Chapter 267: Chapter 83: A Perfect Debut Performance! The Genius Dipping Shot!

When Piszczek turned around to start chasing again, Ma’el had already overtaken him along the way, controlling the football that had been dribbled out.

"Thud thud thud!"

Ma’el sprinted quickly, tapping the ground as he ran. He sent the ball along Piszczek’s chasing lane, using his body to block Piszczek from continuing to accelerate.

Piszczek’s face showed bitterness. He wanted to go around from the outside to catch up with Ma’el, but his body was somewhat uncontrollable.

He bumped straight into Ma’el and instinctively raised his hand to push Ma’el down on the sideline.

"Whistle!" The referee’s whistle sounded. The Spanish referee quickly ran over and pulled out a yellow card.

"I couldn’t stop," Piszczek said with a face of helplessness, joining his hands together near his mouth, then spreading them open, "Do I really have to get a card for this?"

"Disrupting a great attacking opportunity."

The referee’s explanation was simple. He put the yellow card away and ran elsewhere.

Ma’el got up from the ground. Such physical contact is common on the field, and he was gradually getting used to it.

"Well done!"

"Great job!"

Arsenal players clapped their hands, rushing towards Ma’el, either high-fiving or fist-bumping him, encouraging him while breathing a sigh of relief.

Dortmund’s attack had just been too fierce, and now with Ma’el leading the counterattack, they could finally catch their breath.

"Phew..." Wenger also let out a sigh of relief beside the field. He glanced at his watch, realizing there were still more than ten minutes left before the match ended.

He looked at the substitute’s bench, looking for ways to strengthen the defense but didn’t see any good options.

Turning back to the sideline, he noticed Klopp on the other side smiling at him. The young German coach’s eyes were playful and confident.

The opponent seemed to have noticed Arsenal’s recent predicament and was quite sure that if Arsenal didn’t change anything, they were likely to get hit by Dortmund.

...

On the field, Arteta stood by the set-piece and extended his right hand towards the center position.

He didn’t rush to kick the ball, instead pretending that his shoelace was untied and squatted down to tie it.

Upon observing that the referee’s patience was near its limit, he started seriously analyzing the central area, estimating the positions of Mertesacker and others after charging forward.

"Whistle!" The referee blew the whistle again, sounding impatient.

Ma’el stood in the central position facing Dortmund’s midfield Perisic, preparing to rush into the central penalty area. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

It was common knowledge that he wasn’t very threatening in set-pieces... Dortmund didn’t even pay much attention and assigned a forward to defend him.

However, he could be immensely threatening when it came to secondary balls.

This time, he wasn’t planning to rush in, instead feigning a move and leading Perisic to charge forward, then quickly retreating to stand outside the penalty area.

"Boo boo boo..." Over seventy thousand Dortmund fans erupted in jeering, enveloping the entire venue in a stifling atmosphere, as if clouds had darkened the sky.

"Dortmund! Dortmund!"

"Arteta slipped! Arteta slipped!"

"Xuxu~!"

"Watch out, if this ball is countered, not even God can save Arsenal!"

They used every means to disrupt Arsenal’s players; they were indeed on form recently, desperately hoping the opponent’s attack would end quickly so that Dortmund’s guys could charge forward.

Moreover, deep down, they feared Arsenal seizing another opportunity to score.

That would mean... the momentum the team had just built up would instantly collapse.

"Boom!!"

Arteta kicked the football that carried the hopes of many, and the ball traced an arc in the air, heading towards Mertesacker’s head.

The position was perfect!

Mertesacker quickly jumped, confronting Hummels, and he ultimately pressed against Hummels to drive a powerful header.

"Smack!"

Weidenfeller made another crucial save, quickly stretching his right hand to block the football that was about to go over his head, dropping it back near the minor penalty area line.

Ma’el now approached outside the penalty area; he saw Perisic rushing to the secondary ball position, attempting to diffuse the threat for his team.

Forwards are like this, their defensive discipline not being too high, added on by muscle memory engraved in their DNA for ’抢二点球’ (contesting secondary balls).

"Van Persie!"

His eyes lit up because he saw Van Persie appear in front of the football, making an assisted shot to poke the ball towards the net.

"Smack!" Weidenfeller quickly lifted his body, producing a marvelous secondary save, blocking the ball from entering the net again.

"Oh.....!" The Dortmund penalty area rapidly erupted with exhilarating cheers; everyone seemed invigorated as if they’d received a shot in the arm.

Magnificent consecutive saves, no less than creating a direct goal, can easily lift the players’ morale.

"Yeah.....!" Their fans became more ecstatic, sending out cheers comparable to a goal celebration, commending Weidenfeller’s performance.

"Oh." Ma’el saw the team miss a golden opportunity outside the penalty area, regretfully holding his head, seemingly everyone’s subconscious reaction.

"Boom!"

The football was finally driven back by Perisic’s overhead clearance, flying out towards the right side outside the penalty area.

"Vamos.....!" Perisic, after getting up, pounded his chest angrily, continuing to heighten the team’s overall battle spirit, their craving for Arsenal’s goal reaching its peak.

They want goals!

They want victory!

Keep charging!

"Boom!"

From the secondary ball position, Sagna rushed up, heading the ball back near Dortmund’s penalty area.

On the right side of the penalty area, Ma’el saw the football coming towards him, swiftly turned around to position himself, securely cushioning the ball on his right foot with a turn.