Influence Soared!

After this round of matches, Sheffield United Team had completed every match in their opening month.

Overall, across their five matches in August, they won two and lost three, including one in the EFL Cup.

In the Championship, they currently had 6 points and sat 11th.

"If you saw what kind of changes we went through at the start of the season, you'd know how hard-earned this result was." — Gareth Speed said in his post-match interview.

His meaning was obvious. Four Championship matches, two wins, 6 points. They had at least steadied the ship, and at the very least had not fallen into the relegation zone.

"The changes since Speed took over have been very clear. The team also has some young talents now, and we have to believe in his future." — The team's newly appointed Sporting Director backed him on social media. After that, many media outlets also stepped forward to report on the matter.

The attention and buzz it drew surpassed every other Sheffield United match this season.

It even rivaled the heat around their Championship playoffs last season.

It was not only local media. Some foreign media also published a few reports in the secondary sections of their columns.

"Gareth Speed Gets Off to a Winning Start! Sheffield United Team Show a Brand-New Look!" — Manchester Report

"Four-One! Sheffield Blades Crush Preston! Maël Named Best Player with Two Goals and One Assist!" — Dongqiudi Official "Another Fruit of French Football? Arsenal Academy Youngster Maël Has Created Over Five Goals for Sheffield This Season!" — L'Union

"Double 10s as a 'Small Target' in His Debut Season: Arrogance, or Genuine Confidence?" — The Sun editor

The influence of the Championship was by no means limited to the United Kingdom itself. It was a competition whose broadcasting rights sold well around the world, and it also had The FA's support.

On top of that, there was the buzz brought by the debut of Gareth Speed, an "England football living fossil." It was perfectly normal for it to gain this level of attention.

Naturally, part of that buzz shifted onto Maël, the standout wonderkid in this match.

Under various forums, plenty of fans from other teams also started talking about him.

"I watched the highlights. He's unreal!"

"It's hard to say how high he can go in the future, but he probably won't be able to catch Ronaldo and Messi. He still gives me a bit of a dead-ball player feeling, the kind who's a stats monster."

"He's still young. Anything could happen in the future. Remember, Ronaldo didn't perform as well as him when he first came to the United Kingdom."

"Can you even compare them? Ronaldo looked like the type with real flair. He has some too, but they're not the same kind. The former had talent with no visible ceiling, while the latter has 'ability' talent far beyond his peers, but lacks that ceiling."

"That's a bit of hindsight. Do you still remember how you all used to curse Ronaldo back then?"

"Ronaldo played in the Premier League as soon as he arrived. The two of them aren't comparable in the first place. Let him get to the Premier League first."

As the discussion went on, the comments section started to smell a little of gunpowder again.

This was very normal. Everyone judged players by different standards and had their own views, so arguments were unavoidable.

In short, Maël gained more attention. His Facebook followers broke ten thousand that very night, and they were still growing at an extremely fast rate.

This was a very healthy positive cycle, his primitive accumulation in the football world.

Colney Training Base, First Team Head Coach's office.

It was already late at night. Wenger was sorting through the materials in his hands, his expression giving away neither joy nor anger.

Arsenal had also completed their August schedule. Across three Premier League matches, they had two wins and one draw, remaining unbeaten, with 7 points and a 5th-place position in the table.

It was a middling start, because Manchester United and Chelsea, both on three straight wins, were sitting above them with a two-point advantage.

At the thought of Manchester United, a few traces of melancholy surfaced in Wenger's eyes. This team had been locked in a fierce fight with Arsenal just a few years ago, and Old Sir Ferguson had been battling him black and blue every season just a few years ago.

All of that no longer existed.

For several seasons in a row now, they had either been eating Chelsea's exhaust fumes or Manchester United's exhaust fumes.

A two-horse race, reigning over London with a smile? Those were all things of the past. Now, all they could fight for was a place in the top four.

"Mr. Wenger!"

A shout came from outside the door along with hurried footsteps. At this hour, it seemed someone still had something urgent to tell him.

Wenger's brow twitched, and a few familiar feelings rose in his heart, as if this scene seemed familiar, as if he should have experienced it somewhere before.

In a dream, or sometime else.

Only when he saw the person come in did realization appear on Wenger's face. "Hans, did those two kids appear for Sheffield United Team again?"

"Yes, both started."

Hans was panting heavily, as if he had run all the way over. "I should have called you earlier. You really should have watched this wonderful match."

"They played very well?" Wenger showed a faint smile. Whenever he thought of those two lads who filled him with expectation, his mood improved a little.

"Maël scored the opening goal!"

Hans looked excited, still not out of the rush from just now. "And he got a Brace too, directly creating three goals!"

"And one assist?"

Surprise appeared on Wenger's face. In truth, his mind still had not moved on from the shock of the Brace. "You mean, two goals and one assist?"

"Yes."

Hans nodded and said with a smile, "Counting the previous matches, he already has two goals and three assists."

Fabregas, Walcott, and the others' Premier League statistics flashed through Wenger's mind. It seemed they were not even as good as Maël's. In an instant, he was surrounded by delight and shock, and began pacing on the spot.

If the two assists in the last match could still have been the good fortune of a one-match lucky man, then the two goals and one assist in this match meant he truly had this ability! These were completely different concepts. One could say the difference was night and day.

Mr. Wenger could not make sense of it. How could a player he had never cared about before, and had only grown curious about just before he left the team, possess this kind of combat power?

"Call Philip here!"

The moment he shouted it, he gave a faint smile and shook his head. "Forget it. He'll come over himself."

Sure enough, two minutes later, footsteps sounded outside the door again, and there was joy in the newcomer's stride.

"Wenger."

Philip walked in holding a report, just about to speak, only to see shiny-headed Hans standing beside him.

The two stared at each other, and for a moment Philip began to question his life. He was already sick of running into Hans's face at times like this.

"You all know?" he said, slightly embarrassed, as he handed the report in his hand to Wenger.

Wenger took it and read it carefully as he walked, sighing in admiration again and again. "Good. All very good. Gilbert is good too!"

After a long while, he set down the report and suddenly looked up. "Contact Sheffield United. I want to activate the salary increase clause ahead of schedule. Arsenal will cover the extra amount!"

Hans and Philip exchanged a glance from the side, both knowing that Mr. Wenger had made up his mind to look after these two lads.

Taking the initiative to raise their salaries meant he was grooming them as his own people!

"Then I'll thank Mr. Wenger on their behalf first."

Hans grinned from ear to ear. He was the proudest and most honored one of all.