From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 238 74: Old Trafford! Facing Manchester United! The Big 6 Tour Returns!

As soon as Ramsey received the ball, he was knocked to the ground by Anderson, who was chasing back.

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle, penalizing the Manchester United player for a foul.

Ramsey was still clutching his leg in pain as Alexander Song came up and quickly took the free kick, passing it back to Arteta.

Tazi took a few steps forward and was immediately caught in a pinch by Anderson and Cleverley; even Evra rushed up to block his passing line to Ma'el.

"Here!" Ramsey suddenly let go of his leg and bounced up from the ground, providing a pass route.

Indeed, a scoring opportunity is the best healer... but as a player, it's best to recognize the potential for injury.

"Bang!"

Arteta delivered a cross to Ramsey, who took it to the right, dodging Ashley Young's tackle.

Right-winger Walcott quickly ran behind the Manchester United defense, pointing with his left hand to a through pass route.

Seeing this, Ma'el also sprinted toward the middle, hoping to be available for Walcott if the ball was sent in.

Phil Jones immediately followed him, keeping pace for a few steps before gradually falling half a body length behind.

"Scratch...!" At the critical moment, Ashley Young made a sliding tackle near midfield, bringing Ramsey down with a tactical foul to stop him.

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle again.

Ma'el regretfully eased his steps with a hop, then turned back to his position.

"Damn!"

Seeing the referee not issuing a card, he spread his hands and, along with his teammates, approached the referee to express dissatisfaction.

"No yellow card?!"

Wenger on the sidelines swung his right hand in anger, "He's been fouled twice in a row!"

Ferguson wasn't that close, but they were less than three meters apart near the center line extension.

Seeing Wenger complaining, he stopped chewing his gum, smirking, "Enough, go back, at least you've got the set-piece."

"Ha ha..." Wenger also laughed coldly, glaring at him with disdain.

Their relationship once again escalated to a tense state, unlikely to reconcile until the match ends.

...

In the 7th minute of the match, Manchester United had the first good chance to score.

"Bang!"

Evra launched a long pass from the backfield. The ball reached Mertesacker's area and was cleared with a header toward the midfield.

Ashley Young and Ramsey both rushed for the second ball, contending for the falling football.

"Smack!" The former won undoubtedly, stopping the ball while knocking it forward, using his body to shield Ramsey and advance toward the front field.

Then he saw Welbeck making a run behind Koscielny, delivering a through pass that pierced Arsenal's defense.

"Bang!!"

Welbeck was almost through on goal; he decided not to control the ball, directly flicking it toward the far corner of the goal, but missed.

"Scratch!" Koscielny's sliding tackle to block the shot arrived late, bringing him down.

However, as the ball had already flown out the end line, and the defensive action was not directed at the player, it wasn't a foul.

Szczeny took the goal kick, sending a long pass toward Ma'el's position, trying a simple offensive attempt.

But the play posed no threat; Manchester United's defense was well-protected with Phil Jones continually disrupting Ma'el from behind, preventing an easy jump.

"Bang!" Smolin rushed to head the ball out of bounds, colliding with Phil Jones, who couldn't dodge in time.

The two fell near the sideline rather embarrassingly but didn't blame each other.

"Good ball!"

They high-fived once they rose, briefly celebrating the successful defense.

Ma'el's eyes narrowed; for this match, the opponent's defenders were highly focused, marking him tightly.

It seems this match will be tougher than the one against Liverpool.....

He readied himself mentally, glancing at Manchester United's goal with longing.

Got to come up with a plan, as he really wants to smash the ball into Manchester United's net in this game.

...

In the 14th minute of the match, Arsenal intercepted the ball at midfield and launched a fast counterattack.

This was their first successful transition from defense to attack since the match began. Arteta intercepted, Ramsey controlled and advanced, and finally, Alexander Song lofted the ball into Manchester United's penalty area.

Manchester United's defense was quite exposed, giving Van Persie room to either stop or shoot.

"Bang!!"

Van Persie didn't choose to stop; instead, he struck the ball towards the lower corner of the goal with his instep.

"Clap!" De Gea sprung to his left like a spring, scooping the ball from the bottom left corner of the goal and then held it in his arms.

"Ah.....!" Van Persie rubbed his face with his hands, hoping to clear his mind.

Ma'el, who had just dashed into the penalty box, stopped his steps; he was ready to follow up with a shot.

"Ma'el."

Van Persie called to him, covering his mouth as he came close and said, "If Phil Jones sticks to you again, run behind him; I'll send a diagonal pass."

"Okay."

Ma'el nodded, trusting his teammate. No matter how good a player is individually, he needs to receive the ball first.

Once he gets the ball, there will be opportunities to threaten the opponent's goal!

In the following period, since Manchester United had more players piled up in midfield, they took control of the field, suppressing Arsenal.

In the 23rd minute, Ashley Young received the second ball and chose to cut inside towards the center.

"Bang!!"

He carried it two steps to the right, seemingly leisurely, then suddenly unleashed a dipping shot from nearly 30 meters from the goal.