Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 111 Return to Colney! Officially report to the first team! Wenger's fantasy! New position?

May 5, morning.

On a sunny day, Maher and Gilbert reported to the team together and were in a good mood.

When we arrived at the gate of the Colney training base, perhaps many Arsenal fans had heard the news in advance and came here specially to greet us.

The number of people was not large, only about a hundred, but when they gathered at the entrance of the small base, it still seemed like quite a large presence.

Some of them prepared posters of the two's game photos when they were at Sheffield United, some held up Arsenal jerseys, or just took a piece of white paper and waited for autographs.

"Mael! I've been following you since the 7th round of the Championship. You played very well. Come on next season!"

"Gilbert, the kid who grew up in the youth training camp, I watched your U15 game!"

"Come on, I'm waiting for you to become a Premier League star!"

"You are the future of Arsenal!"

"Save the team!"

Maher walked towards them with a smile and took photos with the fans who wanted to take photos one by one. This second time going home was different from the first time.

There was a difference in both his achievements and honors as well as the grand reception!
He doesn't dare to hope to join a team yet, and have a special joining ceremony inside the home stadium, attracting tens of thousands of people to welcome him.

However, the fact that dozens of fans came all the way here already made him feel happy.

He was unknown when he left, but when he returned, the club's fans were already aware of his presence and were looking forward to his future journey at Arsenal!

Maher could feel himself moving forward step by step, reaching a new level every once in a while.

In time, he will definitely make Arsenal fans crazy about him, and make the whole of London crazy about him!
“See you at the Emirates Stadium.”

Separating from the fans, Maher waved goodbye to them and agreed on a meeting place.

He and Gilbert walked into the gate of the Kearney base, where a new group of people were waiting to greet them.

Hans led the U18 players here again, still with his wife, and still with younger children coming to pay their respects.

It seemed that everything was the same as last time, except that Mahel and Gilbert's identities were different from before.

This time, they came with the title of the Championship champion with a record-breaking 103 points, and a player who broke countless records as the league's best player, top scorer, and assists king!
"The champion is back!"

Hans spread his hands towards Maher and this time he talked about the pair of shoes first. "My sneakers are going to appreciate in value again. I wonder how much the value of these sneakers with 'your beginning' written on them by your own hands will go up in value in the future."

"Ten thousand pounds?"

Maher was also very happy to see him. The two had met in Fulham, London some time ago, but they didn't have time to sit together.

"Not for sale." Hans refused decisively. He smiled and pulled his wife over to tell Maher what was on his mind.

"Hans asked me to invite you."

Hans' wife was a little embarrassed, but she still smiled: "He has always wanted to invite you to dinner at his home. Last time you said you would come back to eat, he has been talking about it for months."

"I remember." Maher nodded. He did remember it. "After I settle down here, I will definitely find time to go there."

"it is good!"

Hans came up and held Mahel's hand, looking very happy. He squeezed it very tightly, fearing that Mahel would run away.

"meet again."

After shaking hands, Maher came to his old teammates from U18 and greeted them.

Seeing them, it is easy to recall the scenes at the Kearney training base, such as the laughter in the gym, the reluctance to part, and the fun of signing two contracts on the same day.

At that time, I was very happy when I earned 800 pounds a week, and I felt like I was taking off when I earned 2500 pounds a week.

Including when he came back halfway to sign the contract with a salary increase, these teammates imitated the way they did before they left for the first time, waving and shouting at him, encouraging him to surprise them again like he did the first time.

It can be said that he did it.

He also achieved his goal and returned here in the best possible condition!
"Congratulations!"

"We are proud of you."

"Let's go to the Emirates Stadium to watch you play in the second half of the year, haha. Make sure we see you score a goal there!"

The U18 players came up to congratulate him, and as the gap grew, they gradually stopped regarding Maher as a "youth player" like them, and the complex emotions naturally dissipated.

Now, when they look at Mahel, it is with pure admiration and respect, and even a little pride.

"Thank you. I will."

Maher hugged them one by one. Looking at their appearance, he could feel more deeply that they had walked a lot in this year and that great changes had taken place in just a few months.

"I'm coming."

Next to the U18 players, there was a group of children peeking out, like U8-U10 players. They were curious but didn’t dare to come up.

"ah!"

"Mael!"

Maher walked over and touched their heads. The group of people screamed excitedly, and many children ran around in circles.

He looked at the happy faces of these laughing players and felt a sense of happiness when he thought about their bright future.

Is it because I’m in a good mood today?
He didn't think about it anymore, said goodbye to these people and went to the office of the team's first team coach.

Not long after, Maher pushed the door and walked into Wenger's office first, while Gilbert was waiting outside.

"Finally home."

Wenger and his assistant coaches saw him come in, stood up from their seats, smiled and clapped their hands to welcome him.

There will definitely not be any special press conference for the return on loan at the end of the season. It will mostly be a simple welcome from the coaching staff and a simple ceremony before the players are called together for training.

“I never said that”

Wenger looked at Maher with some emotion, and said something he had not said the last time they met: "In fact, I never thought that the player who spent every day in the training ground and seemed to be mediocre in all aspects would come back to me like this one day.

"Mael, your progress is incredible."

The season is over, and he has lost some of his stress and fatigue. He paused and added with a smile: "Your appearance is also the same. I did nothing, but I got such a talented young man for nothing.

"Sometimes I really wonder if you were sent by God to save me."

"Haha." Philip and others shook their heads and laughed. This side of Wenger is not often seen. He always speaks very little and is very serious.

"40 goals and 27 assists."

First assistant coach Philip read Maher's Championship statistics and said with a smile: "Don't say half. In the Premier League, as long as you can produce one-third of the Championship statistics in a single season, you are top."

"Don't say that, Philip." An assistant coach interrupted him and reminded him, "The player has just come back and is not yet 18 years old. Don't put so much pressure on him."

"No no no."

One assistant coach thought that what the assistant coach said was not right and shook his head, saying: "Mael is definitely not someone who is afraid of pressure. I believe he can perform well in the Premier League. We often play against Championship teams in cup competitions and we know the level there."

"Yes." An assistant coach echoed: "I believe he will be able to play at the top level sooner or later!"

Everyone was talking in a flurry of encouragement and praise, and the scene instantly became lively.

Maher met the coaching staff of Arsenal's first team for the first time and memorized their faces. "Okay."

Wenger stood up and walked to the tactical board, "Join the club's morning training at 9:30, there will be a welcome ceremony for you.

"Before that, I have an idea I want to tell you."

Maher came to the tactical board, stood with the assistant coaches, and listened carefully.

"I want to tell you about Robin van Persie first."

Wenger chose an angle that Mahel did not expect to cut in. He picked up a chess piece in the forward position of the 4-4-2 formation on the tactical board. "His finishing ability is first-class, and his confrontation ability is also good. People regard him more as a pure traditional Dutch center forward.

"But everyone forgets that when he debuted, he was actually famous for his delicate ball control skills. His dribbling and passing were also first-class."

Maher nodded slightly, still not understanding what Wenger wanted to say to him.

"It was only after Henry left that his position moved further and further forward, and he gradually became a goalkeeper."

Wenger pushed the pawn representing Van Persie to the front of the goal and continued: "And we couldn't find a replacement for him, so we kept him in this position.

"I would say that the reason he plays well in this position is not because he is the best at this position, but because he is top-notch."

Wenger got to the point at this moment, his eyes full of the enthusiasm of gambling, "I want him to stay back and play in Bergkamp's position, which is nine and a half. I always think this is the most suitable position for him.

"And I want to move you up to the center position and change your original position."

He said this very seriously without hesitation: "Not only a finisher, not only a sniper, not only a speed center, I want to train you to be an all-around center!"

Maher finally understood what Wenger meant by all that he said. His heart trembled. Before this, he had never thought about changing positions.

All-around center?

Several figures quickly emerged in his mind: Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Lewandowski, Harry Kane. Should he play in this position?
Maybe, yes.

If he can really have a good fit with Van Persie in this position, the forward line formed by the two of them will definitely have extremely strong lethality!

"Wenger just used Bergkamp to refer to Van Persie, and the meaning is very clear."

Philippe then took over the conversation and said by analogy: "We need a new Henry, and you are the young player who is most likely to reach that height that we have seen in recent years."

"New Henry?"

Wenger was afraid that this would make Maher uncomfortable, so he smiled and said, "No, what we need is a top all-around center forward, maybe Henry, maybe Maher.

"Of course, this is just a plan. Whether it is feasible and whether you can appear in the Premier League next season depends on us getting to know you better and observing your performance in every training session at Arsenal."

"I understand." Maher nodded. He was not sure about this matter, so he decided to leave it to a more professional coaching team to evaluate.

Show your strengths in training and get the starting position first.

Whether he is placed on the wing or center, he should do his job well and try to contribute to the team!

"Let's prepare for the training match."

Wenger finally came forward, patted Maher on the shoulder, smiled for a few seconds and said: "I hope you can do it, come on."

At half past nine, Maher and Gilbert followed Wenger and went to the first-team training ground on time, where a welcome ceremony was waiting for them.

For the two of them, it was a place completely different from any training ground they had ever been to!

Although they had spent a long time at the Colney training base, they had never set foot on the grass and only watched from afar when there were no first-team training sessions.

Countless legendary superstars have emerged from there, witnessed countless inspirational stories, and given birth to many classic moments.

Club legends such as Tony Adams, Henry, Bergkamp, ​​Pires, Vieira, and Ljungberg have all left their footprints on this field.

Even today, it has some of the best players in European football.

And they will meet these players today and become teammates!

"Robin van Persie."

Gilbert spotted his idol from a distance, he grinned, then turned around and looked at the other stars with admiration.

Arshavin, Walcott, Ramsey, Nasri, Alexander, Song and so on. Most of them are people he has seen on TV every week for a long time.

Turning his eyes again, he saw Diaby, Wilshere, Koscielny and Fabregas?

Wait, Fabregas?

"Didn't he go on strike?" Gilbert turned to ask Mahel, looking confused.

"I don't know what's going on either."

Maher shook his head, not caring too much. He was still immersed in excitement, thinking that he was about to join a wealthy team. His breathing was a little rapid.

A new journey is about to begin, and he is about to officially become a member of Arsenal.

"Clap, clap!" Applause rang out. The Arsenal first-team members who gathered in a circle applauded the two men, some with smiles on their faces and some with calm expressions. They had experienced many moments like this.

"Mael, Gilbert."

Wenger brought the two men in front of the players. He saw Fabregas but didn't want to spoil the mood on what was supposed to be a happy day, so he pretended not to see him.

I hope you don't cause trouble. Wenger exhaled a breath of anger from his nose, adjusted his state and smiled again: "I don't think I need to introduce them any more."

The players didn't say anything. As well-known figures in European football, they were still a little bit arrogant and would not initiate a conversation before the ice was broken.

This is a common situation, and the assistant coach quickly arranged an ice-breaking game, asking the old players to line up in two rows, leaving an empty path in the middle, and letting the new players run through it.

During the process, the old team members can slap the new team members who run slowly. Of course, it should not be too hard, just for fun.

When all the Arsenal players lined up and waited for the two newcomers to pass with a faint smile, Fabregas walked to the side of the training ground, found a step and sat down, with no intention of participating.

This is also good.
Gilbert was the first to go up. He looked at the familiar faces on both sides and rushed over happily.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of slaps and fists hit his back and arms, none of which were heavy. At this moment, laughter appeared on the training ground, "Haha!"

When it was Mahel's turn, he wanted to sprint a long distance to get through as quickly as possible, but the gap they left was too small for him to maneuver, so he could only bend over and run as fast as he could.

He was hit a few times, but he didn't feel anything because the veteran team members were relatively gentle.

"Wilshire."

Wilshere was the first one to greet him. As a famous talented player in the team, he was only one year older than the two of them.

Mael high-fived him, and then he saw Alexander Song and others come up and introduce themselves, so they had a preliminary acquaintance.

When Van Persie came up, thinking that this might be his future partner, Maher observed him carefully. The Dutch striker was quite handsome and stood out among the Arsenal players.

"Robin van Persie."

Van Persie smiled faintly, saying indifferently: "I hope we can have a happy cooperation in the future."

He just said a common polite remark, but it aroused Maher's imagination, and he stretched out his hand to high-five and said, "Happy cooperation in the future."

ps: I will try to update one more 4k article before going to bed, please give me your monthly vote.

(End of this chapter)