November 8th, after the day's recovery training, Maël returned home somewhat fatigued, receiving physiotherapy massages from Harry and Safina.
"Another day of recovery training tomorrow, and the day after is the Premier League Round 11 match against Aston Villa."
Harry shook his head slightly while massaging. "It's not even the Devil Christmas Schedule yet, and the schedule is already so packed. I really don't know what the Premier League is thinking."
"It would be fine under normal circumstances, but this match is the last one for you to match the team's Premier League record, it's extremely crucial."
"Yeah, I'm also puzzled." Safina pinched Maël's calf, frowning.
The two of them rarely complained on ordinary days, but saying this now was enough to show that they were also closely watching the match that would establish Maël's 49-game unbeaten streak, and were worried because they were too expectant.
Maël looked at his phone and chuckled, "This schedule isn't too dense. Although the interval is only 2 days, there was plenty of rest time between the previous few matches.
"Everyone's physical condition is okay, not very tired... at least there's no risk of injury."
After speaking, he said with a slightly profound tone, "The second half of the schedule may be the most dense. Who knows if those people will arrange it randomly.
"Don't worry too much, you saying that is making me a little nervous."
"." Harry and Safina were silent for a while, and after a long time Safina said, "Sorry boss, I shouldn't affect your mentality."
Maël looked back, smiling incredulously, "Why are you being so distant? I'm just kidding, it's not that serious."
"I'm a little nervous, so I'm a bit sensitive, afraid of disturbing you." Safina patted her chest, looking relieved.
"Me too." Harry echoed.
"It's okay." Maël shook his head, re-opening his phone to chat with others, "Mendes seems to be arriving today or tomorrow, you guys take him out for a meal then, I probably won't have time to entertain him."
"Okay." Harry nodded, "He should be here to watch that match too, right?"
"Yeah." Maël nodded, sending a message to Mendes before continuing, "His visit this time won't be short, there should be other things, like endorsements and advertisements.
"Of course, the most important thing is that he also wants to watch us complete our 50th unbeaten match."
He grinned, "I'll work hard to make sure he can stay until that day, and not go back disappointed early."
Harry and Safina exchanged smiles, but neither of them made a sound. They were also under high pressure along with Maël, and they couldn't laugh at this kind of joke at the moment.
"Hello?"
Soon, Maël sat up from the massage bed and answered a call.
It was Mr. Wenger calling, his tone filled with joy, "Maël, most of the players from the 03-04 season will arrive in London tomorrow. Except for a few, everyone from that team will come to watch the match against Villa.
"If we ultimately win and complete the unbeaten streak, they will present you with commemorative number 49 jerseys after the match, according to your positions, to commemorate the inheritance of the 'Invincible Army'."
"That's great." Maël smiled, but he understood that Mr. Wenger wasn't calling just to say this.
"It's just that I have an idea and wanted to ask for your opinion."
"What is it?"
"During today's recovery training, I saw something very obvious - although most people showed a smiling face, it was a forced smile, everyone is clearly very nervous."
"Yeah."
"Some people may lack confidence. I'm worried that this pressure will cause us more trouble in the next 11 games, so I came up with a good idea that requires taking some risks."
"Please tell me, sir."
Mr. Wenger organized his words and said seriously, "We must have a representative stand up and show the determination to win, so that the fans can rest assured first, and then let the fans' emotions infect other players."
"So, that representative is me?" Maël raised his eyebrows. "I'm honored, Mr. Wenger. What should I do?"
"Tomorrow afternoon, representatives of Arsenal fans from all over the world will arrive at the Emirates Stadium for a small event. I hope you will also attend."
Mr. Wenger stated his plan, "That's a high-profile fan meeting with many reporters. I'd like to invite Henry to present you with a No. 49 jersey with the Arsenal emblem first."
"Oh," Maël understood. "My acceptance of this jersey means that the entire club doesn't think we will lose this game, and it can also stabilize the morale of the team?"
"Haha... That's a bit outrageous, but it should work. At least, Aston Villa's players will feel the pressure after seeing this scene."
"I agree, Mr. Wenger. I'll be there tomorrow."
"." Mr. Wenger was silent for a while, and finally asked, "You're not worried about failure, are you?"
Maël smiled faintly, "Not just this game, I'm never worried."
After hanging up the phone, he got off the massage bed and walked to the living room in slippers, with Harry and Safina cleaning up behind him.
"Maël! Maël!!" At this moment, two urgent and surprised voices sounded. Isabella suddenly ran down from upstairs, her beautiful face full of excitement, her eyebrows dancing.
Maël was stunned looking at her, as were Harry and Safina.
Thinking of something, he quickly reminded her, "You're still pregnant, don't run so fast."
"It's okay." Isabella came to Maël's side with a smile. "It's only been a few months, don't worry about it. Take a look at this."
She couldn't wait to put her phone next to Maël, which displayed a personal page on social media—of course, it was Maël's. You could see a number in the fans column: 99.844 million!
"Facebook?"
Maël's expression changed slightly. With just over 150,000 more, his single-platform fans would officially break 100 million.
Arsenal has been getting a lot of traffic on social media recently, so this gap of 150,000 might be filled tonight!
Maël's thoughts were drawn away. Breaking 100 million fans on a single platform meant that his advertising fees would likely skyrocket to over £2 million, and his value in all aspects would increase.
This was also a milestone achievement, a major stage of success! "What's wrong? What's wrong?" Harry and Safina quickly came over to ask, and after hearing the news, their faces lit up with joy. "Ah!! We can look forward to tonight. Wait, Maël, we'll help you count down the seconds."
Before long, José and Davis also learned the news at the dinner table. They were also eager to try, just waiting to celebrate Maël's breaking 100 million fans together.
"99.89 million! It might be 99.95 million after dinner!"
"It shouldn't be that fast."
"But it can definitely go over 900,000, just don't know how much."
"."
"99.953 million! Come on, make one last push, there's hope tonight!"
"I'm going to buy a bunch of big fireworks. I'll pay out of my own pocket to ask the boss to light up the London sky tonight!"
"Yeah hahaha!!"
"Here it comes, here it comes! Is it soon?"
"9998.3, almost there!"
"Maël, should you post something? It's sure to be reposted, and it'll drive another wave. Everyone's waiting tonight."
"No need, London Evening Standard and The Guardian, those platforms that follow Maël's reports every day, have already released teasers. They're already urging everyone to step it up!"
The family sat around the table, laughing and waiting to sing the countdown song for Maël.
Maël had a smile on his face the whole time, constantly refreshing with Isabella, waiting for the moment when the fans officially broke 100 million.
"9999.0!!"
"9999.57!!"
"9999.89!!"
"9999.95!!"
"Maël, quickly go to your own backend, you can see the single digits there!"
"Okay, okay, just a moment."
Maël opened the backend, stretched out his arm and put the phone in front, immediately attracting a bunch of heads swaying around in front of him.
"Last 400... 350 left!! Quick, to the place where we set off fireworks!!"
"Right!"
Remembering something, a group of people rushed outside again, scrambling to put the fireworks on the ground, and looking for a device to ignite them.
"Hurry up, where's the blowtorch? Where is it?"
"I think it's in the kitchen, oh no, we won't make it! It's about to break 100 million!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier, prepare earlier, now it's too late! What a pity!"
"Go find it!!"
...
"Swish!" With a final refresh, seeing '9999' officially turn into '10000.0', Maël looked up with a happy face, closed his eyes and looked at the sky.
Fans exceeded 100 million!
After struggling here for more than two years, the goal set more than two years ago was finally achieved!
He found it hard to describe his feelings at this moment, he could only say that he was extremely satisfied and felt that everything was great.
"Don't worry."
Opening his eyes, looking at the team members in a mess, he couldn't help but smile, "There's no rush, take your time, anyway, just set off the fireworks, this is the time to enjoy the moment, why bother with the fireworks."
Perhaps it was the completion of an important goal that made him very emotional, and he spoke more, "Two years ago, I got the best opportunity in my life, and at that time I might have thought of today.
"But I didn't rush, but slowly felt the scenery along the way, this feeling of delayed gratification is good because the most important thing is always you, always your feelings, not anything else."
"Yeah." Harry laughed, standing next to Maël, "Even without fireworks, tonight is a perfect night, your light will still illuminate the sky over London."
"Hahaha, cheesy!" Safina also laughed, "But seriously, breaking 100 million fans is really too difficult. Many influencers see 1 million fans as the finish line, and that's just one percent of you."
"Keep it up, if you keep playing like this, your total platform fans may reach 1 billion by the time you retire," Davis also praised.
At this moment, José, who had gone in to find the lighter, returned and quickly handed the lighter to Maël, then stood back, clapping his hands and waiting with a smile.
There was no other way, for a family where no one smoked, finding someone to light the fireworks was indeed not easy.
Maël calmly walked to the fireworks, lit the fuse, and then ran away quickly, as if it was Muscle Memory.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh bang bang bang...!!"
Soon, the fireworks soared into the sky, lighting up all the nearby streets. The fireworks Davis bought were quite high-end and very beautiful. He was definitely willing to spend money on this kind of thing.
"Yeahhh!!" Everyone clapped and jumped, filling the surrounding air with a joyful atmosphere. They were all genuinely happy from the bottom of their hearts.
"Woo-hoo-hoo! Congratulations boss on breaking 100 million fans!! The real Great British Emperor Star!! Hahaha!!"
"Not French?"
"He plays football in England, French is fine too, anyway, he's an Emperor Star!"
"Hahaha!!"
"Congratulations, boss!!"
"."
Amidst the cheers, Maël looked at the fireworks soaring into the sky and then blooming, and suddenly his eyes became moist. He felt an indescribable joy, but also a feeling that something was missing.
He didn't want to be too sentimental. Maybe after a long time, he would know what today was for.
In short, happy to break 100 million fans on a single platform.
November 9th, with only one game left before the highly anticipated match against Aston Villa, the whole of London became heated, with Arsenal elements and the number '49' visible everywhere.
Maël's posters appeared on every street, and fans from all over the world could be seen taking photos with his posters.
His influence has now truly reached the top level of the sports world.
"Buzz..." In the bustling city, a bus with the Arsenal team logo slowly drove by, heading towards the Emirates Stadium.
Most of the passers-by who saw it were puzzled, only a few people smiled and took pictures with the vehicle.
"Thump thump thump!"
However, most people saw that behind the bus, there was a dark-skinned, repressed-looking young man who kept running after the bus.
They didn't know how long that young man had been running, they only saw that he had never stopped since he appeared in their sight and then disappeared from their sight.
They didn't know, but Maël, sitting on the bus, clearly remembered that the other party had run about 5 streets, about 3 kilometers.
Today, he had originally planned to go to the Emirates Stadium by himself, but he didn't expect the club to send a car to pick him up for the sake of ceremony, preparing to take him there and then take him home. He finally agreed.
"Stop the car."
Seeing the young man still running, Maël stopped the bus driver, "Please stop for a moment, someone has been chasing for a long time."
Actually, he had noticed the young man a while ago, but he had seen many people chasing the Arsenal bus, so he didn't pay much attention.
It wasn't until later, when he noticed that the other party didn't seem to be stopping, that he became curious. He wondered why the young man was running like that when he didn't even know who was on the bus. After watching for a while, Maël felt that he couldn't let the other party keep running like that, so he decided to invite him onto the bus.
As the bus slowly pulled over to the side of the road, the Asian young man in the Arsenal jersey stopped, panting, and rested his hands on his knees.
When he saw the driver waving him over with a congratulatory expression, he quickly rushed up the steps. As soon as he got on, he saw Maël sitting in the front row, smiling at him.
"Ahhh!!"
He screamed, then his face changed at the speed of light, and he burst into tears of joy. "Maël! I really didn't expect it to be you!! I... I bless you. I've been chasing the bus for a long time, not knowing it was you. Yesterday..."
He was incoherent, not knowing what to say, and wanting to tell Maël a lot all at once.
Maël guessed that he was probably not from China, Japan, or Korea, but an Asian fan from a small country in Southeast Asia, so he said, "It's okay. Which country are you from? Sit down and tell me slowly."
"Vietnam."
The thin fan sat down beside him, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm, and grinned foolishly at Maël.
Maël patted the back of his head and asked him why he had come.
"I was originally selected as a fan representative to participate in today's event, but my dad is also a die-hard fan of yours, so I gave him the opportunity. I just came with him to wander around... I saw a team bus on the road and wanted to chase it, also to see how far I could run. I didn't expect..."
He grinned foolishly at Maël again.
Maël also smiled. He took out a pen he carried with him, signed it for the fan, and then said, "I'm going to the event venue. I'll take you with me, and you and your dad can participate together.
"To show my appreciation for your perseverance, I'll give you some special gifts after the event."
"Really?!" The fan's expression was as if he had won the lottery eight lifetimes over. He excitedly stood up and danced, making Maël laugh.
Before long, the vehicle arrived at Emirates Stadium. Maël supported the fan's shoulder and walked in together, explaining the situation to the staff.
"He'll come with me. I'll take him to the event venue, but Mr. Maël may have to go to the press conference first. Mr. Henry is waiting for you there," a staff member said.
Maël nodded and followed another staff member to the press conference venue.
On the way, the staff member couldn't help but peek at him from time to time. Finally, when they parted, she couldn't help but say, "Maël, congratulations on breaking 100 million fans yesterday. I saw the fireworks set off at your door, and I even took a photo with my boyfriend."
"I wish you both a long and happy life together, and may some of my luck rub off on you," Maël said with a smile, offering his blessings to the beautiful girl.
The girl nodded, pretending to be calm, but couldn't help but scream softly as she turned around, skipping a few steps as she walked.
Maël smiled and walked into the press conference room, where he saw Henry standing on one side.
Henry got up to greet him and extended his hand. "Your social media fans are more than six times mine. Honestly, I'm jealous."
"It's okay, it's not over yet."
"What?!" Henry thought he had misheard and looked at Maël in disbelief.
"I said it's not over yet, it might be 10 times as many," Maël joked with a smile.
"Hey!!" Henry shouted in mock dissatisfaction, then laughed and patted Maël on the shoulder.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Henry went to the side of the press conference podium and took out a beautifully commemorative jersey embroidered with the number 49 from under the table.
Maël took a corner of the jersey and stood with him facing the reporters, smiling as they took photos together.
"Click, click!!" Flashbulbs flashed, and a reporter quickly stood up and asked, "Mr. Maël, what does this jersey represent? Isn't it a bit early to present it now? Is this like popping champagne at halftime?"
"No, it's not too early either."
Maël shrugged and smiled, "People have to learn to be flexible. Since I received this jersey today, I feel that it is a kind of inheritance, and also a determination to win tomorrow's game!"
He glanced at Henry, and the two smiled at each other again. After taking a deep breath to adjust their condition, they posed for many more photos.
Tomorrow, slay Villa!
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