"Doing well, huh?"
Gilbert walked up to Maël with a mix of jest and admiration. He sized him up before extending his right hand, sighing, "I thought I was coming back to partner with a Premier League champion, but it turns out it's a European champion."
"Clap!"
Maël's right hand met his in a firm grip. He chuckled, "No need for a title to embellish it. Partnering with 'Maël' is enough for you to secretly rejoice."
"Tch!"
"Get lost!"
The two bantered playfully before embracing tightly, patting each other's backs as they shared their heartfelt feelings.
"The England Team went home too early, and I've been waiting for you here for too long."
"How's training with the team? Can you integrate into the team's system?"
"At least I'm an England international. Don't underestimate me. I'll have opportunities to play in the new season. If anyone bullies you, I'll help you tackle them."
"Is that even necessary now? Who can tackle me? I'll stand up for you instead."
"Haha...!" They both laughed, seemingly reminiscing about their days in the EFL Championship. Then, they separated.
Maël approached Wenger and Little Kroenke, exchanging high-fives and hugs with each of them.
"Many people watched the European Cup final live, but unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to see you at your happiest moment and offer our congratulations."
Wenger shrugged slightly, his face beaming with smiles. "But we all understand. That was a moment for you and the French Team to celebrate. We shouldn't have intruded."
Kroenke wore his usual confident, faint smile. "I watched the game in America. Without a doubt, you are the pride of our entire team and even all of London.
"Our youth academy being able to produce such an absolute superstar, I think, symbolizes that we will inevitably move towards greatness in this generation."
Maël nodded to both of them and then walked towards Van Persie, Arteta, and others. There were many people to greet, and to get through all the greetings, he had to shorten his conversations with each person.
Afterward, when high-fiving the other Arsenal players, everyone expressed their amazement at his performance in the European Cup, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
"Well done!"
"Why do I feel like you've become more solid? Is the beef in Poland different from that in England?"
"You're empathizing with the other defenders in the European Cup, right? From their perspective, Maël is indeed sturdy because he's unstoppable."
"Haha... 11 goals in 6 games in the European Cup, is that even reasonable? Looking at you now, it's hard not to feel unreal. It always feels like an ultimate composite being is standing in front of me."
"What's so unreal about it? He's our number 7 Maël. We were together every day last season."
"Yeah! He'll make opponents tremble and make them feel unbelievable, but we just appreciate it."
"That's right! Haha!"
The players' exclamations grew louder, and many people also talked about topics related to him, hoping to see this Great Demon King of the football world take it a step further under their attention.
"Maël also 'bullied the weak' by scoring 7 goals in 3 international A-level matches representing the French Team. Counting it all up, he has a total of 18 goals in 9 games on the new battlefront, averaging a stable 2 goals per game."
"Do you guys know Fontaine? He scored 30 goals in 21 games representing the French Team, which is considered a miracle. He himself is ranked 5th in the French all-time scorer list. Maël is expected to surpass him."
"Maël surpassed Platini's 9 goals in 5 games in the European Cup. He will definitely surpass Fontaine."
"The French Team's all-time scoring record is Henry's 51 goals. I think in a few years, Henry will be surpassed by him, and he will sit on the throne as the French Team's top scorer."
Compared to Maël, who has already become an international superstar, they are undoubtedly slightly mediocre, and they all admit this.
So, they calmed their minds, not needing to compare themselves to Maël, nor feel inferior in front of him, just watching him step by step to complete his own challenges and missions.
Sometimes, as a witness, one can also experience glory because they are the closest to Maël, teammates who live with him.
"What about Arsenal's? Still Henry, 377 games, 228 goals, 97 assists."
"That record is a bit harder to break, but I don't think it's an unattainable goal for Maël."
"What are you guys chatting about? Isn't today his welcoming ceremony?"
"Oh, right, haha! Let's welcome him properly, and then wait for him to crush everything!"
Talking until they felt the topic was getting further and further off track, they made a U-turn, clapping their hands again to welcome Maël back to the team, and then escorted Maël to the Administration Building to complete the registration.
"Take it!"
"And this!"
In the process, many people also handed Maël the congratulatory gifts they had prepared long ago, mostly watches and some small souvenirs.
The gifts between them were definitely focused on the sentiment, and there was no need for them to be expensive.
A staff member thoughtfully brought a large bag for Maël to collect these gifts.
"Thank you!"
Maël kept thanking his teammates. During the process, he saw that the new recruits had also prepared gifts for him.
Thiago Silva and Cazorla and others had not spoken all the time, but they still smiled warmly and stuffed things into his bag, patting him on the shoulder.
It could be seen that they still wanted to have a good relationship with him, hoping to have a harmonious team atmosphere in the new season.
Maël's former U17 coach, Hans, then came up and stuffed a pair of shoes into his bag.
He was stunned for a moment, then turned his head and asked, "These shoes, which shoes are they? The ones I signed before?"
He was about to take the shoes back when Hans suddenly waved his hand and laughed, "How could that be? Those shoes are my family heirloom. I said, I wouldn't give them to you even if you asked me to.
"This is a pair of 'lm7' shoes with handwritten blessings from our whole family, representing our congratulations to you."
"Oh." Maël smiled, took it out and looked at it, and found that there were indeed many different handwritings of blessings on it. After reading them carefully, he felt a warmth in his heart.
"When you were starting out, I could only lend you a pair of shoes, because at that time I was also in a period of struggle and couldn't do more."
Hans put one hand on Maël's shoulder, his eyes flashing with emotion, "Now that you have achieved fame, I have also achieved stage success because of you. I hope to send you a pair of shoes to represent my friendship and admiration for you.
"You are destined to reach a higher level. Maybe one day you will suddenly forget me, but I will always remember that our relationship started because of shoes."
Maël nodded emotionally, squeezed his shoulder, "I will always remember it too. Shoes have always had important meaning to me. Some time ago, I also used them to complete some meaningful things."
After a light hug with Hans, he put the shoes back into the bag, and walked into the Administration Building with a happy mood in the company of everyone.
"Peng peng.!"
As soon as he entered, the front desk ladies in professional attire turned the tail of the confetti cannons, and two fireworks sprayed out from left and right, blooming brilliantly above Maël's head.
Maël was taken aback and subconsciously turned his head, seeing the two young ladies launching fireworks while leaning back.
They seemed quite scared by the action, but still quickly and joyfully congratulated him, "Welcome home, European Champion! We, on behalf of all the staff, extend our sincerest blessings.
"Thank you for the honor you won for Arsenal in the European Cup, we have always been with you."
Looking at their cute appearances, Maël smiled, waving away the fireworks near his head, and nodded to them. Then, he saw two middle-aged women in cleaning uniforms coming up with two bouquets of flowers.
"Welcome home!" Besides their enthusiastic expressions, they didn't show any other emotions, seeming genuinely happy to welcome him.
Other staff members quickly came up with their gifts, mostly posters of him and some precious photos they had secretly taken from other angles during training.
Maël's hands were soon unable to hold any more gifts and bouquets, and he had to call Gilbert to help him.
These things not only filled his hands but also filled his heart. He was incredibly eager to start a new season of conquest with everyone here.
After writing his name at the front desk, he went with everyone to the locker room. After taking a group photo there, this simple reporting and welcoming ceremony should come to an end.
Arriving in the locker room, Maël sat in his familiar spot. Behind him hung an Arsenal home red and white 'No. 7' jersey. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up for the photo.
"Come on, come on!"
"Let's take a photo!"
Before long, everyone clamored to stand together, and they crowded around him, standing in the center for a large group photo.
Wenger then exchanged a glance with Van Persie and nodded, as if confirming something.
Maël stood in the very center, grinning foolishly, not knowing what pose to strike for the photo, so he simply raised his hands and led everyone to shout, "Cheese!"
"Click, click!" He saw the camera flashing continuously, taking pictures for a long time, but the surrounding players showed no sign of leaving.
A puzzled look gradually appeared on his face. Isn't this enough photos? Could it be that the club's official website needs a nine-square grid for a return photo? Just as he was teasing in his heart, he suddenly felt someone supporting his left arm.
Turning his head in surprise, the Dutch striker Van Persie appeared next to him, smiling as he put a green armband with a 'C' on it.
It was the captain's armband!
Maël's heart was surging with surprise after surprise today, and a look of happiness appeared on his face. "What does this mean?!"
Of course, he knew what it meant, but he asked subconsciously.
"You will be the captain for the new season."
Van Persie looked up, with no discomfort on his face, only blessings. "Congratulations, young captain, you are now the captain of both the French Team and Arsenal.
"I believe you will lead us in a new direction, you must work hard, or I will take it back."
"Haha!" He laughed at the end, heavily patting Maël's shoulder a few times, as if entrusting the responsibility of this century-old giant's captain to Maël.
Maël did feel a sense of heaviness. He stared intently at Van Persie, wanting to see some complexity on his face, but he still saw nothing.
A scene of Wenger and Van Persie discussing the captain's handover gradually rose in his mind. The Dutch striker should have agreed quickly and offered to complete the handover himself, to avoid him feeling that the other party was insincere or had any grudges.
Maël understood everything. He did not decline, but only told himself in his heart that he must not disappoint those who were willing to give up their own interests and place their hopes on him.
Just like Van Persie, who was putting the armband on him, said, he would lead the members of this club to a higher place! "We planned this handover ceremony for a long time, but your calmness is surprising."
Van Persie smiled as he looked at Maël wearing the armband after putting it on, and his expression revealed satisfaction. Maël's armband reminded him of the person who had dominated the European Cup not long ago.
Hoping that Maël, the Arsenal's Maël in the new season, can lead himself to the highest honor of a European championship! "This is the most expensive gift." Maël hugged him, then found Wenger standing in the back row, and gave him another high-five and hug, expressing his gratitude for his trust.
He looked at the camera again, raised his hands, and this time, he smiled even more brightly, "Come on! Cheese!!"
"Click!"
The picture freezes at this moment. From tomorrow, he will be Arsenal's captain, and also the de facto captain of the team in the new season! Becoming the captain of both the French Team and Arsenal before his 19th birthday is a great honor for him.
The entire 11-12 season has ended, and he has won many new identities with 3 Championship Trophies. Hopefully, he can do more in the new 12-13 season!
At night, Maël returned to his villa by car. Looking at the house he bought before leaving, the home he had settled on, he couldn't help but recall the scene when he left.
At that time, he was still immersed in the joy of winning two championships, and he was curious and nervous about the upcoming European Cup, feeling that it was a tournament full of uncertainty.
He never expected that he would not only win the championship, but also break Platini's two records, becoming the historical top scorer and the highest goal scorer in a single tournament, and the winner of 4 major awards.
Standing here at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of openness. This expedition was indeed very rewarding.
But since the past has been deeply imprinted on him, then don't think about it too much, let it pass. Now, it's time for him to go home.
"Bang!"
Closing the door and entering the living room, he saw Isabella and a group of team members waiting for him here, even the part-time private doctor Lewis was there.
The table was full of fruits and vegetables, and several bottles of wine. It seemed that they had prepared a homecoming banquet for him long ago.
Another round of celebration. He didn't know whether to smile wryly or be excited. During this period, he had been singing and celebrating every night, as if he could never celebrate enough.
But celebrating with different people is definitely a different feeling.
After all, the moments of winning honors in life are only a few. For that step, he had persevered through countless hard days and nights. After successfully completing the goal, maybe celebrating a few more times and relaxing for a longer time is nothing.
"You're back!" Isabella came up with small steps and jumped onto his body in one step.
After the championship night, Maël flew to France to receive the award ceremony, and Isabella returned to London to wait. They hadn't seen each other for a long time.
"Cheers!"
The family then sat at the table, eating snacks and drinking Hennessy. These wines were sent by Maël after completing the contract with the LVMH Group, and they were also spirits from their brand.
After drinking two glasses, Maël opened the conversation box. He said comfortably: "Today I want to drink enough! From tomorrow, everything will enter a normal track.
"I can no longer touch alcoholic beverages, greasy food, desserts and other junk food, and the hard special training will begin again."
"Ha!" The people on the table laughed and raised their glasses to clink with Maël.
Davis gnawed on the barbecue and couldn't help but ask with a smile: "You have the Emirates Cup game at the beginning of this season. If you win the Emirates Cup championship, are you not going to have a couple of drinks?
"Even if you don't talk about this friendly cup, the first round of the new season is the Community Shield Cup final. If you win the third championship in your England career, are you not going to have a couple of drinks?"
"No." Maël waved his hand and shook his head: "I've indulged for many days. If I win these two cups, I won't celebrate too much. If there is an important championship at the end of the season, then I'll talk about it."
That's what he said, but he was quite looking forward to the Community Shield Cup game. This is indeed one of the necessary puzzles for him to hit the Grand Slam of England professional events.
This is a charity event where a single game determines the ownership of the championship, but it is a genuine England 'Super Cup', which will be counted in the player's career total honors.
The two sides of the event are the league champion and the FA Cup champion of the previous season. Whoever wins will directly win the round shield trophy.
As the Premier League champion, Arsenal will compete with Chelsea, the FA Cup champion of last season, for the ownership of the Championship Trophy.
If Maël could lift this trophy as he wished, then his Grand Slam in the England professional system would only be missing an FA Cup title.
"Speaking of which, you won the Premier League and EFL Cup last season."
José obviously also thought of Maël's England Grand Slam and asked, "Is the FA Cup and Community Shield Cup in the new season the championships you want to win the most, the highest priority?"
"You couldStriveqiang say that."
Maël nodded, but still denied, "But if possible, I would definitely still want to win all the championships, especially the Premier League.
"No dynasty team has ever won only one league title, I will still fight for this title.
"After all, our ultimate goal must be to build a red and white dynasty, a red and white super warship.
"What's more, we have a 38-game unbeaten record, and we are only 12 games away from breaking Arsenal's past 49-game unbeaten record, and 21 games away from breaking Milan's 58-game unbeaten record."
Maël took the initiative to raise his glass and smiled, "There are no national team championships to compete for in the entire 12-13 season, but I still hope that I can win at least 3 important championship trophies."
"Cheers!!"
"Add oil!"
"You can do it!"
"Definitely!"
Everyone toasted again, and many people sent Maël their most sincere blessings. Their honor and loss were tied to Maël's.
After a few more glasses of wine, Maël couldn't hold on anymore. He ate a few mouthfuls of cold dishes, then staggered to end the family gathering and went upstairs to rest.
Isabella was already resting in the room. He pushed the door open and woke her up, then took advantage of the alcohol to shamelessly pick out a set of QQ lingerie and stockings, and threw them to his girlfriend with a smile.
"Oh!" Amidst a burst of flirtatious sounds, the girl blushed and put on the clothes according to Maël's request, turned over and pressed Maël under her, they had not seen each other for a long time and were already like dry firewood meeting a raging fire.
After waking up the next morning, Maël went downstairs to pour tea to quench his thirst and relieve the dryness in his throat.
He put all the wine on the wine cabinet in the utility room to avoid it dangling in front of him every day, tempting him to drink for two more days in the name of celebration.
He must start training today. He is still looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd lv5 skills, and also looking forward to welcoming a major arms update and a major refit for his arsenal! "The schedule is here." José soon walked in from outside the door, holding the schedule sent by Arsenal Football Club, and he posted it in Maël's photo room.
Maël followed him to the schedule and looked at the schedule for this month.
First, on July 27, the team will play against Manchester City in the Emirates Cup, followed by July 30, also the Emirates Cup, against Hong Kong Premier League Kitchee, and then the last round of the Emirates Cup, on August 4 against Bundesliga Cologne.
Seeing this, he also roughly understood the Emirates Cup format at this time.
Just 4 teams, a single round-robin group stage, the highest score after 3 rounds wins the Championship Trophy.
However, he did not focus on this. It is a friendly match that does not count any data, just play around. If there is a chance, he will try a little harder to win the championship and increase the team's confidence in the new season.
The first official game of the new season will start on August 12, which is their Community Shield Cup final against Chelsea, at Wembley Stadium.
The first round of the Premier League will start on August 18, the third round of the EFL Cup (the round in which Premier League teams participate) will start on September 27, and the third round of the FA Cup will be in January of the following year.
As for the Champions League, the group stage draw will be held on August 31, and there will be a specific schedule date at that time.
"By the way."
He remembered something, the UEFA Awards Ceremony will also be held together with the Champions League group draw, which may be a good opportunity for him to win personal honors.
This award is only given to players who play in Europe. The UEFA Best Player award can also be regarded as the European Footballer of the Year.
And a very important point is that, unlike the vague weighting concept of the World Footballer of the Year and the Ballon d'Or for the European Cup and the Champions League, the weighting of the European Cup must be higher than the Champions League in the selection criteria for this award.
This means that he is very likely to beat Ronaldo, whose personal data was better than him last season, and also beat the members of the Champions League champion Chelsea team with his outstanding performance in the European Cup! Officially win the first personal honor of the Footballer of the Year or the Intercontinental Footballer of the Year!
Maël noted the date and a few expectations rose in his heart. He then walked to the photo wall and finally glanced at all the goal records of the 11-12 season with nostalgia.
In the Premier League photo wall column, he has 43 photos of goal moments and 20 photos of assist moments.
In the Champions League photo wall column, he has 7 photos of goal moments and 4 photos of assist moments.
The EFL Cup has 8 goal photos and 3 assist photos.
The regrettable thing is that there is not a single photo on the FA Cup area photo wall, and the European Cup is blank because there is no time to make it yet.
"José, let Safina help me find photos of the 11 goals and 2 assists in the European Cup, I want to put them here."
He turned his head and instructed, smiling and said: "She has done this before, I believe she can find the best photos."
"Okay." José agreed and turned to find Safina.
Maël turned his head again. If you count the European Cup, he scored a total of 69 goals and 29 assists in the entire season.
In the new year, he wants to pursue better data than this. Messi has 91 goals in a year. He not only wants to pursue more dazzling results than 91 goals in a year, but also wants to pursue 100 goals in a single season! He believes that the day he completes it, he will be the well-deserved World Footballer of the Year, Top1!
Starting from July 15th, Maël's life returned to the state of last season. He followed Arsenal to start preparations for the new season, and also followed José and Davis to start personal special training.
During the preparation, he found that the team's tactical and technical aspects have not changed much compared to last season.
This is also easy to understand. They played a very dominant performance last season, so there is no need to seek change. Just maintain their own characteristics and continue to exert their advantages.
The main goal of the early season preparation is to help the new players integrate into the team and strive to let them quickly accept Arsenal's football philosophy.
This can not only allow some new players who have the ability to strengthen the overall strength of the team to quickly secure their starting positions and help the team as immediate combat power.
It can also allow the players in the substitute and rotation roles to be immediately pulled out to play when the team needs them, so as not to be embarrassed.
"Bang bang bang!"
Days passed by like this, and Maël could hear more than 10,000 touches of the ball every day. He sometimes dreamed that he was playing football, and sometimes Isabella would be awakened.
On July 20th, after a fancy dribbling training session, he could feel some special changes in his feet, and his affinity for football increased a lot.
As this feeling became stronger and stronger, surpassing any of his previous improvements, he knew that Fancy Dribbling had been upgraded to lv4! His strength has finally improved again!
[Skill: Fancy Dribbling lv4]
[Proficiency: (1/5000)]
[Efficacy: After gradually consolidating your fancy skills, you have a very solid foundation in this area. After a period of training, you have naturally entered a new realm. You can use your skills in a free and easy manner!]
Fake 4-star weak foot!
Maël smiled happily. When the additional skills of Fancy Skills come up, his 4-star weak foot will be completely formed.
This improvement in strength gave him stronger training motivation. In the next few days, he spent all day in the Colney Base and the training ground at his door, which made José and Davis a little unbearable.
On July 26th, the day before the first round of the new season, he opened the proficiency panel to observe the improvement effects of various skills in the arsenal.
[Skill: Judgment lv4]
[Proficiency: (3252/5000)]
[Skill: Sprint lv4]
[Proficiency: (2313/5000)]
[Skill: Godly Strength lv4]
[Proficiency: (1864/5000)]
[Skill: Arc Blade lv4]
[Proficiency: (993/2000)]
[Skill: Arc Guiding lv4]
[Proficiency: (876/2000)]
[Skill: Fancy Dribbling lv4]
[Proficiency: (94/5000)]
[Additional Skill: Fancy Skills lv2]
[Proficiency: (1392/1500)]
Fancy Skills lv2 is about to break through, and Arc Guiding and Arc Blade are also about to be halfway to lv5.
This rate of improvement is very fast, definitely higher than the second half of last season, which means that his strength will usher in a qualitative leap in the upcoming season! "Before the intensive schedule arrives, presumably this rate of improvement will continue."
Maël calculated with a smile on his face. With Stamina lv4, he has a more solid foundation and can practice longer. As long as he wants, his rate of improvement can be maintained.
"When Arc Blade and Arc Guiding reach lv5, I'll grind the additional skills of shooting and passing to fill all the loopholes, and then start the improvement of the all-skills lv5 era."
Maël's eyes were full of longing for the future. He exited the proficiency panel, went into the house to rest, and gave himself a half-day off to celebrate the skill breakthrough.
His future has always been promising.
ps: Happy New Year's Day, brothers. There will be two updates tomorrow. I'm going out to celebrate the New Year today.
Book friend group number: 43522395. You can add it with one click below the introduction on the homepage. In particular, brothers who have won souvenirs must add it to contact my wife to send the address.
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