expressionless.
*"Bang!"*
On the broadcast screen, Agüero received a pass from Yaya Touré outside the penalty area and slotted a low shot into Chelsea's goal again.
Two to one!
Comeback! Game-winning goal!
"Tsk," a sound of regretful clicking of tongues sounded, and Arsenal's players shook their heads slightly, feeling a little regretful.
They still kept up.
Mancini's Manchester City is really strong. Agüero seems to have a game-winning goal trait, and he has scored such goals many times this season.
Before long, the game ended, and Agüero was named the best player after the match. Mancini put his arm around his shoulder and praised him in front of the media reporters with a big laugh.
Wenger turned off the TV screen at this time and came to the center of the room.
He looked around at the team's players, his voice low but very penetrating, "I hope everyone focuses on Manchester City's tactics, the players' spirit and state, rather than their wins and losses.
"We are the leading team, and we have been leading for almost 5 months. Occasionally, they close the gap a little, and occasionally we widen the gap with them.
"In this case, we don't need to consider their success or failure, we only need to consider ourselves.
"There are 3 Premier League opponents left this month, Sheffield United, Newcastle United, and Liverpool, none of which are easy to deal with, but I believe we can take them down and stabilize our advantage!"
He clapped his hands and encouraged, "Come on, kids, once March is over, the champion may be revealed."
This statement did indeed shift the players' attention, making them stop thinking about Manchester City and focus on their upcoming match.
...
On March 13th, Arsenal was at home, welcoming a match against Sheffield United.
Loanee Gilbert was still ineligible to play, and Sheffield United, with their depleted squad, lined up in a 5-4-1 formation, playing a dense defense, seemingly not yet recovered from the shadow of their previous 5-0 defeat.
Arsenal started with their full strength squad, changing their tactical arrangement from the previous two games, deploying a 4-3-3 formation.
There was no other way; against a dense defense, trying to play simple offense was unlikely to work.
In addition, Wenger also took off Arteta, using the more creative Rosický, Alexandre Song, and Ramsey to form a three-man midfield combination.
This was a midfield combination lacking in toughness, but Arsenal didn't intend to engage in midfield battles with their opponents. They pressed forward across the halfway line, applying constant pressure, basically giving their opponents no chance to counterattack.
They even occasionally revealed some flaws, attracting Sheffield United to attack, and then seizing the opportunity for transitions.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The sound of passing echoed continuously. This match couldn't be considered an ugly one.
Arsenal's ball control was near perfect. Maël on the left wing was often able to create opportunities for crosses and cut inside shots through individual bursts.
But this was definitely one of Arsenal's most dull matches of the season. Somehow, Sheffield United was incredibly united in defense, giving Arsenal almost no clear chances.
Only two shots created by Maël himself and a curved shot from Van Persie could be considered somewhat threatening, but they still failed to break through the opponent's goal.
There are no weak teams in the Premier League. Any team can have different states in different periods of the competition.
Teams at the bottom of the league can also win against the top four, and the probability is much higher than in other leagues. This is something everyone understands.
And it's not just because of its high commercial value, high broadcast revenue sharing, and high investment in downstream teams that this situation has arisen.
It is because the competition itself is more intense than other leagues, with greater randomness, that it has gradually formed its super high commercial value, high broadcast revenue sharing, high investment, and increasingly attractive matches, creating a virtuous cycle.
La Liga is now a battle between two powerhouses, the Bundesliga is also a struggle between Dortmund and Bayern, Serie A is all about defensive counterattacks and not good to watch, and Ligue 1 has a weaker competitive level.
Only in the Premier League, any of the top six teams could win the league title, and any of the teams behind them could suddenly collapse and fall into the relegation zone.
The title race and the relegation battle are always full of suspense, captivating, and making fans unable to stop watching!
It's hard to say exactly why this is the case. There may be many complex factors, but in any case, this situation has formed.
"Beep beep!"
In the 69th minute of the match, seeing that the team had been attacking for a long time without success, Wenger replaced Kyle Walker, who didn't start today, with Walcott, launching a fierce 3-3-4 attack.
Thirteen minutes later, Sheffield United replaced their center forward Evans with center back Smith, playing an ultimate dense defense of 6-4-0.
"Bang!!"
In the 86th minute of the match, Van Persie received a cross from Maël on the wing and headed for the goal, but it went a little wide, sliding past the far post of the goal about two feet away.
"Oh!" A mix of exclamations and regrets rang out at the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal fans looking disappointed.
But it wasn't unacceptable. Even if they drew this game, they had still achieved a very good record of 7 wins and 1 draw in their last 8 games, and were still maintaining an undefeated season!
"Arsenal! Arsenal!"
Singing rang out in the stadium, with fans comforting the players in advance, hoping they wouldn't be affected by the setback and would continue to work hard.
Teams that keep winning are afraid of losing and drawing. They know this very well. When some players get used to winning, they find it difficult to accept draws and losses in a short period of time, and it's hard for them to react and adjust.
When their 49-game unbeaten run was ended 7 years ago, the team experienced a similar situation, immediately encountering a wave of downturn.
They hoped that with the previous lesson, the players would be able to adjust their mentality and calmly accept the regret of not getting 3 points.
"Bang!"
In the 89th minute of the match, Maël, in front of the penalty area, met the ball cleared by the opponent and unleashed a volley, but unfortunately, because he was too anxious, he didn't keep the ball down and shot it straight into the stands.
He rubbed his face and returned to his position to wait for another chance.
He hadn't given up yet. He hoped to achieve an 8-game winning streak at home!
In the 1st minute of stoppage time, the attack was launched on the right wing, with Gervinho and Sagna facing the opponent's full-back and center-back in a two-on-two situation.
After the opponent's central midfielder joined in, Walcott also leaned over to support, forming a local three-on-three.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
In the end, thanks to Walcott's speed, Arsenal successfully obtained a chance to cross from the wing.
"Thump!"
Walcott arrived in front of the ball, aimed at Van Persie's head in the middle, and sent in a cross.
Van Persie was marked by Smith in the penalty area, the latter being taller and instantly gaining the advantage after jumping.
Smith glanced outside the penalty area, saw Ramsey and Rosický waiting eagerly to volley, and changed his strategy before heading the ball away, using his strength to lean back and head the ball towards the other wing.
"Bang!"
This was a good move. Clearing towards the center is a foolish choice, especially when there is no one to pick up the second ball for your team.
Smith's head grazed the bottom of the football, giving it height and force backward. The football suddenly rose high and flew towards the right sideline of their penalty area.
"Block it!!!"
A panicked voice rang out. He heard the goalkeeper shouting at his teammates.
After he landed and turned to look, he saw Maël, in a red and white jersey, leaning his body weight to the right on the edge of the penalty area, raising his right arm, and swinging his left leg high, ready to volley the ball.
He's going for a volley!
Smith was only a little flustered at first, not yet to the point of being alarmed, because volleys are generally easier to execute with a foot on the same side as the ball's trajectory.
Like using the left foot to hit a ball coming from the left, and the right foot to hit a ball coming from the right.
Maël, on the edge of the penalty area with a very small shooting angle, was using his left foot to volley a ball coming from the right, and with a very high leg lift. This difficulty was no less than ascending to heaven.
How good would his weak-foot technique, coordination, volley technique, and sense of the goal have to be to pull this off?
"Boom!!!"
A sound that resounded throughout the stadium rang out. Maël's left instep had already made contact with the football. To exert force better, his body was curled up.
At this moment, he was definitely using the strength of his whole body, his left instep was stretched very tight, and his leg was raised all the way to his lower abdomen.
A violent volley!
Smash!!
Smith's expression changed. The extent of this smooth motion didn't look like a low-quality shot. His gaze followed the football from Maël's foot, and like everyone else in the stadium, in less than a second, he turned his eyes to the goal.
"Swish!!" Because the speed of the football was so fast, it was almost impossible to capture with the naked eye. By the time they saw it, it had already made contact with the net in the far corner.
The ball went in!
"Ooh ooh!!" The ground of the Emirates Stadium vibrated, the stands swayed, and there was a risk of falling at any moment.
"Game-winning goal!!"
"Game-winning goal!!"
"Ah!"
"Maël, my God!"
"8 consecutive wins are here!!"
The fans shouted wildly, leaning out their bodies to get closer to Maël. The security personnel on the scene quickly stood ready. Usually at this time, it was easiest for fans to rush the field.
"Maël!"
"Yeah, Maël!"
"Oh, LeAng!!"
Arsenal's teammates also shouted Maël's name, as if they were all speechless, not knowing what to say, only shouting his name.
They rushed towards Maël from all directions, some chasing from behind, some intercepting on Maël's running route.
Under the world's attention, Maël laughed and rushed to the side of the field, sidestepped past Rosický who was trying to intercept him, accelerated past Van Persie who was chasing him, ran to the side of the field alone, and raised his hands.
31st Premier League goal! Scoring in consecutive games!
One step closer to the record! His excitement was beyond words. Just as he was about to roar to release his emotions, he suddenly remembered that his opponent was Sheffield United.
Old club! He had really forgotten just now; the human brain, in a state of extreme excitement, will block out some things.
At the moment of scoring, Maël's heart was filled with the joy brought by the crisp sound of the net being hit, which could even be described as an ecstatic comfort. This feeling then spread throughout his body, making his blood surge.
Helpless, in order not to disappoint the fans of his old club, he could only urgently retract the fist he had originally prepared to smash high into the sky, put his hands together in front of him, and make an apologetic gesture.
Fortunately, the celebration of pointing to the sky with both fingers was relatively restrained. Maël usually liked to make a cool move first, and then make two releasing moves.
Otherwise, if he slid out directly on his knees, bearing the name of kneeling to celebrate against his old club, he would be sprayed with criticism.
This might not matter, but the main thing was that he would disappoint the Sheffield United fans who used to love him.
"Oh ho!" Van Persie and others rushed up, jumped on Maël's back, and waved their fists excitedly towards the stands.
As for the Sheffield United players behind them, they knelt on the spot, unable to accept the fact that their efforts throughout the game were scored on at the last moment.
"He scored again this time!! Maël's 31st Premier League goal! This is a game-winning goal!!"
In the broadcast room, Zhan Jun organized his words and roared: "A celestial being from beyond the sky!! This goal is very similar to that classic goal of his predecessor Zidane! And it may be even more difficult!
"After this goal, he has become the player with the third most goals in a single season in Premier League history, tied with Alan Shearer and Andy Cole!
"Tied with him are Alan Shearer in the 93-94 season and Ronaldo in the 06-07 season, who both scored 31 goals in that season! "Yes, there is no mistake here. On this list, Alan Shearer used two consecutive seasons of super-high-level performance to occupy 2 seats in the top five! "However, we believe that since Maël can come to this position in his debut season, he is also very likely to have 2 seats in the top five next year, and squeeze out Alan Shearer's 31-goal season.
"Now, with just 1 more goal, Maël will exclusively occupy the 3rd place in the Premier League's all-time single-season goal list! "And he is very likely to complete an amazing achievement, breaking the single-season goal record in his debut season and reaching the 1st place!"
The camera then focused on Wenger, who was kneeling on the sideline in front of the coach's bench, shaking his hands constantly. From his mouth shape and face, one could tell how excited he was.
Soon, the camera zoomed, and Wenger suddenly blurred, becoming the foreground, while Gareth Speed at the far end became the protagonist in the lens.
He had his hands in his pockets and was also kneeling on the sideline, but the emotions of the two were definitely different, representing two completely opposite extremes.
"Kneeling! Maël's divine goal made the current coach Wenger and the former coach Gareth Speed kneel on the spot. Another classic photo was born in the Premier League this season!" - Football Record
"Game-winning goal! Maël comes to the third place in the Premier League all-time scorer list! The incredible Aix demon, the incredible Maël moment!" - The Guardian
"24 wins and 5 draws! After 21 rounds of the league, Arsenal's points have been at the highest level in the same period in history! They are moving towards the historical high score of 30 rounds!" - Data Statistics Record
...
Three days later, the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16 began, with Manchester United playing at home against Athletic Bilbao.
In this game, they rotated some players in the midfield and defense, while Athletic Bilbao, aiming for the Europa League title, played with all their strength.
In the 23rd minute of the game, Amorebieta assisted Llorente to score a goal.
One to zero!
Athletic Bilbao took the lead!
The aggregate score was five to one!
The second goal came in the 65th minute of the second half, when De Marcos's shot once again pierced De Gea's goal, giving the team a two-to-zero lead.
Six to one!
Manchester United finally scored a goal by Park Ji-sung, avoiding being shut out again.
"Beep! Beep! Beep—!"
When the final whistle sounded, Athletic Bilbao finally defeated Manchester United with a score of six to two in two rounds, advancing to the Europa League quarter-finals.
After the game, Old Trafford was silent, and a huge pressure enveloped every Manchester United player.
Old Sir Ferguson stood on the sidelines, shaking hands and embracing each player, all with serious faces.
After being eliminated from the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and Europa League one after another, their battle line was only left with the last one, the Premier League!
The only hope, the only arena to prove themselves! Now, it's time to show their swords to Mr. Wenger's team and Mancini's team!
Alex Ferguson stood on the sidelines, watching the somewhat gloomy sky. He didn't know if this was his last chance to leave something for this team.
"Beep! Beep! Beep—!"
At the same time, the Europa League Round of 16 match that started at the same time, with Manchester City playing at home against Sporting CP, also came to an end.
The score was two to two!
Manchester City struggled to achieve a draw, but the aggregate score of two to four still saw them eliminated by the Portuguese team.
Like Manchester United, after being eliminated from the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and Europa League one after another, their battle line was also only left with the last one, and the most important one - the Premier League! This was pressure, but also motivation. Being unburdened, they could concentrate on the Premier League schedule, and everyone was duty-bound!
Any goal, brilliant defense, or even a pass or an off-ball run pieced together could become an important fragment in their eventual Premier League title win!
As he left the field, the elegant Italian raised a finger towards a camera on the sidelines, signaling a 'one'.
His meaning was clear: now, they were launching their assault on first place!
Mancini's eyes were deep-set and piercing; no one knew exactly what he was thinking, only that he possessed an intense desire.
After more than half a season of sifting, only the final three teams remained in the Premier League title race, which could also be called the three heroes.
They hadn't fallen behind, they'd stayed until the end, and their ranking was pretty good, giving them a significant opportunity!
"The final moment has arrived!"
In the post-match press conference room, Mancini sat at the table, his face solemn. "We must play every game well, strive to reach the top of the table, and achieve our goal of so many years."
"Manchester City fans have waited too long!"
He pursed his lips; he had fallen in love with this city and with the Blue Moon fans.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but whether it's you, Ferguson, or Wenger, you've all mentioned 'the final moment' many times, and it always feels like you're using these words to heighten the tension," a reporter asked.
"Haha..." Mancini smiled slightly, his expression quickly returning to seriousness. "But the situation is becoming more and more urgent, isn't it?"
On March 17th, the Champions League Round of 16 began, and Arsenal welcomed a formidable AC Milan to the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger also adopted a semi-rotated lineup in this match, replacing Maël, Van Persie, Mertesacker, and others, giving other players a chance to perform.
"Bang!"
At the start of the first half, Koscielny scored from a corner kick, completing a header into the goal.
One to zero!
Three to five on aggregate!
In the 68th minute of the second half, Rosický seized an opportunity to volley into the net from the edge of the penalty area, once again pulling a goal back for the team.
Two to zero! Four to five! Unfortunately, just one minute later, Milan, through a foul by Djourou, saw Robinho blast in a spectacular free kick.
Two to one!
Four to six on aggregate!
Apart from this goal, Milan seemed a little too relaxed at Arsenal's home ground and failed to score any more goals.
This score remained until the final whistle, and Arsenal ultimately ended their Champions League journey this season with a narrow victory.
After the match, Wenger stood in the center circle, raising his hands to greet the fans, and also shook hands and talked with the players.
Finally, he raised his head and looked towards Manchester; he knew that two people there were watching him, watching his team.
There was nothing more to say; next, in the remaining less than 10 Premier League games, let's have a thrilling final battle! There can only be one winner; it just depends on who it is... They were the only English team this season with a chance to achieve a double crown, and they also had a chance to win the title undefeated. He believed they had a stronger motivation! After the match, Maël came to the sidelines to be interviewed.
After being asked about his feelings on being eliminated from the Champions League, he smiled faintly, "I think Mr. Wenger has already answered this question: if you want everything, you will have nothing."
"When the team and individual strength have not reached their peak, when good opportunities emerge together, there must be trade-offs."
"The Champions League will be my main battlefield in the future, but not now. This season, I just want to win the Premier League title undefeated."
"Will the team succeed?" a reporter asked a rather boring question.
"Yes, it will," Maël was amused by him. How could he say no? However, regarding this question, he still seriously expanded on his answer, "Including this season, but far beyond this season, thank you."
After saying this, he waved to everyone and turned to leave.
Arsenal had only 9 Premier League games left; with each round they advanced, they got closer to winning the title undefeated. They would be more nervous psychologically, and also more expectant.
Therefore, to avoid everything falling apart, they had to prepare well for every game that followed! Not only did the coaching staff have to work hard, but the players themselves also had to work hard.
Behind him, a Sky Sports reporter watched his back for a long time, sighing, "As soon as he puts on the jersey, his back gives people the feeling that he is omnipotent."
The reporters next to him glanced at him with disdain. Someone asked, "Is this your first time?"
"Huh?"
"Is this your first time working as a football reporter, or is it your first time encountering him? We had the same feeling when he was in the EFL Championship."
"No, is there even a chain of contempt for this? Are you all crazy?"
"Hahaha"
This month on the British Isles is tense yet full of fun. In any case, this is a time composed of the spirited youth of countless people and the heart-wrenching regrets of countless others.
In the midst of emotional ups and downs, people understand why they hate failure and love success.
533,000 words this month, going to sleep now. Please give me monthly votes, I'm about to be crushed, brothers!!
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