October 21st, Maël officially returned to Arsenal, reuniting with the team's coaching staff and teammates.
For the next few months, he would focus all his attention on club competitions. After playing the matches in October and November, the Christmas devil schedule would immediately follow, making the task very heavy.
"Heard you've been doing well?"
Before training that day, Van Persie approached with a smile, extending his right hand towards him.
Maël gave him a high-five and jokingly asked, "It's only been half a month, why does it feel like half a year? And why 'heard'? Shouldn't you be watching my game videos on TV to learn?"
"Get lost!" Van Persie waved dismissively, then laughed and patted Maël's shoulder.
The two immediately found the feeling they had from before, that's how close partners are, they won't be affected by a short separation.
"Mr. Wenger."
"Boss."
Several respectful voices sounded, Maël turned his head and saw Wenger walking in from the door, his eyes locking onto him as soon as he entered.
Wenger walked step by step to his side, extending his hand with a smile like Van Persie, "Henry called me a few days ago, he said Arsenal and the French Team produced a monster like you, he doesn't know if he should feel lucky or unlucky.
"He's afraid people will look at you and forget him, but he also hopes you can take Arsenal and the French Team to a higher level."
"It will go higher."
Maël gave Wenger a high-five, "And he won't be forgotten either, he will always be a legend. Liverpool has Gerrard now, but will they forget Dalglish?"
"Haha...!" Wenger laughed, "That analogy is not appropriate, Dalglish's playing career was much more successful than Gerrard's, not to mention his contributions as a coach."
Maël smiled and didn't speak, he knew that Wenger was indirectly praising him for being better than Henry.
After Wenger left, he pondered for a while, then looked up with hope. In any case, Henry was a target on his way forward, he would move towards the other party first, and then seek to surpass him.
He believed that he could definitely do it, he could definitely become the best player in Arsenal's history and the French Team's history!
"Actually, it should be like this." He muttered in his heart, "After all, the goal is to be the best player in the history of world Football."
After exchanging greetings with other teammates, Maël stepped onto the team's training ground. Before walking out of the player tunnel, he looked at the schedule for this month in one place in the tunnel.
There were 4 games left this month, namely the 3rd round of the Champions League group stage against Schalke 04 on October 22, and the 8th round of the Premier League against Queens Park Rangers on October 25.
And the EFL Cup 1/8 final against Reading on October 27. This game seemed to be a classic game in his memory.
But unfortunately, due to the butterfly effect he brought, and due to the current strength of Arsenal, that big reversal should not happen.
The last game of this month is the Premier League 9th round battle between the top of the table, which has already been hyped up on social media and has attracted the attention of many fans. Their opponent is Chelsea, a team with the same points in the league! Let's go for taking the sole lead in the Premier League, breaking the record of 49 unbeaten league games, and qualifying first in the Champions League group!
Before long, Maël completely changed his thinking, putting all his attention on the club's various fronts, focusing on Arsenal.
"Come on Arsenal!!"
"Come on Arsenal!!"
On October 22, the Emirates Stadium was brightly lit, and the fans who hadn't watched the game for half a month cheered enthusiastically for the team, the sound lasting for a long time.
The 3rd round of the Champions League group stage has arrived. In this game, Arsenal's opponent is Schalke 04, the third-tier team in this group.
This wasn't exactly a strong opponent. But after several of their players participated in National Team Match Day, how would Arsenal's condition be? Could they withstand the Champions League rhythm? It was hard not to worry.
"From the start, Schalke 04, with their Stamina advantage, have taken some initiative. They're performing better than expected.
"In Arsenal's starting lineup, everyone except Arteta was selected for their national teams, playing 2-3 matches.
"While in Schalke 04's starting lineup, only two players were selected for their national teams.
"Both are top teams in their respective leagues. One side is rested and ready, the other is exhausted. This is when an upset is most likely to happen."
...
"Let's see this one! Fox! A Cross to find Huntelaar... Shot is too high! Sagna was a bit slow on those last two steps, Schalke 04 almost stole one!"
On the sidelines, watching Huntelaar kneel in front of the goal in regret, Wenger's expression showed a hint of remorse.
Before the match, the Stamina coach and team doctor had suggested that he use half of the fit starters mixed with half of the strong substitutes. With Arsenal's personnel, a semi-main lineup might still have an advantage against Schalke 04.
He didn't listen, because he really wanted to secure a beautiful victory after the international break to stabilize the team's morale.
He didn't expect the national team players to be in worse physical condition than he thought. Even the usually tireless Maël felt a bit heavy-footed.
This was carelessness, and he was blinded by wishful thinking. Wenger realized his mistake and admitted his poor decision-making, but since he had already sent out the starting lineup, he could only go with it.
"Don't blame yourself, sir." Beside him, Philip seemed to sense Wenger's inner torment and comforted him, "Anyone can make mistakes, even Maël does. Why should we strive for perfection?"
"Haha..." This made Wenger smile, and it did have some comforting effect.
Yes, even someone as perfect as Maël sometimes can't avoid making mistakes. They didn't need to think of themselves as an always-correct God.
Do it!
Hope these lads can bring unexpected goals, hope they win! Even if they fail, just admit it generously in front of the media. Anyway, they don't have an undefeated record to defend in the Champions League.
"Boom!!"
In the 31st minute, the goal came after all. Schalke 04's midfielder Afellay unleashed a violent Driven Shot with the instep of his foot, the Football speeding along the grass towards the net.
Szczęsny, who was starting today, wasn't prepared and was a bit slow to get down, and could only watch the Football go into the net.
"Aaaahhh!" The Schalke 04 fans concentrated in the West Stand erupted in cheers, while Arsenal fans fell into dead silence.
Afellay smiled brightly, spread his arms, and ran towards the sideline, where he was tackled by his excited teammates.
These days, scoring one against Arsenal is really not easy, and seeing the hope of victory against Arsenal is not easy either!
Inside Arsenal's penalty area, the players looked at each other, finally sighed softly, and walked towards the midfield.
Even Maël and others in the frontcourt were leaning over with their hands on their hips, feeling uncharacteristically powerless. The continuous battles and travel had indeed exhausted them.
If they were facing a team with a huge gap compared to Arsenal today, this fatigue might not be apparent and wouldn't affect the situation.
But the problem is that even if Schalke 04 players are inferior to Arsenal players, it's in terms of awareness, tactics, and individual ability. In running and physical confrontation, they don't fall too far behind.
If they don't fall behind in this aspect, then they are very likely to drag Arsenal into a war of attrition through targeted tactics, and ultimately win with their Stamina advantage and excellent strategy.
In any intense competitive event, the weak can overcome the strong. If the strong always win and the weak have no means of resistance and see no hope, then the sport is bound to be lifeless.
Football can develop to this day, perhaps partly because there are enough means and opportunities for the underdog to win.
"Beep!"
As the kickoff whistle blew again, Arsenal's predicament showed no signs of improving, with the spirited Schalke 04 pressing their advantage, encouraged by their fans.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
In the process, although Maël managed to receive the ball a few times and complete breakthroughs and shots, the final step wasn't as well executed as before.
When Stamina isn't at its best, movements tend to become easily deformed, and when movements are deformed, the feel for the ball isn't as smooth.
However, Maël wasn't discouraged and continued to run actively, focusing on seizing every opportunity.
Adversity reveals a person's physical potential and ability ceiling, and he believed that he still had the ability to dominate the game.
Even if the first half didn't go well, or even the first 60 or 75 minutes, as long as there were one or two crucial plays, the outcome of the match could change because of him.
"Boom!!"
In the 46th minute of the match, a scene that added insult to injury for Arsenal occurred. Schalke 04's right-sided center forward, Farfán, received a pass from Afellay and, by a stroke of luck, shook off Koscielny before playing a through ball.
This ball pierced Arsenal's defense. Mertesacker was slow to turn and had average recovery ability, so he could only watch Huntelaar take the ball and cut into his recovery path.
"Boom!"
With a steady, accurate, and ruthless Side-Foot Shot, Huntelaar sent the ball into Arsenal's goal.
Zero to two! "Beep! Beep—!" Two long whistles sounded, and Arsenal's fans stared blankly at the field, with most faces showing a look of absent-mindedness.
It wasn't until they saw Mr. Wenger walk into the player tunnel with a look of disappointment, and most of the players also lowered their heads as they left the field, that they seemed to remember what they should be doing most at this moment.
"Come on Arsenal!!"
"Come on Arsenal!!"
Louder and louder shouts rang out, as the Gunners fans hoped to use this method to revitalize the team and allow the players to enter the second half of the match with their heads held high.
Fifteen minutes later, when the players from both sides returned to the field, two Arsenal substitutes were standing on the sidelines, ready to be substituted in.
"Podolski, replacing Cazorla! Gilbert, replacing Ramsey!"
The announcement sounded in the stadium, explaining the specific choices for the two substitutions.
Podolski and Gilbert, who had played less in the previous National Team Match Day, came on, replacing Cazorla and Ramsey, whose legs seemed to be filled with lead.
Podolski played in the number 10 position, while Gilbert played in the number 6 position, partnering with Arteta.
At first glance, this substitution seemed fine. Podolski did have some versatility in the frontcourt, and he had often played in midfield for the Germany Team and Cologne before. Gilbert was also capable of playing in the number 6 position.
But upon closer inspection, Wenger had replaced two attacking midfielders with one attacking midfielder and one all-around midfielder.
"I think this is also a last resort. Arsenal has too many international players. Rosický and other attacking players have had a lot of playing time during this National Team Match Day training camp, and their Stamina must not be at its best.
"Podolski and Gilbert should be the two who have played the least. Their last matches were both around 10 days ago.
"But as of now, you can't jump to the conclusion that Wenger's substitution has weakened the attack. The two players with ample Stamina may be better in attack than the two tired attacking players."
"."
After Gilbert came on, he immediately exchanged a look with Maël. The two smiled knowingly, then looked seriously at the Schalke 04 lineup.
The real battle is about to begin, and they must be prepared at all times to face every confrontation!
Since the start of the new season, Arsenal have rarely found themselves in a two-goal deficit, which may make every player and every fan feel uncomfortable.
But they must remember that at the beginning of last season, Arsenal often found themselves in even greater difficulties. At that time, they came out with an iron will and eventually played an undefeated season.
Why can't they do it this season? After the bloom, there is more than just gradual withering. If they have a stronger will, they will definitely be able to face the sun for longer!
"Beep!!"
"Come on Arsenal!!"
...
The whistle sounded, and in the cheers, all the Arsenal soldiers rushed across the half as wolves, with a desire to reverse the decline in everyone's eyes.
People cannot be prepared for all scenarios. At the beginning of the game, because they did not expect to fall behind by two goals in the second half, it is difficult to say that every Arsenal player really used their full strength.
A tired body will affect their will, make them lose some small confrontations, and their brains will also actively give up some things, or avoid some things.
This is why many teams only start fighting after falling behind, and only explode their potential in desperate situations... Because then people will realize that, apart from that, you have no chance of winning.
Fortunately, the Arsenal players still maintain the desire to win. They did not give up, but chose to face the difficulties and strive to overcome them! "Podolski holds the ball. After Gilbert comes up, Arsenal's backcourt defense gradually gains Stabilization, and they have formed a new offensive team in the frontcourt.
"And unlike the first half, this offensive team rarely returns to defense.
"Maël, Van Persie, Bale, and Podolski have been pressing near Schalke 04's defense and defensive midfielder line, making Schalke 04's defenders and defensive midfielders afraid to step up and attack."
...
"Schalke 04's midfield and backcourt are disconnected! This is a good opportunity for Arsenal! Bale is holding the ball and preparing to break through Fox! "Almost, but the ball is still there. Gilbert, who followed up, controlled the football. Gilbert passed it to Bale again, Bale!! Exploding past!! "A Cross! Van Persie in the middle!! Beautiful!!! "Header! One to two!! Van Persie pulled back a goal in the 62nd minute of the game, a difficult goal!"
...
"Yeahhh!!" In the deafening shouts, Van Persie excitedly roared with his head up, high-kicking and rushing to the sideline to celebrate. After a simple release, he hugged the ball and returned to his own half.
Maël and others just congratulated him from a distance and waited for the game to start again.
They narrowed the gap and saw the hope of equalizing or even surpassing... But now is not the time to be careless. Schalke 04 still has the initiative, and their Stamina advantage will become greater and greater as the game progresses.
If they are proud and careless at this time, it is very likely that they will be hit by a heavy hammer from the opponent in a very short period of time that is enough to kill the game.
"Beep!"
...
"Huntelaar is very active, and Farfán next to him is also performing very well. If Schalke 04 wins the final victory, one of them may be the Best Player in this game! "Uchida Atsuto has stepped up! A Cross!! Holtby!! Szczęsny steadily caught the ball in his hands! "Arsenal are preparing to launch a quick counterattack, Gilbert... has good footwork! Caused a foul by Afellay, and the referee showed a yellow card!"
...
"Maël is facing Uchida Atsuto, who has not been on the field for long. After dribbling the ball, he directly uses his body to block him! Oh ho! Uchida Atsuto is like a child in front of him! "However, the last few steps were a little staggering. This is a sign of a serious decline in Stamina, and the quality of the Cross sent afterwards was also relatively average, failing to create a threat.
"It's the 80th minute, shouldn't Wenger consider making a substitution? Maël has already played a lot of games this month. If he wants him to do something in the Premier League showdown at the end of the month, he has to save him a bit.
"Rosický is warming up, maybe he is going to replace Maël and let Podolski go to Maël's position!"
...
On the field, Maël also saw Rosický warming up on the sidelines, and a few feelings of urgency arose in his heart.
He has scored in more than one goal in many consecutive games. If he doesn't score in this game, he will inevitably feel uncomfortable.
"Bang!"
Therefore, in the 83rd minute of the game, after receiving a pass from Podolski, Maël resolutely took the ball to the center, preparing for a final fight.
The Schalke 04 players were very clever, forming a two-line iron barrel formation, not giving him a chance to get close to the penalty area, forcing him to dribble the ball away from the penalty area.
"Bang bang... Pop!"
Feeling the weakness under his feet, Maël didn't intend to force a dribble. He chose a more stable way to dribble the ball outwards, further away from the penalty area, in order to reduce the vigilance of the opposing players.
"Bang!"
After suddenly accelerating to get rid of Neustädter, he passed the ball to the front right, his firm eyes looking straight at the goal.
When the other Arsenal players saw this, they immediately dodged to avoid blocking the shooting route, while focusing their attention on the ball under Maël's feet. Everyone understood what Maël was about to do now.
"Take a shot!"
"Believe in you! Captain!"
"Shoot it!!"
Unlike in the past, this time the Arsenal players did not persuade him, but opened their mouths full of expectations. Even Wenger on the sidelines shouted, "Blast it in!!"
"Bang!!"
Carrying countless expectations, Maël bent over and lowered his head. While his right leg was folded, his whole body was also folded. Then, his waist, abdomen, legs, and ankles exerted force together, and he drew the ball flat towards the goal.
"Buzzing...!" The football spun and smashed towards the goal. Even though people couldn't hear the sound of it flying, looking at the fierce force and speed, they still felt as if the wind was ringing in their ears.
Schalke's goalkeeper Ounnarstahl lowered his center of gravity on the spot to judge the ball speed, and then pounced to his left, stretching his arms to the extreme in the process.
"Swish!" The football arrived first. The extremely fast ball speed made people feel that Ounnarstahl's save speed was extremely slow, like a slow-motion replay, unable to keep up with the rhythm at all.
"WowWow!!"
"Ohhhhh!!"
"Goal! It's in!! Two to two! Arsenal equalized the score in the 83rd minute of the game! A sudden goal! But this is the most classic Maël-style goal! "I don't even know how to describe this goal. Before this, Maël's game rating may only be 6.5 points, which must be his lowest rating in recent times, but now, he will definitely have 8.5 points or more!!
"This is Arsenal! This is Maël!! Even when they are in the most difficult situation, they can regroup to fight for points, and they can do it every time!!
"Who else can stop such a team?"
"."
After scoring the goal, Maël's whole body was bursting with veins. His face was trembling, and his legs uncontrollably led him to the side of the field.
Seemingly extremely hot, he took off his clothes and waved them, and soon came to the side of the field, waving his fists at the Arsenal fans who were only one or two meters away from him, "Vamos!!"
"Arsenal tied Schalke 04 2-2! Maël blasted a World Wave again before leaving the field!! The powerful English Red and White Warship continues to move forward!!" - British The Guardian
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