Chapter 860 - 21: Tough Manchester City! An Assist Already? No Explanation Needed!

This is a sign of a team maturing, a team like this is capable of winning multiple championships.

"Boom...!"

In the 68th minute of the match, Cazorla, after a few dribbles, found the opportunity was not good, and passed the ball to Kyle Walker who moved up beside him.

Kyle Walker drove the ball deep, reaching the area near Ma’el.

Unlike before, Ma’el did not give away the entire flank this time, nor did he move to the center to vie for points, but stood right next to Kyle Walker.

"Eh...eh!!"

He was observing Manchester City’s defense while pointing at his feet, asking Kyle Walker for the ball.

Kyle Walker was a bit unaccustomed. After coming to Arsenal, staying alongside a strong forward like Ma’el, he suppressed his offensive desires, focusing solely on defense.

Therefore, every time he got a chance to utilize his offensive talent, everyone on the team would trust him and give him space to perform.

He somewhat didn’t expect Ma’el not to let him pass the ball this time.

"Boom!"

Perhaps falling behind made him a bit anxious..... Kyle Walker passed the ball to Ma’el, three meters beside him, and then stayed put, watching Ma’el’s movements.

"Dun dun dun...!"

Realizing what happened, he suddenly accelerated towards the touchline, wanting to draw away a defender for Ma’el with his run.

As he started, Ma’el was already dribbling to the center, seemingly preparing to cross or shoot.

"Looking for Bale at the far post! He can do headers!"

In the broadcasting room, Zhan Jun believed Ma’el was going to pass because the distance was too far and the angle was tight.

Ma’el’s long shot could overcome the distance, but terrifyingly couldn’t overcome the tight angle... Shooting from here meant the goalkeeper only had a small area to defend.

"Boom.....!!"

But when everyone was caught off guard, Ma’el moved the ball inward and decisively unleashed a heavy cannon strike towards the far corner.

As soon as the thought ’How is he so confident’ entered everyone’s mind, they realized the ball had passed through Manchester City’s goalkeeper Joe Hart’s hands and flew into the net!

"Swish!"

"WowWow.....Ohhh....!!"

Arsenal fans on site instantly erupted, everyone raising their arms in a wave of excitement.

Here it comes again!

Super heavy cannon world wave!

Almost 1 per game!

One to one!

"Yes!!!" On the sidelines, Wenger practically leaped up, even flinging his tie into the air, appearing quite ungraceful.

"Vamos.....!!"

As Ma’el rushed to the corner area to celebrate, Kyle Walker, who had just sprinted towards the touchline, stopped in his tracks dumbfounded.

Was that an assist just like that?

That was too easy, wasn’t it?

That pass was spot on!

"Ma’el! Divine Lamp!" His expression also turned excited, shaking his arms vigorously as he ran to Ma’el.

"A beautiful goal! Arsenal equalized the score!

"Whoa, no one would have thought Ma’el could blast the ball into the net from that position!

"This is why he’s worth 135 million euros, why he’s the most valuable player in the world! He’s different from others! Often scoring unimaginable goals!

"I don’t even know how fortunate it is to have such a forward, 6 Premier League rounds have passed, he played 5 rounds, scoring 10 goals!

"This data not only sits him firmly at the top of the scorer list but also surpasses 9 Premier League teams!

"Yes, his number of goals should no longer be compared to any player but to the total of some teams!"

"..."

Amid Arsenal’s revelry, was the melancholy of the Citizens of Etihad City.

Mancini raised his head helplessly towards the sky on the sidelines, then adjusted his mood and ran closer to his despondent and despairing players to comfort them.

"Keep going! Keep going!!

"You defended well, did a great job in the first hour! Believe in your potential!

"Maintain defensive focus, unless necessary, don’t push heavily on the offense!!

"Did you hear that? Defense!"

The last sentence was essentially the theme he wanted to emphasize this time.

Playing at home, after being leveled by Arsenal, the players would naturally push for offense, but this is when Arsenal was likely to score a second goal.

Better to chase a draw than to end up with no points.

Though it might seem a bit utilitarian, a bit cowardly, facing such a complete team, he had to do this.

Only in this way can the hope of contesting for the title be retained, only in this way can they bide their time waiting for Arsenal to slip, and then seize the opportunity for a comeback!

"Beep!"

After the restart, Manchester City players seemed to heed Mancini’s thoughts, starting to park the bus in defense.

"Hiss hiss hiss...!"

"Mancini, get lost!"

"If you don’t want to play, just concede!"

This instantly triggered discontent among the fans, Manchester City fans’ boos and curses lingered over the stadium, long without dissipating.

Manchester City players converted these pressures into motivation, focusing more on their defense.

They believed that as long as they could hold the line and grab some points in the end, everything would be fine, and the fans would understand them.

Thus, amidst Arsenal players’ discomfort and puzzlement, the remaining 20 minutes quickly elapsed.

"Beep! Beep! Beep——!"

Finally, after one minute of stoppage time, the main referee blew the long whistle three times, ending the 6th round match of the Premier League in a draw.

"Phew....." Many Manchester City players exhaled a long breath and rushed off the field.

"Never seen anything like this."

"Yeah."

Arsenal players shrugged helplessly, puzzled by Manchester City’s late actions, also lamenting for not securing the win.

"Not a bad result."

Ma’el clapped his hands in comfort: "Although we couldn’t get all three points, though our winning streak ended, we achieved 44 unbeaten matches."

"Indeed." Van Persie and other veterans said as they high-fived Ma’el: "Drawing at Manchester City away isn’t unacceptable."

"No one can win all the time."

"Let’s do well next midweek!"

"Come on!!"

Arsenal’s players left the pitch, heading towards the dressing room.

Wenger and Mancini shook hands and chatted with smiles at the sidelines, lingering for quite some time before preparing to leave.

After the match, Ma’el was invited to a billboard area to accept interviews from reporters.

He wore a smile, waiting for the reporters’ questions.

"Not being able to maintain the winning streak, are there any feelings of dissatisfaction?" a reporter asked.

"Of course." Ma’el nodded, confirming, "Playing is for winning, no one likes a draw, but since it has happened, we accept it."

"Bale performed well today, but couldn’t score, what’s the reason?" someone asked.

"He’s an outstanding player with impressive performances in training."

Ma’el answered circuitously: "But as for the specific reason, I’m not sure..... I don’t like to say it’s bad luck, you can ask him yourself if you have the chance."

"The fans must be disappointed about not securing a win in this match, they’ll be hoping the team continues to win, hoping the team beats arch-rivals, what explanation do you have for this?" a journalist posed a tricky question.

This moral coercion..... Ma’el’s smile faded slightly, "What explanation? I don’t think I need to explain, moreover, your stated issue is unfounded.

"16 points from 6 rounds, still ranked first in the standings, how could they not be happy? That’s just your imagination."

"I think....."

"Your thinking is flawed, the fans are resilient, not fragile like you."

"No need to explain?"

Ma’el’s smile completely vanished; encountering such a journalist occasionally was discomforting.

"Interview over, thank you."

He nodded to the other reporters, signaling the end of his response, and as he walked out of the interview room, said to that journalist: "I don’t need to explain! If a player scores 10 goals in 6 rounds, if a team has 5 wins and 1 draw in 6 rounds, there’s no need for explanation.

"If you haven’t understood, it’s because of you that I’m ending this press conference."

As soon as he finished speaking, other reporters immediately turned towards that journalist with rather unkind expressions.

Not long after, Ma’el boarded the bus back to London, mulling over things by the window during the ride.

No matter what, the words from that journalist affected him.

He subconsciously wondered if, by not securing a win, this week’s life would be impacted, maybe in terms of morale, in terms of mood.

More focus on the game is needed; attention must be on all fronts!