Signing of the New Contract! A Sky-High Signing Fee! The Second Round of the Premier League Against Liverpool!

18th August, Mendes once again initiated new contract negotiations for Maël, aiming for a swift agreement this time.

Maël, on the other hand, focused on grinding skill proficiency. His Weak Foot was on the verge of leveling up from lv3 to lv4, a significant boost to his overall strength.

During his Premier League debut, he had already scored a Curved Shot with his left foot against Newcastle United.

It had to be said, the feeling of being able to score with both feet was excellent; the idea of becoming ambidextrous held a strong appeal for him.

He recalled how, although people often joked about Dembélé's left and right feet, the famous ambidextrous player had indeed achieved an astonishing balance between both feet.

So astonishing that even he himself was confused, unsure which was his dominant foot.

"There are practically no tricks to Weak Foot training, just a lot of repetitive practice, like when you first started playing football."

José brought a camera to this training session, filming all of Maël's Weak Foot shooting and passing postures, then comparing them to his dominant foot postures for review in the evening.

"Look at this one, your arm swing isn't wide enough, your body posture isn't fully open."

"This one is a problem with your right foot; your right foot hasn't fully gotten used to being a supporting foot, hasn't formed a fixed supporting distance habit, not stable enough."

"Look at this video, when your left leg folds and swings out, it still feels a bit awkward. I suggest practicing swinging your leg in the air every day, to let your body get used to the feeling first."

"Okay, although there are many problems, the improvement compared to before is already very good. Keep up the effort, and you'll be able to raise your left foot to the level of your right foot sooner or later."

José smiled at the end, encouraging him, "I hope you can score more goals with your left foot, a more balanced goal ratio."

Maël nodded slightly, noting all these points, and swung his left leg to feel it when he returned to his room.

In the next day's training, he corrected the mistakes from the review, conducting special training targeting the weak points, and the proficiency increased rapidly.

By the time he finished this day's extra practice and went to the Colney Training Base, his left foot was very close to breaking through.

[Skill: Power Side Foot lv3]

[Proficiency: (1892/2000)]

Looking at the other skills he was practicing, they had all improved to some extent during this period.

[Skill: Ball Control lv3]

[Proficiency: (923/2000)]

[Skill: Judgment of Situation lv3]

[Proficiency: (1472/2000)]

[Skill: Stamina lv3]

[Proficiency: (684/2000)]

[Skill: Rhythm lv3]

[Proficiency: (329/1500)]

"Power Side Foot will definitely level up before the game against Manchester United at the end of the month." He took a deep breath, extremely anticipating the upgrade. This feeling of gradually becoming all-rounded was very good.

In the first half of this season, his Ball Control and additional skills would all break through lv4. By then, he would have Ball Control ability!

It could be considered a preliminary achievement of becoming a hexagonal warrior, touching the edge of being all-rounded.

After that, he could also practice fancy skills, practice elegant volleys, outside instep shots, and other unexpected techniques to enrich his arsenal! After driving his Ferrari to the training base, Maël happened to see a group of people walking in. He found the back of one person familiar, rolled down the car window, and turned his head to look.

That person happened to turn his head back and made eye contact with him, both their eyes lighting up at the same time.

"Arteta?" Maël smiled slightly. Wasn't this the Arsenal captain of a few years later, the Arsenal coach of more than a decade later?

Tazige's ability was still good, his football IQ, understanding of the game, including his footwork, were all very strong.

Had he joined the team?

Wenger had made quite a few moves this summer. It seemed that after selling Fabregas and Nasri, his pockets were a little more spacious.

"Maël."

Arteta also recognized him, took the initiative to walk over, reached out to the car window, and said with a faint smile, "I watched your games in the EFL Championship. A good start to the new season, keep it up."

Why does he already have the feeling of a coach? Maël shook his hand and nodded with a smile, "I will. Are you reporting for duty today?"

Looking at him up close, Arteta was almost no different from how he remembered him in later generations. In terms of appearance, he was actually a bit old.

However, just like eternal youth, he kept that face until 2024.

"Yes."

Arteta pointed to the Administration Building inside and laughed, "I had a physical in the morning and officially joined the team in the afternoon. I'm not sure if I'll participate in today's training."

"Waiting for you." Maël didn't chat with him for too long, as they would have plenty of time together in the future. After saying goodbye, he drove his car into the base's parking lot.

On the way, he ran into a few youth trainees who wanted autographs, and he agreed to each one.

The appearance of one of the black children looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

"It's settled."

Before training, Mendes called him, his voice filled with excitement, "The Weekly Salary can reach 105k pounds, the total contract period is 5 years, and most importantly, the Signing Fee has reached 3.5 million pounds."

"Good."

Maël also felt a little excited. Compared to last time, his salary had increased by another 10k, which should be infinitely close to Arsenal's top salary.

The 3.5 million pound Signing Fee was also very impressive. The total amount of money he had earned from playing football so far didn't even add up to 3.5 million pounds.

Moreover, Mendes wouldn't take the Signing Fee; it would basically all go into his pocket.

A simple calculation showed that as long as he signed his name on the new contract, 2.1 million pounds after tax would quickly be transferred to his bank account!

"The pressure is much less." A satisfied smile appeared on his lips. Now, living in that house with an annual rent of 650k pounds wouldn't cause him any worry.

After completing the afternoon training with the team, Maël didn't see Arteta's figure, assuming he was still in the Administration Building handling various procedures.

He heard from his teammates that Wenger had brought him from Everton for 12 million euros, the same transfer fee as Gervinho.

"The next opponent is Liverpool."

In the locker room, Philip replaced Wenger, giving a pre-match analysis of the next game, "Dalglish's team is very stable, with good strength in all areas of the field, but there are also weaknesses.

"Their center-back Carragher is old and his physical condition is not as good as before, making him the biggest weakness in the team's defense.

"We can look for opportunities to break through on his side. After a few rounds of attacks, he will likely be unable to hold on, giving us opportunities."

"Secondly, José Enrique is a left-back who likes to attack. If we can effectively increase the speed of our offensive and defensive transitions, he will likely be unable to get back in time to defend."

Speaking of this, he turned to look at Maël, regretting, "Unfortunately, the right-back you'll be facing is a strong point in their defense. Compared to other attacking players, you'll be under more pressure."

Arsenal's players smiled and turned to look at Maël, wanting to see how Maël would react.

Unexpectedly, he chuckled and said calmly, "I will crush him and turn him into a weakness as well."

"Haha..." Laughter rang out in the locker room, and Sagna and others even whistled a few times. They liked this kind of competitive attitude.

"Crush him!"

"Turn him into Rafinha!"

"Martin Kelly? A toy!"

"We believe in you!"

Maël confidently raised his eyebrows, but he wasn't careless in his heart. This would be his first time facing a big6 team since coming to Arsenal.

He had to strategically despise the enemy and tactically value the enemy.

On the morning of August 20th, the day of the signing arrived. This time, the signing location was chosen to be at the Emirates Stadium.

Since it was a return from loan and a quick welcome to the off-season, Maël had not yet taken any official photos at the Emirates Stadium, so he took this opportunity to make up for it.

"Do you remember that photo?"

Wenger walked side by side with Maël from inside the stadium and said with a smile, "I had just finished my coaching stint in Japan and was sitting in the stands of Highbury Stadium, leaving a smiling picture.

"I was very young at that time, with longer hair than now, wearing a tie that was very popular in the nineties, and there was no sorrow on my face, haha."

Of course, Maël remembered. He also remembered a comparison picture of Wenger when he left, which had always been regarded as a classic by Arsenal fans.

"I hope you can also leave such a photo, leaving your mark at the Emirates Stadium."

Wenger pointed to the Emirates Stadium and said with longing, "Highbury has become a thing of the past. The new Emirates Stadium belongs to you young talents.

"Perhaps, the photo you leave here will also be regarded as legendary, and it will be known to all Arsenal fans."

"Okay." Maël agreed, then thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll sit in the stands too, and strike the same pose."

Wenger smiled, approving of the photo pose, after all, the photo he took back then was very handsome.

Maël followed Wenger, gradually walking out of the player tunnel and into the magnificent Emirates Stadium. He saw Wenger's hunched back, looking around the new stadium with a hint of emotion.

This was a stadium he had built with his own hands, to enhance the club's influence, have better facilities, sell more tickets, and generate tens of millions of pounds more in ticket revenue each year.

But what he got in return was the club's performance, the sadness of selling captains year after year, and his own exhaustion.

"Let's sit opposite."

Wenger turned around, forcing a smile. He didn't want to look miserable on this day. "There's sunshine there, and the view is better."

Maël nodded and followed him. They quickly reached the other side of the stadium, and after climbing to the 13th row, he sat down, leaning back and resting his hands on the adjacent seats.

"Click, click!" The club photographer quickly captured the moment. These photos would be published in various media reports tomorrow, so there was no need to worry about them getting lost.

Wenger stood behind the photographer, looking at Maël in the lens, smiling with longing, "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a legendary story."

"I hope so too."

Maël left his seat and, following the photographer's instructions, went to many places, leaving behind many photos.

After finishing, he and Wenger went to a media room inside the stadium, preparing to complete the signing there.

"Nothing else."

In front of more than a dozen cameras, Wenger signed his name in multiple places on the contract, stood up, and slowly extended his right hand towards Maël, "Happy cooperation."

Maël was excited after signing his name, stood up and also extended his hand, "Happy cooperation."

He saw hope in Wenger's eyes, and it was very strong. It was a bit of a last-ditch belief and expectation.

Just wait, as his strength grows, he will definitely be able to slowly help Arsenal build an empire! After facing the interviews with the media reporters, Maël thought for a long time and left a sentence: "I came here with a championship, so it is absolutely impossible for me to leave empty-handed. I will bring honor to this club."

"Clap, clap." Wenger sat aside with mixed feelings, only knowing to keep clapping his hands. He slowly raised his head and chest, slowly revealing a sincere smile.

That afternoon, not having time to be happy for too long, Maël put on his jersey and went to the Colney Training Base, and took a bus with his teammates to the Emirates Stadium.

The big6 battle is coming! Liverpool has arrived at the Emirates Stadium, warming up in the place where he took his portrait photos in the morning, waiting for this highly anticipated battle!

This game will definitely be exciting and wonderful! Maël was very excited. He really wanted to compete with the Premier League's top full-backs, and hoped to break through their goal at home.

This is a great team, even considered the most glorious team in the history of the English league, having won 18 top league titles and 5 Champions League titles to date, and striving for these honors every year.

The current Liverpool coach, Dalglish, is one of the team's legendary players, having won three Champions League titles with the team.

Playing against this team, playing in front of their legends is naturally a good experience.

"Liverpool! Liverpool!!"

As the bus slowly approached the Emirates Stadium, Maël heard Liverpool fans cheering outside. Many people gathered by the railings, raising their hands to demonstrate to them.

The atmosphere of the game gradually heated up. Arsenal fans then rushed to the vicinity, gathering to start the first round of off-field confrontation with the Liverpool fans.

Maël followed the bus into the underground parking lot, took the elevator to the stadium, and began to warm up.

He saw veterans such as Reina, Carragher Kuyt in the opponent's lineup, and also saw rising stars such as Suárez and Henderson.

Seeing the jerseys they were wearing... thinking about competing with them soon, he felt some energy rising in his body, and he started warming up with a positive expression.

At the pre-match press conference, Liverpool coach Dalglish sat here, accepting interviews from reporters.

"Is the team confident of winning?" A reporter started with a simple question.

"Of course."

Dalglish was very confident, nodding and saying, "We are in great shape. We are here to take away a clean victory. The whole team is very confident. Wenger's team is no match for us."

"The team drew with Sunderland in the last game. What does Mr. Dalglish think about the defensive problems that were exposed?"

Dalglish didn't care, and smiled lightly: "That was just the first game, the team hasn't gelled well yet... There is no problem with our defense, Sunderland scored a somewhat lucky goal."

"Wenger's team won 5-0 against Newcastle United in the last league game, and the team's young player Maël scored a hat-trick. Will they put pressure on you? Especially the latter."

"No."

Dalglish was a veteran, answering questions quickly, "They played too easily in the last game. We will make Arsenal feel the pressure in this game. As for Maël, he is too young."

"He's an excellent left winger, undeniably, but he lacks experience, especially when facing strong teams."

"But from that perspective, Maël also performed well in the friendly match against Bayern."

"That was just a friendly, you mentioned it, right? I don't think he can break through Liverpool's midfield and defense. He lacks experience against top defenders. Martin Kelly will suppress him."

...

On the other side, in the Media Room, Wenger and Maël sat together, both accepting interviews from reporters.

"Maël, you've renewed your contract, right?" A reporter came up and asked a personal question first.

Maël nodded and smiled, taking it as an answer to them.

"Are you an Arsenal fan?"

"You said you wanted to leave some honors for the team, can you be more specific?"

"Let's talk about the game." Wenger leaned closer to the microphone, afraid that these reporters would stray further and further off-topic. "The players' affairs can be discussed in private interviews."

"What are Arsenal's goals? I see that the team has removed Gibbs and Rosický, and Frimpong and Jenkinson are in the starting lineup."

"The goal is victory."

Wenger's answer was concise and clear, with few words: "As for the substitutions, it's a rotation, and also for tactical considerations."

"Maël, you scored 3 goals in the last Premier League game. In this game, are you confident of scoring at home?"

"Yes." Maël also imitated Wenger, answering simply: "I have made all the preparations, and I hope to bring a wonderful performance to the fans."

"Just got the news that Dalglish on the other side said that he doesn't think you can break through the defense guarded by Martin Kelly. What do you think about this?"

"Haha..."

Maël laughed twice, calmed down, and leaned forward and said, "Then we need to try it on the field."

This press conference ended quickly, and he returned to the locker room. The game was about to begin.

...

"Hello, audience friends, this is the game commentary brought to you by ESPN Sports, I am the commentator Zhan Jun."

In the broadcast room, Zhan Jun adjusted his headset in advance, his eyes full of anticipation for the upcoming game. "As we all know, Liverpool is my home team, but please rest assured Arsenal fans, I will not favor any side in the commentary.

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides! Liverpool's goalkeeper is Reina, the four defenders are Carragher, Agger, José Enrique, and Martin Kelly.

"The three partners on the midfield line are Downing, Charlie Adam, and Lucas. Team captain Gerrard is absent due to injury.

"Kuyt and Andy Carroll stand on the left and right on the front line respectively, and Suárez and Rodríguez are on the bench waiting for orders."

"Arsenal's side..."

...

Inside the stadium, fans had already taken their seats, waving flags and shouting, unfurling banners, or jumping and creating a lively atmosphere. About four thousand Liverpool fans were sitting in the away fans area.

"You'll Never Walk Alone!"

"You'll Never Walk Alone!"

They soon sang the most famous team song in the world in a loud voice, You'll Never Walk Alone.

The voices of four thousand people were not small. When they united and shouted at the top of their lungs, the sound even drowned out the Arsenal fans at home.

"The Arsenal Come on the Arsenal the Arsenal!!"

Fortunately, someone quickly organized the Arsenal fans to sing in unison, which suppressed their momentum and allowed this place to be reoccupied by Arsenal fans.

"Chī chī chī!" Seeing that their voices could not compare, the Liverpool fans lit countless smoke bombs emitting red smoke in the stands, and in an instant, the entire South Stand was illuminated by their fireworks.

"Shuā huālā!"

The Arsenal fans sitting in the North Stand were not to be outdone. They then threw countless white streamers in unison to the beat of the drums, turning the entire North Stand into a chaotic scene of white.

This is a contest between fans!

They all hoped to overwhelm the other side and let the team win the first place before the game even started.

"Arsenal is shit!"

"Crude Liverpool people!"

"We will tear you apart!"

The fans of the two teams who were closer to each other sprayed each other, which was a traditional program.

If their home team plays well later, they might even improvise songs based on popular tunes, like the '1-0' song or the '2-0' song, to mock the opposing fans.

At the live commentary booth, the commentator from Sky Sports cleared his throat and said with passion, "It's a great honor to be commentating on this exciting Premier League round 2 match for everyone, where Arsenal will be hosting Liverpool at home!

"In the last 10 encounters between the two teams, Wenger has won 2, drawn 4, and lost 4, so Liverpool has a slight advantage overall.

"The players from both sides are coming out, and the match is about to begin! Before that, I'd like to introduce the guest next to me, Mr. Lineker!"

Lineker quickly put on his headset and said with a smile, "Hello everyone, I will be commentating on this high-profile match with Dodge! Taking advantage of the pre-match ceremony, I want to ask Dodge, who do you think is the biggest threat in Arsenal and Liverpool?"

"Liverpool's Kuyt? Andy Carroll? Arsenal's Van Persie? Maël?"

Dodge made his own guesses, explaining, "Kuyt has been maintaining a stable performance, and Andy Carroll has been out injured ever since he joined the team last year for a fee of 40 million euros.

"He has recovered from his injury this season and is starting directly, so his condition should have improved.

"As for Arsenal, it's obvious that their two biggest threats right now are these two, Maël, although he is new to the Premier League, has already gained a firm foothold, and he is adapting even faster than Suárez."

Lineker nodded, without responding, he was just trying to liven up the atmosphere.

In the player tunnel, Maël walked out of the tunnel with a child, instantly feeling the fiery atmosphere inside the stadium.

"Ooh ooh... ooh ooh!"

Liverpool fans hugged each other, singing and dancing, creating a great visual impact in the South Stand.

Arsenal fans were not to be outdone, they all stood up and applauded, welcoming the players' entrance.

"Hoo," Maël took a deep breath, adjusting his breathing.

He quickly saw Liverpool legend Dalglish standing with Wenger, shaking hands and chatting, and saw Suárez walking towards the bench wearing a substitute vest.

This is definitely the most important game of his life so far, he must seize it! "Beep!"

At 7:30 in the evening, the referee blew the whistle to officially start the match, and this big6 battle of the second round kicked off!

ps: Headache, today may only be 12,000, I will make up for it tomorrow, monthly update of 347,000, target of 400,000.

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