God Of football

Chapter 788: At The Death.

”Well, it has been a while, 18 minutes to be precise, since Arsenal made their changes,” the commentator’s voice cut in over the noise of the Emirates, ”but truth be told, they’re still struggling to find any rhythm. The introduction of Saka, Rice, and a few other first-team regulars was meant to steady things, but cohesion is proving hard to come by. Newcastle, compact and focused, have barely allowed them a sniff since taking the lead.”

The co-commentator chimed in with a note of caution.

”That’s the problem when you swap out half your side at once. The flow disappears, passes feel half a second late, and against a team like Newcastle, you can’t afford that.”

But then, a ripple of noise began to spread through the home sections of the stadium.

The cameras panned quickly to the near touchline, where a figure in a black bib was jogging lightly, each step greeted with cheers.

”Oh, now then...” the commentator’s voice lifted.

”That might not last for long, because look who’s up and warming. Izan Miura Hernández, the Premier League’s most frightening weapon, is preparing to enter the fray.”

Down on the pitch, Arsenal tried to mount something.

Saka twisted away from Burn, slipping the ball into Nwaneri, who worked a neat one-two with Rice before rolling it wide to Trossard.

The Belgian skipped past one, cut inside another, and drew a desperate block from Schär, causing the deflection to spin behind as the referee pointed to the corner.

As Arsenal set themselves up for the delivery, the camera cut again.

Izan, bib off now, was tugging his white jersey down into place.

The number ten on the back gleamed under the floodlights.

The crowd roared as he peeled the Velcro from his shin pads and slipped them into position, his face as calm as if it were training.

Back on the pitch, the corner was swung short, Trossard again picking up the ball a distance away from the box.

He shaped to drive inside, but Bruno Guimarães lunged across, arms wrapped.

Both men went down in a tangle, Trossard thumping the turf as the whistle shrilled.

”Free-kick to Arsenal!” the commentator barked, the sound of the crowd swelling with it.

And then, almost perfectly timed, the fourth official’s board lit up.

Number 20 off, number 10 on.

Jorginho jogged slowly toward the touchline, applause following him, before slapping Izan’s hand as the teenager bounded past.

”And listen to that noise,” the co-commentator said, almost laughing over the din.

”What a moment this could be, Arsenal with a free-kick in a dangerous area, and Izan stepping onto the pitch at the exact same time.”

Izan trotted toward the cluster already gathered over the ball.

Trossard stood closest, with Rice hovering just behind him, glancing at the defensive line.

The youngster slotted himself into the circle without hesitation, and the two senior players gave way naturally, because, as they had come to learn from playing with him, when Izan stood behind a deadball, it was two things that were going to happen.

Either he scored or the keeper made the save of a lifetime.

”What’s the play?” Trossard asked, eyebrow raised. ”A bit far out, don’t you think?”

Izan gave him a half-smile, brushing his curls from his face. ”Leave it to me.”

The two older players looked at each other before Rice chuckled, shaking his head as he clapped Trossard’s shoulder.

”We’ve heard that before.”

And with that, both men jogged toward the box, leaving Izan alone with the ball.

The referee marched back, pacing out the distance, planting the wall.

He blew his whistle once, sharp and short, and then stepped back, his arm raised.

The stadium hushed, anticipation pressing in like a held breath.

And Izan stood tall, ball placed perfectly at his feet, the wall shifting nervously in front of him.

And as the whistle cut through the tension, Izan’s eyes narrowed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, before he moved towards the ball, with just pure intent.

He strode forward and swung through the ball with every ounce of raw power in his frame, the crack of leather on leather ringing out like a gunshot.

”Oh, my word—” the commentator barely had time to gasp as the ball took flight.

It wasn’t curling, wasn’t dipping in some delicate arc.

It was moving violently, snaking through the air like it had a mind of its own.

Tonali, stationed on the edge of the wall, flinched as it tore past his ear, the rush of air audible even above the crowd’s roar.

Nick Pope, in goal, stood stupefied by how the ball was moving.

He shuffled, hesitated, his body pulled between diving left, then right as the ball wobbled, kicked again off its own spin, and before he could even decide, it was past him, screaming into the top corner with such force that the net seemed to buckle, begging for mercy under the strike.

And behind, a wall of noise crashed down over the pitch, Arsenal scarves flung high into the night.

Izan didn’t move.

He stood rooted to the grass, expression calm, shoulders rising and falling as though he were simply another spectator while his gaze lingered on the goal like a craftsman admiring a finished piece of work, unhurried, untouchable.

”STOP THAT! JUST STOP THAT!” the commentator finally found his voice, words tumbling over themselves.

”Izan Miura Hernández, with his very first touch of the game, levels the playing field! Time and time again, this boy just seems to pull out banger after banger!”

Saka was the first to reach him, tugging at his arm.

”Come on, don’t stand there like a statue!” he laughed, half-shouting over the noise as he dragged Izan into the corner, where the rest of the team engulfed him.

Rice ruffled his bun until it almost came loose while Trossard thumped his back, and then from behind came Nwaneri, grinning like a child as the latter jumped on Izan’s shoulders.

”Arsenal 1, Newcastle 1. Izan levels it with a strike that belongs in a museum. With his very first touch, he’s shifted the momentum of this game entirely.”

The co-commentator added, voice still tinged with disbelief.

”You couldn’t write it. Comes on, takes the free-kick, bangs it in like that. This kid is beyond terrifying. And suddenly, Arsenal look like they’ve avoided what would’ve been an embarrassing home defeat before their trophy”

”So here’s the question,” the commentator said, his tone teasing, drawing the night forward. ”Can Arsenal find a winner before the whistle, or will Newcastle hold firm?”

The roar of the crowd swelled again as the ball was rolled back to the centre circle, the stage set for one last push, the clock now ticking into the 87th minute.

The Emirates was boiling, the noise less a crowd and more a living storm that refused to let up as the clock ticked ominously toward ninety.

And as it progressed, tempers began to flare.

A late lunge from Burn on Nwaneri near the halfway line sent the young midfielder tumbling, and Rice rushed over, arms spread, jaw tight.

Wilson got involved, shoving back, and for a moment, both sets of players clashed in a blur of shouts and pointing fingers.

The referee stormed into the middle, palms raised, barking at them to settle down, but it took two yellow cards to get the players to separate.

Back on the touchline, the board went up, but the fans didn’t take too kindly to the added duration.

Three minutes.

Only three.

A chorus of boos rained down from the home support, but for the away fans, it wasn’t all that bad.

”Just three added on,” the co-commentator said with a chuckle. ”I think the officials want to see this trophy lifted just as badly as the Arsenal players.”

The laughter hadn’t faded before Zinchenko switched play with a long, arcing ball into midfield.

Izan was already there, waiting, chest out, cushioning it down like velvet.

His touch drew a gasp from the crowd, and without breaking stride, he flipped the ball over the onrushing Tonali, who lunged, grabbing desperately at Izan’s shirt.

The teenager staggered, but his acceleration was frightening.

With a violent shift of pace, he tore loose, Tonali’s grip slipping away like sand through fingers.

Izan was gone, darting forward, weaving into space before Newcastle’s midfield could close the door.

”He’s wriggled free and look at the balance, look at the speed!” the commentator roared, the pitch shuddering under the volume of the crowd.

Izan had gotten away from Tonali, but Joelinton stuck to him like a second skin, tugging at his shirt to slow him down until Izan released the ball to Trossard, and called it on the return after bursting away from Joelinton.

Trossard read it instantly, releasing a clever pass into Izan’s stride down the flank where Murphy tracked him desperately, sliding in as Izan shaped for the cross, except it never came.

Instead, it was a feint, sharp and cold as Murphy’s slide whistled past empty grass.

Izan nudged the ball around him, the crowd erupting in gasps, before driving towards the byline as every Arsenal fan stood and every Newcastle shirt in the box tensed.

But Izan didn’t lash it across like expected.

Instead, he slid it low and precise, a teasing ball into the six-yard area.

And there was Saka, timing his run to perfection.

Leg outstretched.

The faintest of nudges, redirecting the ball past Pope’s scrambling dive to win, possibly the game and their pride.

”BUKAYO SAKA! RIGHT AT THE DEATH!” the commentator’s voice cracked with the sheer violence of the moment.

”Set up by Izan, finished by Saka, Arsenal have turned the game on its head! From one-nil down to two-one up, THIS PLACE IS A PARTY NOW!”

Izan bolted straight for the North Bank, Saka right behind him, both of them sprinting like kids who had just broken free of school.

The pair dove toward the fans, arms outstretched, their faces pure electricity as teammates poured in after them, a wave of red piling against the advertising boards as the stands pulsed with song.

”Party fever at the Emirates!” the co-commentator added, half-laughing, half-shouting.

”And if Barcelona are watching, if Manchester City are watching, you’d better take notes. Arsenal are coming. They’ve taken the league, they’re in two finals, and nights like this show you exactly why!”

The whistle hadn’t yet blown, but the stadium was already trembling like the trophy was in their hands, because it was.