From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 414 - 117: Level 4 Dribbling Rhythm Debut! Wenger Ready to Break the Wage Structure! Madman Jones Ascends_4

"Part of it comes from his value, part from the strong performance he’s delivered for us this season.

"All of this makes subsequent acquisitions difficult, each share has increased by a million pounds in value... even at their valuation, it would sting."

"Hahaha..." Philip finally broke into a genuine smile, this is indeed quite interesting, "But if you think about it, it’d be nice if they invested a hundred million pounds earlier."

"That’s not the best."

Wenger shook his head and gazed at Ma’el, "The best, the most interesting thing is for Ma’el to keep performing at this level, surpassing a hundred million pounds in value, and leading Arsenal to a championship.

"Then this club would continuously appreciate in value until the two of them give up on arguing or one of them decides to quit."

His gaze was sharp, "That would be the best, most satisfying outcome for me.

"At that point, if they still hold on, the fans will see Ma’el as the big boss, since it’s he who constantly brings market value and competitiveness."

Another burst of laughter erupted from there, as if they’d encountered something exceedingly joyous.

...

Outside the Emirates Stadium, at the bar street, a tavern jokingly dubbed ’Jones Tavern’ by the fans was packed with fans watching the match.

Originally a turf for betting fans, the Boxing Day match was so intense that even those who had never been here before crowded in today.

Jones was still the same, sitting at the center of the round table, sipping on free beers brought by others, enjoying life like a lord.

He continued to share his philosophical ideas with fans who enjoyed betting, "If Ma’el doesn’t score in this match, I’ll prepare to leverage.

"The reason is simple, the next match is against his old club Sheffield United, where he has had some wonderful experiences and might go easy on them.

"So if he doesn’t score in two consecutive rounds... even with 20 goals now, the bookmakers are likely to raise the odds a bit."

Seeing the confusion and skepticism in others’ eyes, he explained with a sip of his beer, "You know, those top institutions have the world’s best analysts and mathematicians.

"When they calculate probabilities, they’ll definitely consider the player’s injury probability.

"Ma’el has never been injured since debuting, so they can’t get reference probabilities and can only offer a base rate of around 19%."

"So when he fails to score in two consecutive rounds and is about to enter the winter window’s grueling schedule...

"The bookmakers will surely think he’s exhausted lately, with a heightened risk of injury, likely to get injured during the grueling schedule, and even if not, his form will drastically decline.

"At this time, they’ll pretend not to know anything and use the promotion of half-season 20 goals + raised odds to attract people to bet on him."

Many struck an enlightened pose, while others were still skeptical.

"Genius!"

The tavern owner was now his enthusiastic fan, clapping and saying, "I’ve always said you’re a genius! But isn’t leveraging a futures thing? What’s it got to do with football betting?"

"There’s no leverage in football betting."

Jones smiled mysteriously, pulled out a credit card, and grinned, "But I can add my own."

"Pfft....." He quickly elicited laughter from many, with several giving him a thumbs-up for his ’boldness.’

"Beep! Beep! Beep——!"

At this moment, the referee on the broadcast screen blew the whistle to end the match, and Arsenal won 4-2 against Wolves, remaining at the top of the table.

Arshavin scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist, Van Persie scored 1 goal, and Ma’el collected 1 assist.

Many directed expectant glances at Jones, and he didn’t disappoint them, raising his card and shouting, "All in! Fourth time all-in.....!"

"Oh.....!"

"Clap clap.....!"

Many applauded and cheered for him, the tavern was gradually becoming enraptured.

This quickly drew disdainful looks from first-time visitors, many looking at these drunkards and gamblers with disgust.

"A player just won the Golden Boy Award and delivered a dragon-like dribble for an assist, yet you’re not praising him here, instead calculating his non-scoring probability for the next match?!"

"Yeah, with babble about injury probability, leverage, all-in, who has a screw loose!"

"Those not focused on watching the game shouldn’t watch it at all; you’re not worthy of being Ma’el’s fans, and Ma’el likely doesn’t need fans like you."

"Arsenal’s disgrace, Ma’el’s disgrace... a crowd un-cheering for Mr. Golden Boy, yet cheering for all-in."

Those around Jones fell silent in an instant, even the boss bowed his head, confused why his tavern turned out like this.

Right then, Jones stood up with his glass, walked straight up to those people’s faces, tightly gripping the handle, looking fierce, scaring many into stepping back.

"Cough cough."

He coughed twice and began his performance, "When Ma’el first joined the Premier League from Sheffield United, everyone doubted him, including you Arsenal fans!

"Countless people questioned him, countless people discredited those who genuinely liked, supported, and acknowledged him!

"But I have been refuting these people from the start, holding absolute trust in him from the start! And I expressed my acknowledgment with real money!

"Who are you to lecture me! When Ma’el first arrived, he was carried on my shoulders! ’Ma’el’s disgrace’ doesn’t fall to the likes of you to say!"