Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 148 Charity Event! Disabled fans, I will remember them!

On September 9, Maher, who was practicing extra training at the training ground, received a call from Wenger, who hoped that he could attend a charity event.

His first instinctive reaction was actually resistance, as he felt that he had not yet reached that stage.

In other words, he didn't want his stable and quiet life to be disrupted by all kinds of activities.

After joining the Premier League team, he lives a very regular life every day. In addition to completing his own extra training, he also completes the team's training sessions.

He does all the extra training by himself, which is boring but provides a high degree of freedom.

The team's mid-season training is not very intense, and mostly involves some specific tactical drills and set-piece drills based on the opponents in the next round.

Other than that, the strength and conditioning training was no different from what he did on his own.

Under such circumstances, he has gradually found a rhythm of life in London and does not want it to be disrupted again.

“Can I donate some money remotely?”

Maher asked Wenger for his opinion, as he wanted to simply deal with the event.

"You are wrong."

Wenger's voice was very calm and he said patiently: "Charity activities are not necessarily donation activities. There are many kinds of kindness, such as love, satisfaction, compensation and so on.

"This is an event to care for Arsenal's disabled fans. Some of them have no legs but come to the Emirates Stadium every day in a wheelchair. Some are blind and some are deaf-mute."

"Ah" After hearing that it was a charity event for Arsenal fans, Maher's heart softened a little. He knew very well the fans' support for him every week.

The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium is always great and Arsenal fans always make it a lively place.

It is also because of this that he was able to leave so many unforgettable scenes and moments of emotional climax there.

After hearing about the disabled fans, Maher did not hesitate. He immediately went to the sidelines to change his shoes and asked Wenger, "What time does the game start?"

"We have dinner together at six o'clock."

"I'll be there at five fifty."

Mael quickly changed his shoes and wanted to change his clothes as well, but after thinking it over, he still put them on.

You can make up for the daytime training time at night, but now it is more important to participate in this activity first.

He is extremely lucky in his life, and sometimes he even feels anxious. If he has the chance, he will definitely give back to these unfortunate fans within his ability.

The restaurant in the box of the Emirates Stadium is sparsely populated today, but there are quite a few cameras set up.

Several people of different ages but with their own misfortunes sat at a round table, waiting for the club's coaches and players with joyful expressions.

"I can't see it."

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy smiled and said expectantly, "When Mr. Wenger comes, be sure to let me know."

"Okay." An old man sitting in a wheelchair nodded. He had no legs, but there was nothing wrong with him elsewhere. "Which player do you like best?"

"It used to be Cesc Fabregas. He was in the team when I was very young and stayed with me until last year."

The little boy looked straight ahead, but his face was full of expression. “Everyone knows what happened later. I don’t blame him, but I don’t like him anymore.

"Later, I liked Van Persie and Koscielny. Now I also like Maher."

"I like Maher, too." The old man in the wheelchair nodded and smiled, saying, "He brings surprises every week. All my recent happiness comes from him."

After saying that, he looked elsewhere, where there were two people, a man and a woman, with all four limbs intact but who had not spoken a word.

The man was about thirty years old, wearing tattered Arsenal clothes, with long beard and hair, and looked like a homeless person.

The girl looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. She was very pretty, with a pale face and eyes that were full of curiosity about everything. She looked ignorant and pitiful.

"What about you?" asked the old man in the wheelchair. He didn't understand why the two of them were sitting here.

"Van Persie, Maher, Walcott." The middle-aged man lowered his head, showing shyness that was inconsistent with his age, or fear of talking to people.

Judging from his beaming expression, he is very happy today.

Perhaps for this reason, after he lowered his head, he still shyly tried to talk to everyone, "I can see and hear, but I have three diseases.

"Because I had polio when I was a child, I was extremely sensitive to everything, especially the gazes of others. As I grew older, this condition gradually worsened and spread to other aspects.

"I was diagnosed with mild autism and severe claustrophobia, and I couldn't ride in a car or a plane, or even be alone in a room with too many people.

"When I grew up, with the help of my parents, I began to face these problems and tried to solve them in various ways. I wanted to live like a normal person."

At this point, he slowly raised his head and smiled, "Seven years ago, I watched my first Arsenal game, initially to solve my symptoms through stimulation.

"I later found it was extremely effective, I fell in love with football, I fell in love with Arsenal, and it healed me a lot.

“Since I still couldn’t stand travelling to away games by car, I started cycling around the UK to watch all my team’s Premier League games.

“I rode very slowly, often for days on end, but still couldn’t reach my destination and missed the away games. Sometimes I would cry.

"But because of this, I don't have too high expectations. Every time I can catch up with the away game, I am very happy and don't care about winning or losing."

He said a lot of things he had prepared long ago, and after he finished speaking, he saw that everyone was silent and lowered their heads, so he lowered his head again shyly.

"What about you?" The old man in the wheelchair looked at the girl and asked with a heavy face.

The girl pointed to her mouth and shook her head, took out a pen and paper from her pocket, and wrote a sentence: - "I can't speak, but I like Maher because he plays very well and is very handsome."

No one talked anymore, and the atmosphere of waiting became solemn.

At 5:43 pm, Maher drove his Ferrari into the underground car park of the Emirates Stadium.

At the elevator entrance, he saw Mr. Wenger, who had been waiting eagerly, standing there alone.

"Just the two of us?" he asked as he approached.

"And Van Persie and Vermaelen." Wenger looked at his watch and replied, "But Van Persie will arrive around 6:20, and Vermaelen will be a little later."

"Go up first?"

Maher pointed to the elevator and followed Wenger after he nodded.

They quickly arrived at the floor where the box was located, and after exiting the elevator, they saw four people sitting at a table in the distance.

"Mr. Wenger is here!"

The old man in the wheelchair noticed it first. He pointed at the elevator entrance and said in surprise: "There's Maher!"

"Really?" The little boy turned his head towards the direction where the footsteps came from and clapped his hands, excited and at a loss.

"Really, it's not far from us!"

The old man in the wheelchair even had the urge to stand up. To ordinary fans, they are not even ordinary fans. They are fans who are often discriminated against and looked at with misunderstanding.

For them, it is naturally extremely exciting to be able to see the team's brilliant supernova Maher and legendary coach Wenger at such a close distance in such a place.

The middle-aged man raised his head and looked at the two of them with a silly smile.

The young girl's breathing was a little rapid, and her face showed anxiety, but she could only stammer and shut up in frustration.

"Hello you all."

Wenger felt a little uncomfortable when he saw them, but he still showed his brightest smile, "Van Persie and Vermaelen will be here later, let's eat first."

Maher greeted the four people, and he almost instantly determined what problems each of them had, except for the middle-aged man who was a little uncertain.

During the meal, they talked very little. Occasionally Wenger would bring up a topic, and sometimes Maher would bring up one, but most of the time the four fans were unable to give a clear answer.

"I'll chat with them both." After dinner, Wenger had no choice but to chat privately. He took the old man in the wheelchair and the little boy away and asked Maher to find the middle-aged man and the girl.

"it is good."

Maer came to the middle-aged man and the girl, and was about to speak when he saw the middle-aged man lower his head. "Because when I was a child."

"."

He repeated what he had just said to the others, word for word.

Maher's heart was stirred when he heard this, and he asked solemnly, "You watch almost every game, and you have to go to away games. It must be expensive, right?"

"My parents left me a house before they passed away. I rent it out now and get 700 pounds a month in rent. With the government subsidy, it's barely enough."

The middle-aged man finally smiled, but it was more like a self-deprecating smile because he was afraid that Maher would laugh at him, "I don't stay in hotels, and I don't eat in restaurants.

"I brought a quilt and pots and pans with me, and I would find a place to live and cook. Have you seen the decorations of the Grenadiers in the 18th century?

"When I travel, I'm a little bit like that. When it's cold in winter, I'll wear a very tall hat, haha."

Maher's expression was still solemn. He raised his hand to motion the two to sit next to him, with mixed feelings and didn't know what to say.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at the girl, who immediately turned her head away shyly, but her eyes were bright and there was a smile on her lips.

She didn't say a word. Maher guessed that she was deaf-mute, but he didn't understand why she didn't communicate with him in writing.

"you."

After thinking for a long time, he asked, "Any regrets or things you want?"

He wants to help them and if those two points of theirs are relevant to Arsenal, it should be easy for him to do so.

"I"

The middle-aged man pursed his lips, hesitating, his eyes suddenly reddened: "I want a season ticket with away game qualification, but I can't get in line, I have to wait for a few years.

"Many times I couldn't make it to away games. Sometimes I finally made it but couldn't get a ticket because scalpers were selling it at too high a price, so I had to leave disappointed."

A string in Maher's heart suddenly pulled violently. He had experienced the enthusiasm of European fans for football and knew what football culture represented here.

But this is the first time I have felt it so concretely and tangibly.

"Any more?"

"No, I don't need donations or autographs. I just hope to watch the team's games every week. This is my biggest wish. I think if I can watch for another three years, my illness will be cured."

Maher patted his shoulder, not knowing what to say, and finally said: "Leave it to me, I wish you a speedy recovery, and I'll leave your contact information.

"When you recover, I will take you on the club bus and go with us to the away game."

"Sure." The middle-aged man raised his right hand and wiped his eyes. "My name is David."

Maher kept patting him on the back, then turned to look at the girl and found that she was writing something.

When she picked up the paper, a line of neat and clear handwriting appeared on it: - "Mael, I like you. I want to hug you, okay?"

Maher smiled, stood up, hugged her, and asked, "You are very beautiful. Can you answer the question I just asked you?"

The girl's eyes became red after she separated from Maher. Perhaps she was excited to see her idol, but also felt regretful for not being able to get him.

Maher came to her and watched her write out the contents on the paper stroke by stroke.

"I don't want anything, I just want to tell you one thing: your goal was wonderful and beautiful."

Maher smiled and touched the girl's head. Her hair was very smooth and she looked very pure. "Thank you. I will score many more wonderful goals."

"But I can't celebrate your goal because I can't speak."

She pointed to her mouth, shook her head with red eyes, and then lowered her head to write.

Maher looked at her writing seriously with her head down, and felt a little sympathy in his heart. He would give her autographed jersey and sneakers to these two people later.

If possible, he will prepare season tickets and give one to these two or even all four of them.

“Every time I know it, people look at me strangely. Even when they are in the best mood, they are unwilling to celebrate with me.

"Very few people hugged me or gave me high fives, most of them just looked at me with fear and disgust and walked away from me.

"I received a lot of encouraging messages on the internet, but in reality, on the pitch, I didn't get anything.

"I just wanted to celebrate the goal but was often mocked and abused by others who thought I couldn't hear or that I was stupid and couldn't see anything."

Seeing her fill up the entire sheet of paper, Maher opened his mouth slightly, and a numbing feeling appeared on his face, which instantly spread throughout his body.

He could completely put himself in the shoes of this little girl and feel everything she had gone through.

He knew the feeling of emotional climax, and he had heard the cheers at the Emirates Stadium countless times. But he never expected that at that moment, there would be a little girl in the stands who didn't even have the right to celebrate.

What should he say?
Blame the Arsenal fans around the little girl?

To lament the complexity of human beings?
"Hmm." The little girl pursed her lips and started crying. She couldn't help making some sounds, and then covered her mouth with her hands, fearing that Mael would also show a disgusted expression like those people.

Maher had no expression. He numbly walked forward and hugged the little girl in his arms, patting her back to comfort her.

His mind raced. Maybe he had to do something. But what should he do?
He had just met these people and was not very close to them, and they were destined to have no connection with each other in real life.

Give them a sum of money that is nothing to you?
Or help them speak out on social media and call on Arsenal fans to care about them?

Perhaps these are not the optimal solutions and cannot really help the two people, and some may even be counterproductive.

"I'll leave your contact information too."

He took out his phone, asked the girl to write down her social media account on a piece of paper, and said, “I will give you a jersey with my signature and write something on it.

“Let everyone close to you know that I hope you won’t get hurt, or that I’m protecting you, okay?

"Then... it will be too late for the next home Champions League game. I will pick a good day and book a box at the Emirates Stadium for the four of you so that you can watch the game quietly, okay?

"No one will disturb you, you can celebrate if you want and do whatever you want."

These were the only two things he could do, maybe he could do more, but right now, these were all he could think of.

"Yes!"

The little girl finally wrote a huge 'yes' on the whole piece of paper. She stopped crying and jumped up and down with laughter, but the energy had not yet worn off and her body would occasionally tremble slightly.

Maher then took off his jersey, signed it and gave it to him.

Knowing that middle-aged people have to walk a lot, he wrote blessings on his sneakers and gave the shoes to him.

Both of them accepted it happily, and in the end, they stood on both sides of Maher with happy smiles on their faces and took a photo.

"I won't forget them."

After the event, Maher walked out of the restaurant and changed into a casual outfit. "The fans pay so much to support the team every week, so we have to do something for them."

Wenger nodded in agreement and walked Maher to the elevator before stopping. "I'll wait for Vermaelen and Van Persie. You go first."

"it is good."

Maher walked into the elevator and turned around to say, "Mr. Wenger, I will participate in more activities like this in the future. Remember those four season tickets with away games."

……

ps: Monthly update 20794, target 54.

(End of this chapter)