The next day, after Maël woke up and washed up, he went downstairs, planning to have breakfast and then start his early training.
Today was a rest day for the club, so he could spend the whole day at home grinding his proficiency and improving his strength.
He wasn't satisfied yet. Before reaching the ultimate goal of a Grand Slam, he still needed to work hard and continue to enhance his abilities.
After going downstairs, he saw the four members of his team sitting on the sofa with smiles on their faces, as if they had been waiting for him.
They hadn't met yesterday, as it was a bit late when they returned, and he went straight upstairs to sleep.
"Now you're going to be a Premier League star."
Safina looked at him with a beaming smile, mentioning yesterday's game. "We watched the whole match together at home. You performed really well."
"You really made us proud." Her brother Harry gave a thumbs up, came to Maël's side, and gave him the first hug.
"It seems Mendes was right. Following you, we really might get everything." Davis was the second to come over. He high-fived and hugged Maël, looking extremely happy.
"That's why I chose you."
José proudly raised his eyebrows, saying little but making his meaning clear. He patted Maël's shoulder heavily. "Keep it up, you can do even more."
Safina also stepped forward at this moment. She gazed at Maël, her beautiful eyes flashing with brilliance, as if about to overflow with water.
"First to speak, but last to come up." Maël opened his arms to her, saying as they embraced, "Why are you being so reserved?"
"Because I'm a woman."
Safina separated from Maël, but her face was very close to his, staring at him with a direct smile, as if she was about to lean in at any moment.
Maël felt a surge in his heart. This woman was sometimes quite charming, but unfortunately, she was a lesbian.
He was about to joke that he actually saw her as a friend when he saw her guess his intention and laugh in advance, "What if I suddenly changed my sexual orientation?"
"Don't scare me."
Maël said subconsciously, taking a step back. There were so many people here... especially your brother.
He turned to look at Harry, and found that the smile on the latter's face was indeed a bit frozen.
"Just kidding." Safina laughed cheerfully, waved her hand, and brushed her hair back, taking a step back.
That's good, otherwise your brother might fight me. Maël walked to the garage outside the door, took out the Best Player trophy and commemorative ball from the car, and placed them on the honor shelf.
His honor shelf already had a lot of things, and their value was gradually increasing.
Now it seemed that this shelf, which he used to think was a bit extravagant, had a rustic feel. It was time to get a new one.
"How much can the most expensive custom-made honor shelf display case sell for?" He turned to ask the four members of his team, wanting to see if they knew.
"I know one."
Davis raised his right hand and stepped forward, saying, "Cristiano had someone in Portugal customize something like this. It was very luxurious and exquisite, and it's still in his house.
"If I remember correctly, it was around 40,000 euros. That's world-class craftsmanship, using the best materials."
Maël nodded slightly, which meant it was around £30,000. He could afford that price at the moment.
Not to mention his salary, his bonuses were slowly increasing as the season began.
For yesterday's Premier League match, he received a bonus of £60,000 for a Hat-trick, after tax.
"I'll have to trouble you to order it for me."
"No problem."
After eating, Maël began his physical training with Davis. After showing off in public, the hard days began again.
On August 16th, Transfermarkt suddenly updated a new round of player transfer valuations.
This was somewhat unexpected, much later than people had anticipated, but Transfermarkt was sometimes quite magical, with no fixed schedule.
In this list, Messi, Ronaldo, and others at the top of the rankings had their values increase by an average of ten million euros again, as if slowly inflating with the trend of football becoming more monetized.
However, their performances were of course impeccable, with an average of 50+, 60+, or even higher goal counts per year, making people feel that it should be so.
In this round of updates, many British media outlets actively searched for Maël's name.
The Guardian led other media outlets by about 3 minutes, posting the first post about Maël's valuation on various platforms.
"€30 million! Up another €10 million! Maël, alongside Dortmund's rising star Götze, is now the highest-valued player in the Golden Boy Award selection!" – The Guardian (UK)
€30 million!
Highest among the '93 generation! Tied for first in the Golden Boy Award rankings!
"So, this player who came from the EFL Championship and made a stunning Premier League debut has suddenly become a strong contender for the Golden Boy Award at the end of the year?"
"And he's competing above his level!"
"Well, this should be interesting. Whoever performs better between the two this half-season will take home the Golden Boy Award."
"No chance for other players?"
"Their value and performance speak for themselves. Who else could they give it to that would be convincing?"
"Doesn't that mean Maël is already in the lead? His Premier League debut with 3 goals is a better starting point than Götze's."
"Götze had a high starting point. He was already playing in the Bundesliga last year with 8 goals and 11 assists. His cumulative top-tier league stats are much better than Maël's. He's bound to be in good form this year too."
"Doesn't Maël's 40 goals and 27 assists count for anything? He was already valued at €20 million before even landing in the Premier League. Transfermarkt recognizes it, and the Golden Boy Award can't ignore that."
"You all make good points, but I still think Götze has a higher chance of winning. Even if Maël performs better than Götze, he still has 3 more years of eligibility. But Götze, being born in '92, might not have the chance next year."
"By that logic, they might as well just give it to someone born in '91."
Beneath The Guardian's post, the fans' comments no longer expressed much surprise; they were mostly discussing the Golden Boy Award.
This was normal. In the first round of the Premier League, Maël's performance was so outstanding that they had already been amazed.
Now, they were simply too tired to be amazed again... Or rather, they had already mentally placed Maël in the same category as players valued at €30 million by Transfermarkt.
But sometimes, thinking about it, this 18-year-old player was truly taking the world stage in an unbelievable way.
He could already compete for the title of world's best player within the under-20 age range.
"€30 million."
At the Colney Training Base, Wenger, having just finished the afternoon training session, sat in the office with his assistant coaches, sipping tea and sighing.
"He's surpassed Wilshere."
Philip thought of this and quickly shook his head, "But it's perfectly normal for him to surpass Wilshere."
"It's just that €30 million at 18 is shocking," an assistant coach said with a smile after taking a sip of tea.
"Something even more shocking is coming."
A member of the club's board of directors, Mrs. Smith, walked in. She held 15% of the team's shares and was discussing a potential acquisition with Kroenke.
Mrs. Smith had overheard the conversation and placed three faxes on the table. "Three offers for Maël, two from old friends, one from a new friend."
"Chelsea, Manchester United?"
Wenger guessed which two 'friends' they were. He wasn't too worried about Maël leaving at the moment, and he smiled as he picked up the faxes to read them.
"€40 million."
Mrs. Smith shook her head in disbelief. "That means they're willing to offer enough money to trigger Suárez's release clause to buy Maël."
"Oh," Wenger said, surprised despite being somewhat prepared. He picked up the contract and examined it carefully.
"They're too rich."
Philip stepped forward and picked up the other two faxes, unable to help but think of Arsenal. "Do you think that after Kroenke and Usmanov are done fighting, whoever wins will invest in the team like that?"
"Who knows."
Mrs. Smith raised her eyebrows, recently overwhelmed by the matter. "Maybe I won't see that day, but I currently support Kroenke."
She didn't belong to a consortium and stood more on the side of Arsenal fans compared to the two foreign capitals.
She was a loyal fan of the team and had loved them her whole life.
"Paris's offer has also reached €30 million, which is a huge number."
Philip put down the fax from Paris and looked at the one from Manchester United, suddenly sputtering, "Manchester United offered €22,500,001. They're clearly trying to disgust us."
Manchester United's previous offer was €22.5 million. This time, they added €1, clearly knowing they couldn't buy him but sending an offer just to mess around.
Wenger put down Chelsea's offer and picked up Ferguson's. Remembering the old rival's expression on the opposite side, he couldn't help but smile. "Haha. Tell Chelsea that Maël is not for sale. The player and the club are in the process of negotiating a contract extension."
"Also, check Rooney's release clause and offer Manchester United that amount plus 1 euro."
"In addition, prepare for a second negotiation with Mendes. The player's value has increased again."
After saying the last sentence, Wenger didn't know whether to wear a bitter face or a smiling face, his expression was very complicated for a while.
August 17th, Emirates Stadium.
"Come on you Arsenal!! Keep telling us we are boring - we will just keep on scoring now!!"
More than 50,000 Arsenal fans sang the club's anthem in unison, cheering for the upcoming game.
Arsenal will start their Champions League play-off journey today, their opponent is Udinese, a strong team from Italy!
This is also the team's first home game of the new season at the Emirates Stadium, a day that countless Gunners fans are looking forward to.
At 3:23 PM, the players came to the player tunnel one after another, lined up and waited to enter the field.
Maël prepared himself and walked out of the locker room. Listening to the faint cheering, he walked towards the player tunnel step by step, gradually hearing the cheering getting louder and more shocking.
This was his first time at the Emirates Stadium on a match day, the first time he stood here with almost a full house.
Walking to the tunnel, he quickly saw a narrow passage that could only accommodate five or six people walking side by side. Its sides were bright red, and even the ceiling and the ground were red.
Looking out along the tunnel, he could already see the Arsenal flags waving on the opposite side, and the dense crowd of Arsenal fans.
"Hoo."
He took a deep breath and soon stepped onto the Emirates Stadium with the team, a stadium he had long dreamed of.
"Come on!"
"Come on, Maël!"
"Play well!"
After entering the field, he heard shouts from Arsenal fans on both sides, probably fans who had liked him since his last game.
He turned his head and waved to the fans, bringing another burst of cheers, which greatly enhanced his confidence, making him feel that he would definitely have a chance to complete a beautiful home debut in this game.
"The Arsenal Come on the Arsenal the Arsenal!!"
The deafening team song continued to sound, extremely neat and loud, making everyone look forward to the most sensational cheers that would sound later.
Maël followed the team for the pre-match ceremony. The starting lineup for this round of the game had only one adjustment compared to the last game, which was to replace Frimpong behind him with Rosický.
The Champions League play-off only has two games, home and away, with no more games.
Wenger definitely wanted to pursue attacking power at home, trying to knock out Udinese in one go, to avoid any surprises on the road.
After the ceremony, Maël came to his position and stood down. He was a little regretful that the Champions League theme song was not played before the play-off.
Listening to the Champions League theme song as a player in the stadium had always been something he had been looking forward to.
"No rush, it's not the Champions League proper anyway, let's wait until the Champions League proper."
He was not in a hurry, but just more eager to take down his opponent. He had to take down Udinese so that he could appear in the Champions League this season and compete with those world-class shooters.
When he saw the referee raise his right hand, about to blow the whistle to start the game.
Maël once again looked up and surveyed the magnificent Emirates Stadium, thinking that this would be the place where he would fight for a long time in the future, and these fans would accompany him from the British football scene to the world football stage, his heart surged.
"Bip!!"
The referee then blew the whistle to start the game, and Maël took the lead from the center line, rushing towards the opponent's half.
The player he was facing today was Danilo, a defensive full-back from Brazil.
But this Danilo is not that Danilo. He is not top-notch, even though he and that Danilo with the same name both come from Brazil.
In the 3rd minute of the game, Maël received the ball on the wing, ushering in the first opportunity to face Danilo.
His right foot quickly touched the ball, and he ran towards the opponent at high *speed*.
Danilo had been keeping a distance of about two meters, thinking that he could react when Maël started.
"Bang!"
Maël flicked the ball towards the byline, attempting a cross from the touchline, wanting to test the defender's level.
"Bang!" As he sent the cross in with his left foot, he saw Danilo slide in, his toes just touching the ball, sending it out for a corner.
Not bad, with speed, reaction, and a sliding tackle, Maël paid him a bit more attention, running towards the center, waiting for the corner.
"Come on!" A roar suddenly came from behind him. He turned his head and saw Danilo excitedly bumping chests with his teammate, the center-back, celebrating the successful block.
"Boom!"
The corner was then taken, and Sagna managed to get to the first point, but unfortunately, he headed it out of bounds, not creating a chance.
Maël continued to run with the team's formation. The pressure Udinese brought to them was less than that of Newcastle United.
But that definitely didn't mean they were weak, just that they didn't use a high-pressing tactic, always adopting a mid-to-low block defense, seeking opportunities to counterattack.
In the 8th minute of the match, when Alexandre Song's pass was suddenly intercepted, and Udinese suddenly changed their rhythm to launch a strong attack, the Arsenal players all felt the sharpness of this Serie A team.
"Bang, bang!"
With two passes, they got the ball to the feet of right midfielder Badu, who quickly launched an attack against Gibbs.
Although he didn't get past Gibbs, he squeezed Arsenal's defense towards the penalty area, leaving a gap at the edge of the box.
Badu suddenly chose to pass, and Asamoah in the center received the ball and passed it to forward Di Natale.
"Bang!"
Di Natale took the ball into the penalty area and, under Koscielny's interference, unleashed a high-quality shot towards the near corner.
Thankfully, Szczęsny reacted quickly, blocking the near corner well, punching the ball away with both fists.
"Ah!" Arsenal fans broke out in a cold sweat. They were very nervous. Qualifying for the Champions League group stage was quite important, and no one wanted the team to have an accident in this kind of match.
In the 17th minute of the match, after Arsenal cleared the ball in midfield, Rosický, with his flowing long hair, took the ball forward.
"Bang!"
Noticing opportunities on both the left and right, he chose a diagonal pass to the left.
Maël was clearly more threatening than Gervinho there. Passing to him might suddenly lead to an assist or a pre-assist.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
On the left, Maël, with the ball, launched another attack against Danilo. Many Arsenal fans were sitting beside him, which made him very eager to perform.
"Hey!" Danilo was also very excited today. It seemed that the sliding tackle had given him confidence. He suddenly shouted, pretending to rush forward, then quickly retreated, posing as if he was waiting for a chance to steal the ball.
Scary?
Maël had seen plenty of this in the EFL Championship, and without any change in his footwork, he didn't give him a chance to intercept the ball.
He lowered his left shoulder and made an exaggerated hooking motion with his right foot, pretending to burst down the line again.
"Bang!"
But then, he flicked the ball towards the center, cutting in all the way.
Although Danilo wasn't completely fooled, he still missed the best opportunity to track him, and accelerating again to chase him was clearly impossible.
One on one!
The two players' contest had its ups and downs! After coming to the center, Maël saw Gervinho lurking behind the opponent's defender at the far post, pointing to his head, full of ideas.
"Bang!"
He used his right foot to curl a beautiful arc towards the far post of the Udinese goal.
Since there was no defender tracking him, he curled the ball extremely comfortably, almost displaying his best level.
"Oh!!" Many Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium had already stood up. They saw the quality of the ball, saw Gervinho sprinting towards the opponent's backline.
"Bang!!"
As he jumped high and headed the ball down, the ball swept into the Udinese goal with great force.
"AaahhYeah!!" More than 50,000 Arsenal fans let out a thunderous roar, instantly igniting the entire stadium. The first home goal of the new season had arrived.
Gervinho's goal!
Maël's assist!
Two new signings!
"Ooh-hoo!"
Gervinho excitedly rushed to the sidelines, kicked off the ground, and punched the air. This was his first goal of the season.
Maël then ran to his side, gave him a high-five, and joked, "I've noticed, the more someone expects a pass from someone else, the less they get it. Instead, they end up assisting the other person."
"What do you mean?" Gervinho asked, a bit slow on the uptake, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Just look at me."
Van Persie came over, hugged both of them, and looked at Maël, saying, "So, I've decided I'm not going to expect your passes anymore. You start expecting me to pass to you."
Alexandre Song, who had overheard their conversation, laughed and said, "Hey? Maël, tell the truth, do you expect me to pass to you?"
"Stop it."
Maël pointed to his head and complained, "My brain's all messed up. I don't care who it is, as long as we score."
"Yeah!"
"Let's go!"
Several Arsenal players huddled together, cheering each other on. This first appearance of the new season at the Emirates Stadium looked promising.
ps: I will write down the number of words written today and the monthly goal every day. Today is 18,000 words, and this month is 335,000 words, with a target of 450,000 words.
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