God Of football

Chapter 920: Got What They Wanted. [GT Chapter.]

The referee finally blew his whistle, and the entire stadium seemed to inhale at once.

Izan took his first step, then the second, eyes fixed on the inside of the far post.

The Yokohama wall waited for the cue to spring into action.

Park Il-Kyu, in his goal, crouched low with his weight on his right foot, reading the strike before it even left the boot.

Izan met the ball cleanly.

It came off his foot with a sharp lift and a tight curve that caught the crowd’s attention before it even cleared the wall.

They rose with it as it bent around the last defender’s shoulder.

And from behind them, Park shuffled sideways, three quick steps, eyes locked on the ball.

He started to drop into a dive, but he never got there.

And then from behind him, the ball snapped into the top corner, ripping the net back so hard that the keeper froze mid-movement, one arm half-extended as if he still wasn’t certain it had actually gone in.

This time, there wasn’t much of a delayed reaction as the noise hit the stadium because they all expected only one outcome.

The commentator’s voice cracked a little as he tried to catch up.

”Spectacular from Izan. That is just ridiculous. That is outrageous. Izan with his third of the night, and what a way to finish it. Park Il-Kyu had no chance. None.”

Izan raised both hands over his head, then lowered them as his teammates poured in from every direction.

”We just saw Shuu Takeda roll one in on the grass earlier with a beautiful strike and brilliant technique. But Izan has just answered that in the most emphatic way possible. Almost like he said, if we’re doing free kicks tonight, I’ll show you the top shelf.”

The cameras found Arteta near the touchline, who just nodded once with his hands on his hips.

After a second, he turned and walked back toward the bench, already thinking ahead.

Izan pulled away from his teammates, looking around at the livid crowd before turning towards the half with his mates for the restart, while the noise still rolled around the stadium, bouncing from the upper tiers to the pitch.

”Three goals, all different, all ruthless and all eye-candies. And he jogs back to his half for the fourth time tonight, and all with a goal involvement to his name. Yokohama will restart for what feels like the tenth time tonight, and they must be wondering what more they can do.”

Izan reached the centre circle and put his hands on his hips, breathing lightly, waiting for the ball to be placed, and even after the restart, whoever thought Arsenal were going to be merciful was wrong.

Because they still kept their feet on the pedal.

They kept pushing forward and causing more problems for the Yokohama team that seemed to have no idea of dealing with Arsenal, with their coach standing on the touchline and looking like a lost lamb.

And with their relentless approach towards the game, even in the latter stages, they got rewarded.

The first of the two late goals came after a long spell of possession that wore Yokohama down.

Nwaneri, who had settled into the game quickly after replacing Odegaard, kept offering himself between the lines.

He played a short pass into Izan’s feet, expecting a simple layoff, but Izan spun away from his marker and burst into space.

The crowd reacted instantly as he drew two defenders toward him, held the ball a moment longer than seemed safe, then slipped a pass through the smallest gap to Trossard.

The winger didn’t waste time with any unnecessary movements.

One touch out of his feet and then, the second rolled past Park into the far corner.

”Can’t keep count! It was four, but now it is five. Trossard puts Arsenal four goals above Yokohama and Izan once again, the inspiration as he gets a brace of assists on the night.”

Trossard jogged back, grinning while tapping Izan lightly on the chest.

”You’re making me look good out here.”

Izan just shrugged.

”Well, your positioning was perfect,” he said with a wink and then an ”ok” sign like a photographer who felt they had done a good job.

Before play restarted, Yokohama made another switch.

Uenaka came off, shaking his head in frustration, replaced by Dean, while Arsenal responded with a change of their own, giving Zincheko minutes on the left in place of Lewis Skelly.

During the pause, Shuu walked past Izan and muttered, ”Relax a bit. It’s preseason.”

To which Izan just smiled.

”I am relaxed,” he mouthed towards Shuu as the latter walked off.

The whistle went again, and Yokohama tried to regroup, but the match had clearly slipped out of their hands.

A few late fouls started creeping in.

One midfielder clipped Rice on the turn, earning a warning.

Another challenge on Saka drew a louder reaction from the crowd, especially when Saka stayed down briefly.

Izan helped him back up and gave the Yokohama player a glance that said enough without needing words.

And then Arsenal’s final goal of the night came just a few minutes before the whistle.

It started with Timber winning a duel near the halfway line.

He stepped forward and fed Izan, who was already checking his shoulder.

Instead of turning, he let the ball run across his body and hit a first-time pass out to Leandro Trossard, who took on his fullback right away.

The latter darted inside and returned the ball to Izan, who had continued his run.

Yokohama’s defence tightened around him again, expecting a shot, but Izan disguised a short, clever pass to Nwaneri arriving late.

The other teenager finished low into the corner, sliding on his knees toward the fans while Izan lifted a hand in approval.

”Calm and as cool as you like. Arsenal are 5 up in this game. That makes three goals and three assists for Izan tonight. It’s turned into his game where every decision he’s made has hurt Yokohama.”

Nwaneri caught Izan as they jogged back.

”Didn’t think you saw me.”

”You were loud enough,” Izan said, patting his shoulder.

There were a few more stoppages as Yokohama tried to salvage pride with quick attacks, but Arsenal’s shape held firm.

Arteta stood near the touchline again, arms folded now, watching the small details more than the scoreboard, and when the referee finally blew for full time, the noise around the stadium blended with a sense of satisfaction.

The cameras drifted across the pitch as players from both sides caught their breath, and the commentator’s voice settled into a calmer tone now that the noise had eased.

”Before kickoff, the fans here were asking for a show. They wanted to see Arsenal, and they wanted to see Izan. Well, they’ve just watched a 6–1 display that answered every bit of that request.”

Izan shook hands with a few Yokohama players, exchanging short words that were mostly lost in the stadium’s hum.

A couple of them patted his arm, a bit annoyed at the scoreline, but there wasn’t any animosity in their expressions.

Just helplessness at first, and then a resigned expression.

When he reached Shuu near the touchline, both slowed to a stop.

Shuu let out a tired laugh.

”You didn’t have to go that hard.”

Izan smiled. ”You started it. That free kick was ridiculous.”

Shuu rubbed the back of his neck.

”Felt good, yeah, but yours was cleaner and more flashy though.”

The latter said, but Izan just shook his head.

”Doesn’t matter since both went in,” he said while Shuu nodded.

They stood there a moment longer as applause rolled down from the stands.

The fans weren’t just clapping for the score.

They were clapping for the rhythm of the match, the back-and-forth bursts, the goals that had come from real quality on both ends and the stadium lights caught the players’ faces as they nodded at the crowd, some raising a hand, others too tired to do more than look up.

”It’s been a night full of moments. Arsenal were sharp, confident, and full of ideas. Yokohama fought hard, had their spell, and gave their supporters something to shout about, too. But there’s no question who owned the stage. Izan with three goals, three assists, and a performance that almost felt like a message. The fans wanted entertainment. They’ve had more than that.”

The camera lingered on Izan and Shuu as they headed toward their teammates, still talking quietly while the crowd cheered above them.