Rise of a Football God

Hours before the game, a popular YouTube star who made social media content on football arrived in Holloway, North London in England for the epic premier league clash between Arsenal and Fulham.

This YouTube star was extremely popular with tens of millions of subscribers.

An hour after he arrived, going to Emirates Stadium, he did a live video where he asked fans coming to the stadium a specific question about the game.

"Who do you think will win? Fulham or Arsenal?"

And well, he got replies, a lot of them.

"Sorry blud, Fulham are getting nothing from here today".

"You think so? What of Sam?"

The Arsenal fan grinned. "Who is Sam? Where is Sam?" He looked around sarcastically, but then he faced the camera. "There's nobody in the premier league that can pass through our Saliba, and Sam is among them".

"Today, he'll know the difference between our defense and other defenses".

That was just one out of many replies.

"Hey, who do you think will win the game? Fulham or Arsenal?"

"Arsenal for the win man". The male fan laughed, hugging his girlfriend. "Fulham are good this season but they don't have the depth and experience to win against a team like Arsenal, the pressure of the title race is already getting to them".

"To win against the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, and even Man City this season, you need much more than temporary form".

"You actually need experience, and that, I must say Fulham don't have".

"Even their talisman, Sam, the boy is still just a teenager".

"My prediction is that Sam will have his worst game of the season today".

This YouTube star got a lot of answers like this and when the referee's whistle eventually sounded hours later inside Emirates Stadium to kick off the game, he was also in the stands, paying attention to the proceedings.

It was time to see if the football fans that he asked were right.

…

FWEEEE!

As soon as the referee's whistle sounded…

Thud!

…Sam started chasing after the ball.

And not just him, all the Fulham players reacted aggressively as soon as Arsenal kicked off the game, chasing after the ball with intensity.

Coach Marco Silva's strategy for this game was a polar opposite of his approach to Tottenham during the early proceedings.

Unlike when he told his team to defend during the early proceedings of the game against Tottenham Hotspur, Marco Silva did not dare make the same decision here knowing the caliber of attackers that Arsenal had at their disposal.

With the likes of Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, and Bukayo Saka in the lineup, all technical players that excelled in tight-space dribbling, the last thing he wanted was to defend deep against them.

This was why Marco Silva's approach to this game during the early proceedings was an aggressive prime Liverpoolesque gen-gen press!

Thud! Thud!
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The Fulham players flooded all over the pitch, pressuring the Arsenal players and forcing them to go back.

And once that happened, Raul Jimenez, Fulham's striker took it from there as he sprinted, rapidly closing the Arsenal goalkeeper down and forcing David Raya to quickly hit the ball upward.

Back in midfield, Lukic rose highest, beating Declan Rice in the aerial battle as the Fulham midfielder won back the ball.

That moment was when the game in Emirates Stadium became complicated.

As soon as Fulham won back possession, the ball quickly found its way to Sam and together alongside Emile Smith Rowe, these 2 friends started creating their magic on the pitch as their telepathic chemistry shone.

The Fulham S factor took over this game.

But Sam and Emile Smith Rowe were not allowed to enjoy themselves with impunity though, not with the likes of Declan Rice and Thomas Partey sharing the midfield spot with them.

After the first 10 minutes, this game became an end-to-end affair.

Arsenal's technical brilliance shone in intervals as Martin Odegaard posed a threat with his vision and neat passes every time that he got the ball in midfield.

On the right side of the pitch, Bukayo Saka, the England International also caused a lot of problems with his silky dribbling and occasional crosses into the box that caused the Fulham defense that never ceased to cause chaos.

Just like Sam and Smith combined for Fulham to devastating effect, the Saka and Odegaard combo was even deadlier in this game.

To fight off their strengths, Fulham responded by playing high intensity physical football as they roughed up the Arsenal players.

Boos erupted from the home supporters occasionally but it only riled the Fulham players up even more, till the moment their challenges started turning reckless as the referee began handing over cards.

By the 30th minute of this game, nothing tangible was created yet until 2 moments of individual brilliance turned this game on its head.

Bam! Bam!

In the 33rd minute of this game, exchanging one-two passes between them, Sam and Emile Smith Rowe penetrated into the Arsenal defense like a hot knife through butter.

After receiving the final pass, just as Sam was about to turn and take a shot, he noticed a wall suddenly obstruct him.

This wall… was William Saliba.

The Frenchman was the one reason why despite Fulham's press since they've not scored a goal yet. But this time, Sam did not force it, instead, he improvised.

With William Saliba sticking close to him, bullying him with his superior physicality, instead of fighting it, Sam juggled the ball up and then…

Bam!

A juggle and a mid-air pass.

Everything happened so fast it almost felt like Sam was operating in a different time space where he played the game at a much faster speed.

Sam's mid-air pass was so accurate that it flashed past the side of William Saliba's face and when the Frenchman looked, realizing what just happened, his eyes widened. 'No!'

It was too late though.

Having read Sam's intentions perfectly, like a specter, Emile Smith Rowe ghosted into the position in the Arsenal 18-yard box where the ball appeared towards the right side of the post.

All this winger had to do was hit the ball with the heel of his boots and it was directed straight into the box.

"GOALLLLL…!" The away stands in Emirates Stadium erupted, screaming at the top of their lungs as the home supporters were stunned.

"What a goal!" The commentator raved. "Perfect chemistry these 2! And ladies and gentlemen, behold the Sam and Smith factor!"

"They've done it again!"

"Surely, they're not going to win in the Emirates, right?!"

Just 4 minutes later, in the 37th minute of this game, after conceding a corner kick, Alex Iwobi floated the ball from the right into the box.

As a scramble started, somehow, Calvin Bassey did it, outwitting everybody as he ghosted into an unmarked spot and leaped high into the air, planting a powerful header towards goal.

"And ohhh…! Alisson with the save!"

"But the rebound is still alive…, and oh! Goallllll…!"

Raul Jimenez pounced on the rebounded ball with cat-like instincts, poking it into the net before the nearest Arsenal defender could tackle him.

"…"

"…"

"…..!"

Emirates Stadium was as silent as a graveyard, the only noise being the one that came from the away stands as ecstatic Fulham fans roared at the top of their lungs.

"My God! What are we witnessing right now?"

"Arsenal have collapsed in their own home!"

"Fulham is winning in the Emirates Stadium by 2 unanswered goals!"

"Crazy! Absolutely crazy! No one saw this coming, not even Devil scripted this, this is just out of this world!"

"Fulham are on top of the world at this moment!"

"Can they actually do it?"

"Can they go all the way and win the game?"