From Arsenal, Forge the Path to Football God

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At Cardiff City Stadium, the Sheffield United fans stood up, raised their hands, and sang the team's anthem.

"In this only one city I love, Back in 1889!!"

This was a rather solemn team anthem, uncommon among British teams, yet it carried their deep love for the team.

"Beep! Beep—!" When the referee blew a short and a long whistle to signal the half-time break, their singing did not stop. It even drowned out the noise and boos from the home fans of Cardiff City.

The atmosphere among Sheffield United fans was definitely stronger than that of most Championship teams.

In the previous two matches, the team's overall morale was too low, leaving the fans without much hope.

But in this first half, they finally saw it!

In the away team's dressing room, the Sheffield United players returned to hydrate and rest, waiting for Kevin's instructions.

If they wanted to play well, unity was essential. Many decided to temporarily set aside their personal grievances with Kevin and focus on this match.

"Good job."

"Great work, kid. I always knew you could do it in training."

Maël sat in his spot, receiving congratulations from those passing by, and he smiled in response.

A wave of fatigue washed over him. The intensity of the Championship was quite formidable, often requiring players to make anaerobic sprints and use their full strength to compete.

His body was not fully developed, and forty-five minutes of such intensity was a bit much for him.

But it was fine. He gritted his teeth and decided to push through at least 65 minutes.

Kevin soon walked in from the door, not engaging with the players, and went straight to the tactical board. "In the last few minutes of the first half, Maël and Ward's crosses into the penalty box caused significant threats.

"The opposition's overall aerial defense is clearly weak. Therefore, in the second half, we need to be more decisive and frequent in our crosses.

"Midfielders, if you have the chance, don't hesitate to insert into the penalty box to increase our attacking numbers."

He moved some tactical pieces on the board and instructed further, "The pre-match team analyst mentioned that the opposition tends to commit too many players to counter-attacks, leaving their backline vulnerable."

At the professional level, players have a basic tactical understanding.

What professional coaches need to tell their players are mostly the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents, strategies to counter them, and preventive measures for risks, as well as set-piece routines and variations.

Another important task for them is managing the team's dressing room.

From Kevin's example, this second task is much more challenging than the first.

"Alright, Lorton will rest in the second half."

After making all the arrangements, Kevin glanced at Gary Speed standing beside him. "Gilbert will come on. Go warm up now, and we'll make the substitution before the start of the second half."

Gilbert, sitting next to Maël, showed a flash of joy in his eyes, then forced himself not to look too excited. He lowered his head and ran out of the dressing room.

Maël watched his back, silently cheering him on. They were finally going to play together.

"Beep beep!"

When the players on the field were in position, the referee blew the substitution whistle, pointing to the halfway line extension.

The fourth official raised the substitution board: No. 17 Gilbert came on, replacing the starting midfielder Lorton.

Gilbert took a deep breath, stepped onto the field with his left foot first, touched the ground with his right hand, and made the sign of the cross before charging onto the pitch.

He saw Maël give him an encouraging smile, and a surge of excitement welled up in his heart, making his leg muscles tremble.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle to start the second half. This time, it was Sheffield United's turn to kick off.

"Pong!" Striker Evans passed the ball short to the newly arrived Gilbert, hoping he would touch the ball more to get a feel for it.

Gilbert took a few steps with the ball, then turned and kicked it to the center-back when the opposing forward charged over.

The players on both sides moved quickly, either closing in to press or running to open positions to receive the ball. The situation changed rapidly.

After most of Sheffield United's players got serious, their overall fighting power gradually showed, and they were no longer being dominated by Cardiff City.

In the 54th minute, Gilbert had a chance for a long shot from the edge of the penalty box.

"Pong!"

He swung his leg and fired a shot, but the ball flew directly into the South Stand, where the home fans were.

"Sigh" Gilbert sucked in a breath, feeling ashamed as he waved to his teammates in apology. He still lacked Maël's long-shot skills.

Maël, seeing his long shot, felt a bit itchy in his feet, wanting to take another shot.

In the first half, he had a chance for a long shot, but his mindset wasn't stable enough, and the opponent's sliding tackle disrupted his attempt.

If he had another chance, he might test the goalkeeper.

However, in such a high-level match, you can't get what you want just because you want it. Every opportunity is tied to the performance of others on the field.

To get a chance to shoot, someone needed to create space for him and set him up with the ball.

But this was also not very realistic. The score was 1-1, and the pressure was always there.

No one could place all their hopes on him at this moment unless he could first establish his reputation on the field.

He could only wait, doing what a winger should do.

"Pong!"

In the 59th minute, Gilbert passed a long ball to Maël's flank.

Maël faced significant pressure when receiving the ball, causing him to mishandle it and nearly play it out of bounds.

"Bang!" In the subsequent 50-50 ball contest, his shoulder collided violently with the opponent's wing-back Gabor's shoulder, shaking his internal organs and making him feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he won the contest!

Taking advantage of Gabor's unsteady stance, he controlled the ball, cut in front of Gabor, and ran along the touchline, staying ahead of Gabor's pursuit.

This way, even if his speed wasn't fast, he could use the advantage of a straight line over a diagonal one to outpace Gabor.

"Pong!!"

Reaching the touchline, he didn't wait for Gabor or the opponent's defensive midfielder Drinkingwater to recover. He adjusted the ball to his right foot and sent a cross.

This was a precise cross, made under no pressure, and its quality was higher than any of his previous crosses. The ball flew swiftly and erratically toward the far post!

Maël's eyes lit up with hope. This ball had a chance to cause a threat.

"Oh" He then heard a faint murmur of anticipation from the South Stand, with many fans standing up to watch the situation at the far post of the penalty box.

"Pong!"

There, a figure charged from outside the penalty box with unstoppable momentum, leaping high to head the ball!

"Gilbert!"

Maël recognized the figure, his face bursting with excitement.

"Swish!!" Almost no one could see how the ball left, only seeing it smash into the net, making it bulge outward by several feet.

Another goal!

2-1 lead, Sheffield United score reversal!

"Yeah!!" The South Stand erupted in cheers, this time right next to the Sheffield United attacking players. Everyone heard it clearly, and their blood boiled.

Maël roared from his spot, lowering his head and waving his arms in celebration. He hadn't expected to earn his second assist this way.

Two assists in one match!

That was a pretty good achievement!

More importantly, his assist recipient was his good friend who had come to Sheffield with him!

"Maël!"

Gilbert ran passionately toward the nearby sideline, pointing at Maël and then at the sky, "I scored, brother, I scored!"

It was as if they were back on the training ground, where he repeatedly received Maël's crosses and completed countless spectacular headers.

Only this time, it was on the pitch!

"Haha!"

Maël ran over to him, laughing loudly, "You owe me a meal!"

"Of course!"

Gilbert, in his excitement, would have agreed to anything, even if it meant using all his savings. He had lost his mind, "The best meal!"

The Two Little Blessings of Arsenal ran, laughed, and then, in perfect unison, threw themselves into a four-bar slide knee.

"Click click!" A photographer by the sidelines quickly captured this rare moment.

In the frame, the two young players laughed wildly, spreading their arms in a slide knee. Behind them, fans stretched their arms and punched the air, and teammates ran over in excitement.