"Another one goes in! What an exhilarating goal-fest! A battle of worldies!"
In the commentary box, Zhan Jun stared dumbfounded at the pitch, exclaiming in his signature voice, "Van Persie's Bicycle Kick! That's a contender for goal of the week! He always scores these outrageous goals! Walcott with the headed assist, Maël orchestrating the attack, the three forwards are really clicking!"
"Hehe..."
Zhang Lu, who had been quiet for a while, finally chimed in, seizing the opportunity to speak during the replay, "We need to pay attention to Maël in this attack. A quick Observation beforehand, spotting Little Tiger's run.
"After receiving the ball and turning, he didn't even look up before sending a precise diagonal long pass, with a bit of curve, absolutely brilliant!
"That pass alone will add another two or three million euros to his value.
"Today, Manchester United's midfield has done a great job sweeping up and intercepting, not giving Maël and Walcott many chances to dribble and sprint, but they still seized the few Ball Control opportunities they had to create a goal.
"That's what top players do, undoubtedly top players. His age can't hide his footballing intelligence and ability.
"His potential is very high. I think if he had more refined footwork, shooting skills in various scenarios, including headers, he could become the perfect striker.
"But he's already very good as he is."
On the sidelines, amidst the ashen faces of the Manchester United fans, Van Persie leaned back and slid on his knees in celebration, echoing Rooney's earlier slide.
"Haaah...!"
Maël and Walcott quickly ran towards him from two different directions, the three of them converging and arranging themselves in a line across the pitch, left, center, and right, perfectly aligned.
"The first goal from their combination!"
"Pace on the wings and a divine striker!"
"Haha!"
After Van Persie got up, they put their arms around each other's shoulders and sprinted towards the corner flag, even though there was nothing there, even though it wasn't the Arsenal supporters' section.
But there was something irresistibly drawing them, enticing the three of them to laugh and run towards it, to release their emotions there.
It might be a celebration ingrained in their bones, a way they had longed to celebrate since they were kids watching the Dutch Three Musketeers, the German Three-Horse Carriage, Ronaldo, and Baggio.
Since childhood, they had dreamed of galloping across the pitch like this, celebrating goals with their best partners, capturing a beautiful moment.
"I guess I've made amends."
Van Persie put his arms around the two of them, deeply moved, "I hope we can take some points away from this tough game."
"We will," Maël said confidently, "But you're not making amends. Missing a penalty isn't a big deal, at least I scored the rebound.
"If that counts as atonement, then that goal would be a freebie for me, haha..."
"It was your penalty in the first place," Van Persie took the opportunity to hug Maël again, expressing his gratitude. He was completely relaxed now.
After that goal, the referee blew the whistle for halftime, and the players returned to the locker rooms to rest.
Maël was quite satisfied, scoring one goal and setting up another... compared to the original outcome, he had managed to stabilize things.
In the second half, they still had a chance to chase goals, the confidence to challenge Manchester United, who were riding the momentum of their home advantage at Old Trafford!
Back in the locker room, Wenger first praised the players' performance, then emphasized some defensive issues in the back line.
When it came to the attack, he made some minor adjustments, "Maël and Walcott need to drop back to receive the ball. Manchester United are marking you very tightly, you can't play to your strengths.
"You need to come to the wing-midfielder or even central midfield positions. Phil Jones and Evra won't follow you then, or their defensive formation will be disrupted.
"Also, Ramsey and Arteta need to switch positions... Arteta needs to help with the defense on the right wing. Ashley Young is very aggressive, Ramsey can't handle him."
Maël exchanged a glance with Ramsey, nodding slightly in agreement. In the second half, they would be partnering up.
"Beep!"
Van Persie kicked off from the center circle, and the second half officially began. The attacking players met briefly at the halfway line before charging into the opponent's half.
This time, Maël took the initiative to stick to Phil Jones, making him think he would be playing up front like in the first half.
When his hand grabbed Phil Jones' jersey again, he noticed that the other man's clothes were soaked with sweat, and after being dried by the wind during halftime, they were even a little chilly... his hair was also wet.
He must be under a lot of pressure? He smiled slightly, glancing at the hardworking defender. It doesn't matter, there's even more pressure coming later.
Maël turned back to await the opportunity to attack, ready to drop back into midfield to receive the ball at any time.
He noticed that after Ramsey came to his side, he moved closer to the center, leaving the entire wing to him.
This is creating space for him. This technical midfielder has a good football IQ. It remains to be seen if the opening here can be exploited later.
In the 65th minute, after a period of stability, both sides resumed the all-out attacking style of the first half.
They accelerated together with great understanding, experiencing a period of rapid ball possession changes in midfield.
"Deng, deng, deng!"
When eight or nine players near the midfield sprinted with all their might, focusing intently on passing, intercepting, and tackling, the rhythm of the entire midfield area immediately sped up to an absurd level.
"Peng, peng... pa!"
"Peng, pa!"
Neither team could complete more than three passes before the other team would intercept. The top players from both teams fought fiercely as if they didn't know how to play football.
Even when someone chose to switch the ball to a wide area at the first moment of interception, the situation didn't improve.
Wherever the ball went, the frantic pace followed, and in the end, all positions became chaotic.
Neither side could control the ball or stabilize the rhythm. Each time, they aimed for the opponent's vital points, launching fierce attacks.
"Peng!!"
"Mine!!"
Mertesacker played an important role in this phase, heading out all the balls directly passed into the Arsenal penalty area, not giving the opponent many chances.
Until the 74th minute, Walcott diligently chased back, first after Anderson, then Welbeck, and finally diagonally towards Nani, who had just received the ball, with a fierce momentum.
The extremely long anaerobic sprint made him feel a bit overwhelmed. He didn't pay attention to his footing when tackling and kicked Nani down at the edge of the penalty area.
"Beep!" The referee pointed to the penalty spot. No matter how you looked at it, this was a penalty.
"Good job!"
"Hoo~ hoo~!"
"Nani!!"
"Oh!"
The Manchester United fans at the scene cheered. After Arsenal got a penalty in the first half, they finally got one too.
And their penalty could extend their lead and kill the game!
Wenger came to the sideline with concern, squatted on the ground, and watched Szczęsny nervously, already accepting a defeat in his heart.
Ferguson sat calmly on the coach's bench, clenching his fists, hoping that the team's penalty taker, Rooney, could score.
"Beep!"
"Peng!"
Rooney didn't disappoint the Manchester United fans, slamming the ball into the upper corner of the net, completing the goal.
Four to two! Manchester United extended their lead again!
"Yeah!!" The Manchester United fans even turned their bodies, back to the field, and jumped around with their arms around each other's shoulders. The message they wanted to convey was clear: no need to watch anymore, 3 points in the bag! "Clap clap clap!" Ferguson smiled and applauded, delighted to see Rooney, who had grown up under his nose, score a Hat-trick in this game and inflict a painful blow on Arsenal.
Walcott stood self-reproachfully at the edge of the penalty area, hands on his hips, head down, and walked towards the front.
Wenger returned to the coach's bench to drink water, without saying a word. No one could tell what he was thinking at this moment.
Maël ran back to his own half again, feeling a bit complicated as he watched Rooney celebrate. This guy was indeed explosive in this game.
He called Van Persie over and communicated, "If you see an opening on my side, squeeze forward a bit and push their center-backs back a little."
"I need a bigger opening. My reception just now wasn't very effective. Their defensive line will move up as a whole."
"I was squeezing just now."
Van Persie replied, then asked, "Not deep enough?"
"Not enough." Maël nodded, "Phil Jones is sticking to me very closely. When I draw him away, if you can simultaneously push their defensive line back, they will become disjointed."
"I can try to get past him. As long as I succeed, it will be a threatening attack."
"I believe it." Van Persie didn't give up on the game either, pointed at Maël, and nodded, indicating that he would do so.
After the restart, Maël and Van Persie exchanged glances, ready to coordinate with each other.
"Bang!"
In the 85th minute, Maël got the chance he wanted. Arteta on the other side suddenly launched a long pass towards the open space on the wing near the midfield.
He ran back a few steps to receive the ball. This wasn't a pre-planned run, a small miscalculation on his part. He didn't expect Arteta to play such a surprising reverse pass when facing the other side.
But it didn't matter, the effect was the same. As he approached the ball, Phil Jones stuck to him tightly, interfering with his control and preventing him from turning.
He's drawn him out!
He quickly turned his head to observe Van Persie's progress, and found that the latter was sprinting forward at full speed. Although he hadn't shaken off the two vigilant center-backs, he had made them stand still, afraid to act rashly.
The defenders were disconnected, the close connection no longer existed! As long as he could turn and break through Phil Jones, the opponent's defense would be in chaos.
"Smalling!"
After switching sides in the second half, Maël was now closer to the coaching bench. This reception happened just two meters away from Ferguson.
"Smalling!"
Ferguson seemed to sense danger and called out to another defender, Smalling, "Cover over!"
But it was too late. Maël didn't give him time to cover. With a faint 'snap', he skillfully unloaded the ball onto his foot.
"Bang!"
Half a second later, he elegantly pushed off the ground, completing a quick turn and directly passing the ball behind Phil Jones.
This was his usual trick, using a simple dribbling move to catch the opponent off guard, amplifying his physical advantage, and breaking through these originally highly focused defenders! It worked every time!
"Fa!" Phil Jones didn't expect Maël to be able to control the ball like this under interference, and naturally didn't react to the touch.
By the time he turned around, Maël had already rushed past him, not giving him a chance.
"Zzz...!" His right hand grabbed at Maël's jersey, all the way until he heard the grating sound of threads tearing, but he couldn't stop him.
He himself was brought down by the powerful force of Maël's sprint, kneeling on the ground in a sorry state. After letting go, he happened to meet Ferguson's shocked and disappointed gaze.
Ferguson: "..."
Phil Jones: "..."
The two stared at each other, until Ferguson broke the silence with an angry roar, "Chase! Chase!!"
Phil Jones hurriedly got up and rushed towards Maël, but by this time Maël was already seven or eight steps away from him, and wouldn't give him another chance.
When Maël reached the edge of the penalty area, Smalling had just moved out of position, standing in front of him to form a defensive position.
His quick breakthrough had disrupted Manchester United's defensive formation. There were only three defenders left in their penalty area, and the rest were chasing back.
He drew one away, and Van Persie stuck himself between the two in the middle, forcing them not to act rashly. Walcott, on the other end, created an open space as soon as he pulled away.
"Bang!"
Maël's left foot stepped out a Bicycle Kick to the left, and his right foot flicked the ball, creating an angle before passing the ball to Walcott in the open space on the other side.
Just at this moment, Ramsey and Arteta, who were actively inserting themselves into the attack, also rushed into the penalty area, and Manchester United's defense suddenly became precarious.
"Bang!"
Walcott then sent a half-high Cross, sweeping the ball towards the front of the goal.
Maël took advantage of this gap to come to the central position of the penalty area. It wouldn't be very useful for him to squeeze in and fight for a point, so he waited for the second ball.
"Pa!"
Just as he arrived at the arc, he saw De Gea flying out desperately. After his head hit Arteta's foot, he punched the ball out of the penalty area with both fists.
It didn't go in!
De Gea made a brilliant save! "Ah!" The Arsenal fans let out a disappointed sound. This was an excellent opportunity to score, four against three in the penalty area, and Maël was still outside the penalty area.
Second ball position! Maël caught the ball. He didn't know whether to be happy that he had chosen his position early or disappointed that the ball hadn't gone in. He could already hear the defending players approaching him from behind.
"Clang!"
Seemingly afraid that he would shoot directly, Cleverley, who was chasing over, slid over from his right side, trying to predict and block the shot in advance.
Maël quickly flicked the ball to his left, and as he heard another footstep approaching, he realized the person was still coming from his right rear, blocking his right foot.
He glanced at the situation inside the penalty area again. Evans was shifting over, his left foot forward and right foot back, his entire defensive posture leaning towards Maël's left, trying to force him towards the touchline.
Their entire defensive line had a "surround three, leave one open" feel, giving him the left side to go down the line, preventing him from desperately choosing to break through the middle.
"Huh?"
Maël felt insulted. Somehow, in this rapidly changing moment, he actually had this thought.
"Thwack." He took a step to the left with the ball, aimed at the far corner of the goal, folded his left leg, and blasted the ball through the gap that the Manchester United players had deliberately left for him.
Didn't he score with his left foot before? They still dare to leave his left open? Who told them he could only go down the line from the left? He can still shoot now!
"Boom!!"
At the moment of the powerful shot, his body involuntarily took a small hop to the left due to the excessive force.
As he landed, he saw the opposing goalkeeper De Gea quickly get up from the ground and desperately dive out again.
Unfortunately, this ball was also a wonder goal, heading straight for the top corner of the goal, with perfect power and angle! "Clang!" The football smashed into the support post at the corner of the goal's net, then bounced straight back into the small penalty area, but everyone knew that the ball had already gone in! Another World Wave!
Four to three! Arsenal still had a glimmer of hope! "Yeah!" The originally silent Arsenal fans became excited again, clapping wildly and cheering for their team.
"Oh My God!" Van Persie grabbed his head, his expression shaken as he rushed towards the goal to retrieve the ball.
"His left foot?!"
"Maël!"
"He won us a chance to score, let's go, brothers!!"
All the players sprinted towards Maël, eager to give him the warmest embrace.
Wenger on the sidelines rushed from the coaching bench to the edge of the field like a shot, clenching his fists and thrusting them out from his waist, almost biting through his lip: "Fantastic Goal!!"
Behind him followed a group of assistant coaches who seemed to have springs in their feet, jumping every two steps.
On the other side, on the Manchester United coaching bench, Ferguson squatted on the sidelines, supporting himself on the grass with his hand. He pursed his lips, turning his head with a mixture of helplessness and anger, and saw the jubilation near the Arsenal coaching bench.
This game was truly full of ups and downs, constantly fluctuating and affecting his mood.
This scene seemed to have happened here before, but Wenger was the one squatting on the ground, and they were the celebrating side.
Should he marvel at the brilliance of the game? Of course not, he would only be dissatisfied with his players' performance and marvel at Maël's excellence in this game.
The ability to change the game that he possessed at the age of 18 was a height that many Premier League giants' forwards never reached in their entire lives.
Monster!
Monster!
An assistant coach helped Ferguson up. As he stood up, the hand he placed on the assistant coach's shoulder trembled uncontrollably, as if he had returned to the moment when they lost to Barcelona in the Champions League final last year.
The team still had a one-goal lead, but with the momentum that Arsenal had now built up, he couldn't help but worry that they would score another goal.
A match against Arsenal at Old Trafford could not be lost. He knew that Manchester United fans valued this extremely, and they would be disappointed for a long time if they lost.
"Substitute Ferdinand."
Ferguson made a helpless move, waving his right hand with a tremble: "Take Welbeck off and strengthen the defense."
"An unparalleled goal feast! Will there be more?"
In the broadcast booth, Zhan Jun roared out his commentary for this moment: "The two sides have already scored a combined total of 7 goals, which is more than the total number of goals scored by many Premier League teams in the first three rounds!
"Maël has blasted a left-footed World Wave from beyond the sky. Do the Gunners fans see an angel with wings wearing an Arsenal jersey! A celestial being descending to earth to score a divine goal!
"All the players seem to be overshadowed at this moment, only Rooney, with light shining on him, can look him in the eye! "He's only 18 years old, will he shine in the French national team at next year's European Cup and be crowned as the new king?"
Zhang Lu, who was next to him, waited until Zhan Jun's emotions finally calmed down, and then began to talk about the goal from a football perspective, but his tone was still excited.
"Ah, this goal is still a display of his individual ability. I've watched his previous two Premier League games and found that he's slowly showing his ability to the world's fans.
"This may be an ability he already possessed in the EFL Championship, but people lacked attention to him at that time.
"Let's look at the replay. He first stopped the ball at his feet, then made a turn and breakthrough, easily getting past Phil Jones. Jones couldn't even pull him back, hehe, too embarrassed.
"This isn't the body of a football player, it's more like the body of a rugby player! "The subsequent pass, positioning, and shooting were all done in one go! Like Rooney's lob shot, this is also a stroke of genius! "However, he is younger and even more terrifying than Rooney.
"Manchester United fans in the live broadcast, do you feel like a hegemon has returned to the world after seeing Rooney's performance? And after seeing Maël, do you feel like a Han Xin who hasn't fully developed has suddenly appeared?"
Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu exchanged a glance in the broadcast room, and they both chuckled. It was truly an inappropriate analogy.
In front of the Manchester United goal, the still-young De Gea climbed up from the ground, looking left and right at the Manchester United defenders, unsure of what to say.
Not far to his right, Maël, after scoring the goal, took the opportunity to perform a simple knee slide forward, and after getting up, punched the ground, "Vamos!!"
He was actually extremely excited, but he knew that now was not the time to indulge.
After a brief celebration, he turned and sprinted towards his own half, wanting to quickly get the ball rolling and buy time to pursue points.
What is certain is that a massacre is impossible! The plan has changed, prepare to take points! This time, as he passed Rooney and was side by side with him, Rooney couldn't help but turn his head and give him a meaningful look. Even the eyes of this genius held some envy for 'genius'.
Maël's feeling was very good, he savored the aftertaste of the goal, and his whole body twitched again.
The first left-footed World Wave of his career! The 5th Premier League goal! Now, on the Premier League scorer list, he is a player on the same level as Rooney, Džeko, Van Persie and Agüero!
And he had only just come from the EFL Championship, and had played three games here.
"Bip!"
After the restart, Maël took the lead, rushing past the center circle and running towards the opponent's half.
He saw Ferdinand warming up on the sidelines, and Ferguson wanted to bring on this former defensive iron gate at the last moment, but unfortunately, the one who would partner with him later was no longer Vidić.
"Charge, charge, charge!"
He didn't care too much, swinging his arms and sweeping up the momentum of just scoring a goal, leading the Arsenal players to rush past the halfway line.
The time was already the 87th minute of the match, and with stoppage time, there were at most seven or eight minutes left, so they had to hurry.
"Bang!"
In the Manchester United backcourt, under pressure from Van Persie, center-back Evans kicked an irresponsible pass to Ashley Young.
Although there was Walcott pressing behind him, he had no choice. At this time, he was still a weak link in the defense, and he had to take the blame every time they lost.
He was afraid of taking the blame, so in this critical moment, he could only choose to pass the buck to his teammates as much as possible. "Pa!"
Ashley Young, who had been brave all game, was distracted at this moment for some reason, and Walcott stole the ball with one foot.
"Good ball!!"
"Break through him!"
"The middle is waiting for you!"
The Arsenal attacking players seemed to have collectively taken stimulants, speeding up their steps and rushing towards the opponent's penalty area.
Maël observed Walcott's movements while observing the Manchester United players' return to defense, in order to judge the situation and choose a position.
"Bang bang bang"
He saw Walcott dribbling the ball towards the extremely nervous Evans, saw Evans being shaken down, and saw countless Manchester United fans in the stands covering their eyes.
Finally, he saw Walcott push a ground ball shot, pouring the ball under De Gea's crotch and into the net!!
"Yeahhhh!!"
At this moment, the cheers were not only from Maël's facial muscles squeezing together and roaring, but also from more than a dozen teammates, more than a dozen staff members, and thousands of Arsenal's expeditionary army.
Four to four!!
They tied the score!!
The pressure on Maël's body completely dissipated, and it was not until this moment that he felt exhausted, and the muscles on the back of his thighs twitched violently, and he fell backwards to the ground.
"Walcott!"
"Arsenal Three Musketeers!"
"No no no, their way of playing is very rough, calling them Three Tomahawk Cannons is more appropriate!"
"Three Gun Kings is right!"
"Wait... look there, our hero Maël has cramped!"
"Haha! Go save him!"
The celebrating crowd quickly returned to his side, surrounding him and blocking the sunlight, leaving only a few rays to pierce through, causing Maël to close his eyes.
His legs were quickly lifted and vigorously manipulated, everyone concerned about his condition.
The pain hadn't subsided, but at that moment, Maël's face was filled with a happy smile. He knew he had accomplished something important.
The Arsenal fans wouldn't have to cry this afternoon. Maybe it was just an ordinary afternoon, or even an afternoon that could leave Arsenal fans with joy! ps: Today's update is 21,000 words, and the total number of words this month is 392,000, with a target of 400,000. Asking for monthly tickets.
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