Chapter 848 - 17: Documentary Premiere! Who Says Having Many Players Is Bad? It’s Actually Great! Maier Company Established!

"Go Arsenal.....!!"

After the encouragement from Ma’el, he also shouted with a smile, "Come on, guys, put some pressure on Van Persie and the others, make them feel a sense of urgency!"

"Haha...!" Van Persie and the others laughed and leaned their heads back, clearly showing that the overall atmosphere of the team was quite good.

"Arsenal defeated the newly-promoted Southampton 4-1! With Manchester United drawing away at Everton, they lead the second place on the points table by 2 points!" — The Guardian

"Chelsea demolished Wigan Athletic 7-0! Fabregas and Benzema both scored twice, and several players contributed, currently overtaking Manchester United on goal difference to occupy second place on the points table!" — BBC Column

...

On September 19th, the entire Arsenal team headed to West Ham United for an away game against the Hammers.

This was the 5th round Premier League match. To be safe, Wenger deployed the full main squad, also with the intent of keeping star players in competitive form.

"Goalkeeper Lori, defender Mertesacker paired with Thiago Silva, with Kyle Walker on the left side and Sagna on the right side.

"Holding midfielder Arteta, with Cazorla and Ramsey in front of him.

"Center forward Van Persie, with Ma’el as the left winger and Walcott, who performed outstandingly in the last game, as the right winger.

"In successive 2 matches, 2 completely different formations, with almost entirely different personnel arrangements!

"If they can also achieve victory in this game, then surely comments about Arsenal’s first team being too bloated will be greatly reduced!

"People will realize that having a lot of players isn’t necessarily a bad thing; in fact, it’s a good thing!"

"..."

On the field, Ma’el started running at Upton Park.

This was his first game back after the national team matches, so he attached a lot of importance to it, aiming to continue finding his club playing rhythm.

"Whoo whoo whoo...!"

More than 50,000 West Ham United fans expressed their support with boos. Every time an Arsenal player, especially Ma’el, touched the ball, they erupted with overwhelming low boos.

Unexpectedly, West Ham United was the first to score in this match.

"Boom!!"

In the 21st minute of the match, the team’s midfielder Diame advanced to the front of Arsenal’s penalty area and fired a long shot that pierced through Lori’s defense.

Arsenal trailed 0-1 away!

This goal altered the mentality of many Arsenal players, making them feel momentarily downhearted, appearing quite fragile.

There was no way around it; if you can massacre the newly-promoted team with a rotated lineup, taking a hit with the main squad feels especially uncomfortable.

"Come on, come on, don’t rush!"

Ma’el could only keep clapping his hands to comfort them, hoping the team’s attitude remained positive, "Let’s aim for one goal, not too many, just one, and we’ll turn everything around!"

In the French National Team, he had just experienced a rather tough match, so he was somewhat mentally prepared for situations like this.

They’re not invincible. If they get too carried away and forget they’re just ’human’, it will be very troublesome and they’ll easily be knocked down.

"Thump thump thump...!"

Arsenal’s players started to run, their pressure on West Ham United weakened considerably, even the threat in attack slowly diminished.

"Boom!"

In the 38th minute of the match, Cazorla sent in a corner kick for the team, and the ball bypassed everyone’s heads, flying towards the far post.

The West Ham United players at the near post turned their heads with blank expressions, but their expressions quickly turned panicked after they saw what had happened.

Amidst the crowd, Ma’el suddenly leaped up unsparingly, arriving on the trajectory of the ball.

"It’s over..." West Ham United captain Noble looked on in despair. He didn’t think Ma’el would waste such an opportunity.

"Boom!!"

A dull thud sounded as Ma’el’s head made heavy contact with the ball, which swiftly rocketed toward the back post and rolled into the net, beyond Lai Yining’s reach.

"It went in this time!! Ma’el’s high-altitude bombing secured a goal for Arsenal! It’s one-to-one!!

"After conceding, you could see Arsenal’s momentum was gradually waning.

"But you just never know when a forward like Ma’el or Van Persie will suddenly strike, even when the chances aren’t great!

"4 goals in 5 Premier League games out of 4 matches played — an astonishing efficiency!!"

"..."

"Aaaahhhh...!"

"Ohhh...!"

Amidst the cheers from the entire crowd and the sighs from West Ham United fans, Ma’el left everyone with a graceful back view, slowly walking to the sideline and placing his index finger on his lips.

Shut up celebration!

He hadn’t just heard the boos but also numerous personal attacks.

So having scored a goal, he intended to retaliate in the most aggressive way possible!

"*%￥@!%*@...!"

"Son of a b****.....!"

"You b****...!"

The abuse from the stands grew louder, but he paid no mind, smiling as he turned back to high-five his teammates.

In roughly every 2-3 away games, he would encounter similar situations, he no longer got angry, only looking forward to scoring more goals.

With that goal, Arsenal shook off much of their lethargy, the players regained their motivation and adjusted to their optimal state.

"Boom!!"

In the 53rd minute of the match, Van Persie unleashed an incredibly powerful dipping shot, causing the ball to descend and eventually skim the bottom edge of the goal, bouncing into the net.

Two-to-one!

Eleven minutes later, it was Ramsey’s turn to score. His sharp instincts caught the Goalkeeper’s mistake in saving Ma’el’s long shot, and he rushed forward to push the ball into the empty net.

Three-to-one!

"Boom.....!"

The demoralized West Ham United players, after kicking off from the center circle again, lost possession due to a careless pass, quickly delivering the ball to Ma’el’s feet.