Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 74: Level 4 cross! No tickets? Sit with the boss! [25]

On December 12th, Christmas Eve arrives.

While other players packed their bags and prepared to hit the streets for a party, Maher was still practicing crossing at the club's training base.

It's not that he's a loner, his passing proficiency is just a few points away, and he wants to complete the upgrade today before taking a rest and having fun.

With one more level 1 skill, he will be more confident in the Boxing Day battle on the 4th and have stronger combat effectiveness.

"Then let's go to the barbecue restaurant first, and then we'll drive over to pick you up."

The team's center Evans shook the key of the Mercedes-AMG in his hand, hooked his arm around Gilbert's shoulder and said goodbye to him. Several teammates were also there.

They all came to advise Maher, hoping that he would put down football on days like this.

"Wait for you."

Januhans waved at him, his expression showing some confusion and some admiration. After turning around, he whispered, "No wonder you are improving so fast with this kind of training. It's just that the sacrifice is too great."

"Do you support him?"

Ward was there too, and he asked, "Or, are you willing to pay such a great price and sacrifice in exchange for the highlights on the court?"

Januhans was silent. On weekdays, he looked at Mahel with envy and had thought countless times that he wished he was like Maher.

But now think about it. How much did he really pay?
If this is the price of scoring 20 goals in the Championship, he can't say he's willing to do it.

No one else said anything. With mixed feelings, they didn't respond to the conversation. Only Gilbert, who was usually very strict with himself, looked idle.

Under Maher's influence, he also gave up a lot of social and rest time and spent the whole day on the court.

"actually."

Seeing everyone fall into silence, Gilbert thought for a while and said, "I have always felt that the difference in talent among people is not as big as everyone imagines. It's just that sometimes, we can't bear to give up comfort and don't want to sacrifice too much."

His words touched many people's hearts, and they turned back to look at Maher on the court.

He had just kicked more than ten balls and was running to the other side to pick up the ball. His upright back seemed to contain infinite power that would never be defeated.

"I'll take the bus over later."

Maher called over here at this time, his voice was very clear: "I won't be long, I'm afraid you will have to come back to pick me up soon after you arrived."

Everyone nodded and left. He continued to practice alone, occasionally patting his head to keep himself awake.

He gradually discovered that falling into a state of numbness during practice was not a good thing.

It is better to perform the movements consciously, accept the feedback from your body, and remember these feelings better, so that your proficiency can increase faster.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

As the cross ball was fired one after another, Maher gradually felt a thrill. When passing the ball, his accuracy became stronger and stronger, and it seemed that he had a certain degree of control over the landing point.

Finally, as he swung his ankle, he carried the football with his inner foot and hit it towards the middle again, and a sense of clarity instantly filled his brain.

[Skill: Arc Guidance lv4]

[Proficiency: (1/2000)]

[Effect: Countless times of training have brought your cross to a new level. All the skills and movements related to cross are engraved into your body, as if they were born with you. Your ability to control the landing point has been greatly improved! ]

coming!

The second lv4 skill!
"call"

Maher let out a breath, as if letting out all his tiredness, as well as all the disappointment and frustration of watching others go out early to celebrate the festival while he could only stay in the training ground.

An intense joy and sense of accomplishment rose in his heart, dopamine was continuously secreted in his brain, and even the feeling of coldness in his body disappeared completely.

At this moment, he felt that he was omnipotent and no longer had any difficulties.

"Yeah!" he shouted, letting go of his emotions. This was a joy that belonged to him alone, a romantic celebration that belonged to him alone.

There is no better feeling than this. This emotion that comes from the bottom of my heart is sincere and warm.

"cheers!"

More than 20 minutes later, Maher arrived at a barbecue restaurant in the city. Evans had booked the restaurant today. This was a single game exclusively for them.

Each player took two or three bottles of beer, poured them into Christmas cups filled with red elements, and clinked them together.

Take a rest tomorrow. It’s okay to drink two fewer glasses today. If your ability to break down alcohol is poor, you can go for a run tomorrow morning to promote metabolism.

"For our 43 points!"

Captain Robert, the oldest, was the first to say, “In the second half, we have to get another 43 points!”

"Hahaha."

There was laughter and joy at the scene. Maher was a little hungry, so after drinking a glass of wine, he cut two pieces of steak and ate them, just staring at them.

"Merry Christmas Eve!"

"Happy Happy."

"This is for Mr. Gary Speed, but unfortunately he is not here."

They clinked their glasses a few times, and except for a few players who had the habit of drinking on weekdays, everyone else started talking without restraint with a slightly red face.

The scene was very lively, with more than 20 people sitting at two large tables, making a lot of noise, chatting in groups of three or five, and sometimes all chatting together.

“This one.”

Evans picked up a beer. He is also a veteran in the team. "We have to drink to the top scorer and assist king in the team."

"Oh!" A cheer rang out, and everyone turned their eyes to Maher with special emotions.

On weekdays, they rarely have private contact with Maher, who seems to spend all his time on football. This time, they should take this opportunity to get closer to him, after all, this is likely to be a superstar player in the future.
When Maher heard that he was talking about himself, he picked up the wine glass after chewing the meat in his mouth, thanked the people around him, and drank the wine in one gulp.

“Mael, how many goals do you plan to score in the second half?”

The team's central defender Steven didn't know how to approach Maher in such an occasion, and said awkwardly: "We need to bring the top scorer back to Sheffield United."

"Don't just give assists to Bolodanovic and Evans. If you count them, I gave you more assists than them both combined."

Ward looked dissatisfied and complained: "You have to give me five, otherwise I will turn against them."

"Why are you turning against us?" Evans stared with his eyes wide in confusion. Shouldn't he be turning against Maher?

In short, everyone was arguing and saying things that they wouldn't have the chance to say on normal days.

When the excitement died down, everyone was tired, tired of eating, and a little drunk, so the dinner entered its second half.

During this period, emotion and memories became the main theme here.

"At the beginning of the season, who could have imagined what would happen now? At that time, I saw no hope. Every time I stood on the court, it was a torment. I wanted to escape from everything."

"Yeah, who would have thought that our best player had never played a professional league game when he came to the team at the beginning of the season?"

"Ha ha."

Someone suddenly remembered something and looked at Maher and expressed his concerns, "Maher, I heard someone say that you might return to Arsenal after the Boxing Day battle?"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people turned to look at Mahel, with various expressions on their faces, some puzzled, some suspicious, some uneasy, and some expectant.

Even Gilbert, a player from the same youth training camp, was a little nervous at this time, fearing that Mahel would nod.

"Who said that?"

Maher smiled and raised his glass, saying: “How can I bear to abandon you and this season that could create a miracle of promotion?

"Don't worry, brothers. I won't leave. I will fulfill the contract."

Everyone at the scene was stunned. Then, two outgoing geniuses suddenly cheered, leading everyone to shout.

"Yeah!" They cheered as if they were already standing on the podium.

As Mahel looked at them, he felt a special sense of satisfaction in his heart. He didn't want to hide it. The feeling of being needed and important is something that everyone must have in this world.

Only in this way could he avoid the illusion of weightlessness and the feeling that he was living in an unreal world.

After dinner, a few players who were more playful wanted to go to the nightclub and took a taxi alone to play the second game.

Maher and Gilbert went home, both of them a little tipsy. The last time they felt this way was when they first joined the team.

"Mael."

Gilbert stood on the street with his hands in his trouser pockets, a little shaky and a little bit immature: "I'm so tired, but I..."

Here it comes again. Maer didn't give him a chance to sigh and quickly interrupted the spell: "Go home and sleep if you are tired."

At night, Maher had just laid down in bed when he suddenly received a call from his uncle.

He clicked to answer the call and put it to his ear, "Uncle, what's wrong? Are you planning to come over soon?"

It seemed a little difficult to say, a little awkward: "Emael, we actually arrived yesterday. We wanted to give you a surprise, but now we are facing some difficulties."

"what?"

Maher's mouth opened wide and he sat up on the bed. "He came here yesterday?"

"Yes, we are all here. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but it is true. We wanted to watch your game secretly and then contact the club staff to suddenly appear in front of you."

At this point, Clemont's voice changed, with a hint of death, "But I didn't get the tickets. I didn't make a thorough plan. I didn't expect this game to be so popular. I'm sorry."

"fine."

While Maher was buffering the shock of receiving the news, he smiled bitterly and comforted: "I'll figure out the ticket issue. It's okay if I can't give you a surprise. We can spend Christmas together tomorrow.

"Have you settled down?"

"I've stayed."

"Okay, I'll consult the club's staff now. Otherwise, by tomorrow, tickets might be even more scarce, and we won't even be able to get a box."

After hanging up the phone, Maher immediately called Jolson. This guy has now taken the position of the first assistant coach and has a lot of say.

After learning that it was his family's first visit and feeling the seriousness in his words, Jolson only left one sentence, a very cool one.

“The tickets are gone, and the boxes are probably gone too, but leave it to me, I will make sure your family is at the stadium on the 26th.

"Even if I have to sit in the coach's box or on the roof of the stadium, I want them to experience the game on the spot. I will take care of it."

His second statement was certainly meant in jest, but it showed his resolve.

After hanging up the phone again, Maher was a little sleepless. From this point of view, this Boxing Day battle is really crucial to him.

Half an hour later, the phone vibrated several times. Perhaps Joelson was afraid that he had fallen asleep, so he sent him a few messages.

——"The bad news is that there are only three internal tickets available for you, which is not enough. If you want to sit in the box, you can only sit with others."

——"The good news is that the club owner McCabe knows about this. He invited your family to his private box to watch the game and promised to clear out the outsiders and turn it into your family's home."

——"That's the situation. I hope your family would agree to have a billionaire sitting next to them while they watch the game and explaining the situation to them (snickering)."

A smile appeared on Maher's face, he took a long breath, and sent a message to his uncle.

ps: I’m sorry about the unstable update schedule. I’m slowly adjusting and don’t have any drafts saved. I need to adapt to the sudden increase in the update volume.

(End of this chapter)