Chapter 455: Chapter 124: Ballon d’Or Final Rankings! Staying Unbeaten Against All Odds! Six-Finger Celebration!
"Huh?!"
He didn’t expect it, got startled, and saw everyone laughing at him when he came to his senses.
"Hahaha...!"
"Surprise!"
Ma’el felt both happy and helpless, wanting to show them what a true surprise really is.
However, he managed to blend into the team again effortlessly, which was important after attending the grand award ceremony, both for adjusting his own mindset and helping his teammates adjust theirs.
"Dun dun dun... I have a friend!"
As the familiar Song of Ma’el echoed again, the locker room turned into chaos, with all the players celebrating joyfully and dancing.
Ma’el danced with Henry, even getting a teasing comment from the Great Emperor.
"Buddy, your ball control is like mine, but your dance moves are far off." Henry said, crossing his arms and starting to dance with an arrogant expression and steps that acknowledged no ties.
Ma’el almost laughed his head off from the side, spreading his hands and saying, "I’m not about to join a dance class; that just doesn’t suit me. It’s hard to imagine me practicing dance."
Football and happiness go hand in hand, and happiness connects with dance, meaning players will inevitably dance when winning a match or celebrating a happy occasion.
Samba is a representative style, and Brazilian players often exemplify this dance.
"Haha.....!"
Henry glanced at Ma’el’s physique, tried to imagine it, and indeed couldn’t, "Forget about it, let’s stay serious during celebrations from now on."
"No, no, no." Ma’el waved his index finger at him, placed both hands on either side of his cheeks, then kept rotating his hands as his head moved side to side.
"Next goal, I’ll celebrate using this! Ronaldinho did it before, and I’ll embody both elegance and brutal aesthetics."
...
On January 16, at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea City, Wales, the 21st round of the Premier League kick-off took place here.
The weather was sunny that day, with the Liberty Stadium, which holds just over 20,000 people, exuding a refreshing feel, in line with their team name — ’Swansea’ means ’the gathering place of swans.’
Ma’el was thankful to return to Wales for his first match after winning the Puskas, just as commentators everywhere introduced it, Wales was the place he debuted in his professional career.
Returning after receiving an award easily evoked memories of back then for him, vividly showcasing his growth over the past year and more.
Even though Swansea wasn’t the team he faced in his debut, it was also a newly promoted team, with two encounters last season..... intensifying all kinds of feelings he had.
Yet, beyond that, there were no other advantages for him or the team.
Starting right-back Sagna felt unwell during warm-up, and for safety, Wenger had to substitute him with the young general Mikel, facing Swansea with a weakened lineup.
Such is the fickle nature of January, with continuous bad news interspersed with pleasant surprises.
May he and the attacking Arsenal players carry the banner together, leading the team forward.
"Beep!"
The match began at 3:30 in the afternoon. The biting cold wind prompted some to don soft, tight-fitting thermal wear.
Swansea played a 4-3-3 formation today, likely aware of Arsenal’s recent mishaps, thinking they had a chance to win.
The game’s proceedings indeed aligned with their expectations, as through Ma’el and Walcott’s attacks and Van Persie’s elusive movements, Arsenal consistently posed threats.
But Swansea didn’t fall far behind either, with their few waves of offensive plays proving quite threatening, twice testing Szczeny.
"Boom boom boom....!"
In the 26th minute of the match, Ma’el, wearing black gloves, charged against the opponent’s full-back Koerk. After a few quick turns, he bypassed the defender and reached the baseline.
Swansea of course wouldn’t assign just one player to watch over a ’Golden Ball Award Top Ten’ player, so their midfield Joe Allen and center-back Neil Taylor quickly came over to support the defense.
"Boom... boom!"
Ma’el cleverly used a burst sprint, briefly shaking off two of them, and then sent a curved cross to the center.
After delivering the pass, he stood still to observe the scene in the center, as the ball’s landing point was good; Van Persie contested a header with the opponent’s center-back.
"Boom!!"
Robin Van Persie, this proud Dutch forward, won the duel, accurately seizing his good brother’s pass in Ma’el’s comeback game with a powerful header.
"Swish!" The football shot through Wolm’s defense, rolling into the net.
"Oh...!!" Arsenal’s traveling fans roared with excitement, feeling much relieved.
"How about that?!" Van Persie approached Ma’el, exclaiming with a bright face: "Didn’t waste your breakthrough pass, right?!"
"Of course."
Ma’el high-fived him with excitement, and just like that, an assist equaled out to £1.5k in his pocket.
More importantly, the team had more room for error, not overly fearing the opponent capitalizing quickly on defensive gaps.
...
"Beep!"
In the 45th minute, Arsenal conceded a penalty to the opponent, this time Mikel pulled down Nathaniel Dale breaking inside from the wing.
A good defender is essential for a team. Ma’el deeply felt this, not only from his encounters with defenders but also from people like Mertesacker.
Their one-on-one capabilities were strong, with a fair chance to tackle forwards like him.
