After a simple interview at the press conference, Maël and Henry walked towards the fan meet-and-greet venue, where they saw a group of fans excitedly waiting for them from afar.
Maël spotted the fan who had chased his car and his father, as well as a very conspicuous Asian grandma.
Intuition told him that she was from his homeland, and he felt he couldn't be wrong.
"Maël."
Henry also noticed the fan group at this moment. He noticed something, and the expression on his face was a mix of envy and helplessness. "I counted, there are about twenty people, and at least seventeen or eighteen of them are focused on you.
"Many people don't even glance at me; they're just waiting for your autograph."
Henry was jealous. The joking conjecture he had once made had now become a reality.
Maël's explosive performance had stolen all his thunder. People seemed to have forgotten how outstanding he once was.
Even if they might remember sometimes, the picture would probably be like this: Ah, Henry, I used to like him a lot, but his efficiency seems to be only half of Maël's, or is it even half? He's a superstar, but Maël is the best.
Henry had thought that day would come, but he didn't expect it to be so fast, so direct, which made him feel a mix of emotions.
"But no one will ever deny your excellence and achievements."
Maël wasn't arrogant, and he proactively explained to the team legend, "It's just that you've left the mainstream stage and can't meet the fans every week, so they tend to forget.
"It's different for me. They can see me play football every week, see posters of me on the cover, media reports, interviews, etc. I'm constantly giving them multiple impacts, so their current impression of me is naturally stronger."
"Is that saying I'm old?" Henry seemed to understand the meaning, but he asked with a smile, not daring to confirm.
"No, it's saying you were young too, and that I will get old too."
"Haha..."
Henry had a very pleased expression, but he shook his head and refuted Maël's second point, "You're different from me, that's obvious. The achievements you've reached at 19, I probably only completed at 24-25.
"When you get old and leave the mainstream stage, your achievements at that time will definitely be more than mine, and may even be comparable to Pelé and Maradona. Fans will always remember you, because at that time you may represent the sport of Football."
Maël's body trembled slightly. A long time ago, he had had this idea, but he had somewhat forgotten it in his busy life.
He loved his current profession, loved Football, and was proud of Football.
So if he could represent Football, and even like Pelé, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, and others, bring glory to the sport of Football, make it more popular, and make it greater, he would feel a great sense of accomplishment.
In fact, he had a very high probability of doing better than these people... He was waiting for that day, waiting for the feeling of truly surpassing every role model and reaching the summit of Mount Hua, overlooking the heroes.
"No matter what."
Seeing that they had already arrived at the event venue, Maël smiled and patted Henry's shoulder, finally saying, "People remember you as Arsenal's all-time top scorer, the French Team's all-time top scorer and Assists Leader, and the creator of the 49-game Invincible Army, and also the role model I'm chasing now."
"Haha." Henry also patted Maël, "Tomorrow, you'll be able to catch up with one of them. I'm looking forward to seeing how I'll feel after you surpass me in every aspect."
Maël nodded and didn't say anything more. Under the guidance of the staff, he came to a group of fans, which happened to include the fan who had chased his car and the Asian Grandma Liu fan.
"Maël!"
The fan who chased the car quickly came up and said with a hearty smile, "I told my father what happened at the clubhouse. He said it's our family's luck, the blessing accumulated by our ancestors."
"Yes." His father also quickly came up, put his hands together and sighed a few words first, then smiled, "I was among the first batch of fans in our country to pay attention to you, probably in the second half of the EFL Championship. You are incredible.
"Your efficiency is unheard of. You will become the best."
He probably didn't know much English, as he kept repeating the same few sentences.
However, Maël didn't get annoyed. He nodded patiently, listened, signed autographs for the father and son, and took a photo with them standing in the middle.
"This photo is one of the most glorious moments of my life." After receiving the developed photo, the old father was very moved and hugged his son tightly as he spoke.
They then left under the guidance of the staff to visit the club's locker room, stadium, VIP dining area, and other places.
Of course, there was also the hall of fame. Another top-tier league's North London team might not have opened this tour project, but Arsenal did. Although they didn't have the Champions League, they had quite a few English top-tier league titles.
Maël went to other fans, signed autographs, took photos, chatted for a few words, and satisfied some of their small requests at the moment.
These fans had come from all over the world just to visit the club, make a pilgrimage to Emirates Stadium and Highbury Stadium, and try their luck to see two stars. They were full of love for the club, and he naturally couldn't treat them badly.
A great club must be humane. No matter how she treats other clubs or other fans, she must cherish her own fans.
This is a football culture, and the only principle they have always adhered to is: without fans, football is nothing.
It is because of the fans that football has become a great sport, and clubs have become brilliant!
After signing many names, Maël finally came to the old Asian woman and smiled as he looked at her.
Grandma Liu was wearing an Arsenal jersey, holding two Arsenal photo frames in her hands, with white hair and a smiling face. Compared to others, she was slightly reserved, but her face was still full of joy.
"I'm from China, they all call me Arsenal Grandma Liu."
Grandma Liu picked up the photo frame and said in fluent English, "I've always dreamed of coming to Arsenal one day. I didn't expect to finally have the opportunity this time. I'm honored to meet you here. You look more handsome and stronger than on TV."
Arsenal Grandma Liu, some dead memories suddenly flooded into Maël's mind. He seemed to remember this person. Grandma Liu was quite famous in the Chinese fan circle, especially in the Arsenal fan circle.
"Thank you for your compliment. I've been to China many times and I like it very much."
Maël was telling the truth, but because of his current identity, he didn't mention that he had stayed there for a long time. A look of longing flashed in his eyes, but he smoothly took the other party's photo frame and took a pen to sign it for her.
"Tomorrow is the game against Villa, I will watch it live. I really hope you can score, so I can see you celebrate live."
Grandma Liu looked kind, "Maël, do you think I will have the opportunity to see Arsenal win the Champions League in my lifetime?"
Maël signed his name and handed the photo frame back. After taking a deep breath, he smiled, "Yes, more than once. I promise you we will win many times, maybe you will see us become the best club in the world."
"That would be great." Grandma Liu took the photo frame, her eyes full of expectation.
Maël didn't forget her previous sentence and asked, "Which of my celebration moves do you like? If I score tomorrow, I will do it."
"I like... well, it's not very elegant." Grandma Liu laughed.
"I know which one it is. I do it very rarely, but everyone seems to like that one very much, I will strive for it."
Maël remembered that the last time he asked someone this question, someone chose that one. From the description of 'not elegant', he could be sure that Grandma Liu chose the celebration that was originally later popularized by Griezmann.
"No need to strive for it, I believe I can see you celebrate like that." Grandma Liu's eyes were full of confidence, "You score every time, there is no goal that you can't break, and no defender that can stop you."
"Haha..."
Maël laughed, then watched Grandma Liu walk away with the Arsenal club staff and went to sign autographs for others. He was very enthusiastic about talking to fans face-to-face.
When he was about to finish everything and leave, he saw Grandma Liu hurriedly coming down from upstairs again, as if she had something to say to him.
"Be careful." Maël said with a smile from afar, feeling a sense of kinship when he looked at Grandma Liu.
"My body is still strong." Grandma Liu smiled and shook her head, then hesitated, clenched her fist, and encouraged, "Maël, you must do your best in tomorrow's match against Villa! We are all waiting for the day you achieve 49 unbeaten games. We have missed that joy for too long!"
Honestly, her fist-clenching gesture was a bit strange, but the feeling it gave was not strange at all. Instead, it made her seem uniquely adorable.
Maël nodded emphatically, said nothing else, and resolutely turned and walked away.
...
November 10th, Villa Park Stadium, Arsenal fans from all over the world flooded into the stadium, which had become Arsenal's home ground for a time.
As early as two days before the match, scalper agencies had been specifically buying tickets for this match from Aston Villa fans, initially offering £800, and gradually increasing the price as time went on.
Just half an hour before the match, Arsenal fans were still stopping Aston Villa fans at the stadium entrance, begging to buy tickets, with all sorts of outrageous prices being offered.
In short, Villa Park Stadium, which can accommodate 42,778 fans, had at most 7,000 Villa fans who stuck to their guns today, with the remaining tickets falling into the hands of Arsenal fans.
"Dear viewers, you are now watching the 11th round of the Premier League. Today must be an important day for Arsenal fans!" This team, which dominated the Premier League last season and has shown its dominance again this season, has now officially reached the final step in chasing the team's legends and Premier League legends! Win the game, and they will be the second team in Premier League history to go 49 consecutive games unbeaten!
"The legendary team of 03-04 was called the Invincible Army. Will they be the next Invincible Army? Will they tie the record today, break the record in the next game, and create a red and white dynasty?
"Let's wait and see! The game begins!! Arsenal kicks off in the first half! Wearing..."
On the field, amidst the familiar cheers of 'come on arsenal!!', the match officially kicked off.
Thanks to the advantage of kicking off first, Maël quickly got a chance to hold the ball, and he dribbled straight towards Villa's right-back Lotton.
After facing each other, smiles appeared on both of their faces, but Maël's was a happy smile of reunion after a long absence, while Lotton's was a helpless and slightly embarrassed smile of reunion after a long absence.
"Lotton! This is Maël's old friend from Sheffield United. In the 10-11 season, Lotton had not yet switched to the right-back position, but appeared more often as a left midfielder or left wing-back. At that time, he and Maël were on the same side.
"It's not hard to guess that the two have a good relationship... I wonder if Lotton will have any feelings, after transferring to a new team in the top league, meeting his old friend again, but when the other party is eager to put them to death!" Maël's pull-back to get rid of him!! Lotton can still keep up! Lob the ball to start! Lotton wants to use his body! No way! Ah, he can only pull Maël down and give a foul!"
"It must be admitted that there is now a big gap between the two, and they are no longer players of the same level.
"I think Lotton must be feeling complicated. Inadvertently, that little demon from the team is now one of the best in the world!"
"..."
On the wing, Lotton reached out and pulled Maël up, raising his eyebrows regretfully, "Sorry, I can't help it."
"On the football field, what's there to apologize for." Maël smiled, took his hand and got up, running towards the penalty area, chatting with Lotton in the process, "That Sheffield United team was good, including you, there are still 6-7 people who have gained a firm foothold in the top league."
"If it weren't for you, we might not have gone so smoothly." Lotton flattered.
Maël shook his head and said nothing more, his expression returning to seriousness as he ran towards the penalty area.
A good relationship is a good relationship, but he can't forget what the main responsibility of this game is, and he can't be careless!
The members of the former Invincible Army and Invincible Army are sitting in the stands at this moment, and representatives of Arsenal fans from all over the world are also sitting in the stands, all waiting for the team he leads to complete the legendary achievement.
Today's game is absolutely not to be lost!
He will not allow the weakness of the first Champions League game against Schalke 04 and the danger of the last Premier League game against Fulham to reappear in today's game.
They want to knock Aston Villa to death with one blow andsecurely win49undefeated record!
"Bang!"
In the 26th minute of the match, Maël cut inside on the left, successively breaking through the defenses of Lotton and Vlaar. Seeing Van Persie diagonally insert behind the other center-back Clark, he raised his right leg as if to make a through pass, but at the moment before the pass, he suddenly retracted his angle and dribbled to the other side again.
"Cha!" Clark thought Maël was going to pass, and slid to expand the defensive area. Only after seeing Maël flash past him did he realize that he had been deceived, but unfortunately he had already lost his position.
"Bang!"
Even with Villa's defensive midfielder Bannan tracking back in time, the gap in Villa's central area had already been exposed.
With Maël, Giroud, and Bale attacking the defensive line of Bannan and Stevens, it would be difficult not to score. Football is a numbers game; the side that can consistently create numerical advantages will surely win the match.
Dribbling and passing, in most cases, are not merely displays of individual ability and skill, but rather to stretch space and create numerical advantages! "Bang!"
Since Maël had already created a numerical advantage through his breakthrough, he easily slotted the ball into the penalty area, directly creating a One-on-One opportunity for Bale.
"Gareth Bale!! A Curved Shot with his left foot!! No problem! In the 27th minute of the match, Bale receives a pass from Maël and puts Arsenal in the lead!!" A tidal wave of sound engulfed Villa Park Stadium, but it didn't come from Villa fans, but from Arsenal fans! "I think they've seen it, the legendary record of 49 unbeaten games is ahead of them, beckoning them!!"
"…"
"Wow!!" Bale shouted at the top of his lungs, and after reaching the corner flag, he angrily kicked it, only to be pounced on by Maël and several others who followed.
"Good shot!!"
"Don't be arrogant, stay steady! Avoid repeating past mistakes!!"
"Yes, we must secure this victory steadily. I don't want Villa to score, and I don't want any unpleasant surprises to happen along the way!"
"Go Arsenal!!"
The Arsenal players celebrated joyfully on the sidelines, and it wasn't until 2 minutes later that they returned to their own half, allowing Villa to restart the game.
On the sidelines, Wenger clenched his fist and gestured towards a spot in the stands, where a group of middle-aged men in suits were waving to him in congratulations; these were all his former disciples.
The Ice Prince Bergkamp, The Great Henry, Meteor Campbell, Tank Vieira, and others! Many of them had long since retired, but today, watching the new generation of Gunner players about to complete this legendary achievement, they must be very happy. Hopefully, after the match, they can recall those youthful years.
Even though that 49-game unbeaten streak didn't have a perfect ending, due to a misjudgment, looking back after many years, it doesn't really matter where it stopped; 49 is already a legend!
"Bang!!!"
Before long, a muffled sound reverberated throughout the stadium, and all Arsenal fans couldn't help but stand up, and before they had even fully risen, they saw the football hit the back of the net, and wild joy surged into their hearts, causing them to raise their hands high, "Yeahhhh!!"
"Maël!! King of Heavy Cannons!! Another super World Wave Long Shot!!"
"In the 41st minute of the match, before the impact of the previous goal had even passed, Villa suffered another Heavy Cannon blow! Zero to two, the game will definitely become difficult to play!
"Similarly, for Arsenal fans, before the joy of the previous goal had even passed, they were hit with a new surprise! Two to zero, I think their hearts must be relaxed, at ease, and happy at this moment!!"
"Vamos!!" Maël shouted his signature refreshing phrase, raised his arms and ran to the sidelines, placing one hand on his forehead and the other supporting his crotch, making that 'not-so-elegant' celebratory gesture.
"Da-da...da..."
His side-to-side jumping rhythm wasn't fast, but it still seemed very magical. If they successfully achieve 49 unbeaten games today, then this jump is very likely to jump into the legendary history of Football.
And 49 unbeaten games are right in front of them!
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 444+ fanfic and original translations or request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the RandomTranslator community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------