God Of football

Chapter 412 412: At Villa Park

Izan leaned back in his seat, watching the Colney fields through the windows of the bus.

They'd spent all week building toward this.

No wild speeches, no late tweaks—just repetition, film sessions, silent focus.

He remembered one final tactical run the day before when Arteta had frozen play during a pressing drill and made him swap roles with Martinelli.

"If you're starting wide left today," Arteta had said, "show me you can hurt them from here."

Martinelli had grinned.

"If he doesn't, I'm taking it back."

But Izan had kept the spot and would be playing on the wings for the match against Villa.

Now, as the final bags were loaded and the bus doors hissed shut, Izan pulled out his phone and began

"Notably, Jorginho is a fresh face in today's lineup, replacing Martinelli, which means young Izan will occupy the left wing.

A bold decision by Arteta—perhaps a calculated one. The 16-year-old has shown the utmost brilliance in his first match, and this could be his opportunity to silence the critics calling it luck."

The roar of the crowd greeted them like a wave crashing against stone—full and immediate.

Izan stepped out under the floodlights, the pitch vibrant, the stands layered with claret and blue.

"Aston Villa, meanwhile, is unchanged in their front line. Expect Watkins to challenge Saliba early. But Arsenal have weapons of their own—and with Saka, Ødegaard, and Izan on the pitch, they might just be looking to overwhelm from wide."

Players spread out into position for handshakes and the coin toss. The ritual was repetitive but not redundant.

Each moment served to ground them, to connect the adrenaline to something physical.

When the referee finally blew the whistle for kickoff, and the ball was rolled back to Jorginho from the center circle, the Arsenal bench stood in quiet anticipation.

The match had begun.

The match opened with a spark of urgency from the visitors.

"And we're underway at Villa Park—Arsenal in their change strip of white and maroon kicking from left to right. Aston Villa, all in claret and blue, look compact in their 4-4-2 shape… but Arsenal are already pushing bodies forward."

Izan sprinted down the left channel almost immediately after the kickoff, receiving a quick diagonal from Jorginho, who didn't waste time establishing the tempo.

Izan took one touch inside, looked up, and released Ødegaard with a cut pass just beyond Douglas Luiz.

"Lovely movement already from the Gunners. Look at that from the youngster—poise, control, and intelligence. Ødegaard now, skips past one… lays it to Saka on the edge…"

But Konsa stepped in just in time, intercepting the low pass before Saka could let it run across his body.

Arsenal were relentless in their shape. White tucked in behind Saka, offering that extra bit of cover as Villa tried to transition through Digne.

But Izan and Zinchenko had pressed up on the other side, compressing space until it felt like Villa were trapped in their own third.

"Mikel Arteta's side is playing with real intention here. They've suffocated Villa's left-hand side… and now it's Rice, sweeping it wide again to Izan."

Izan shaped to cross it after receiving the ball, but instead, he cut inside before riffling one towards Martínez, who had to stretch to tip the resulting shot over the bar.

"First real save of the afternoon, and it's from the teenager again! That's no hit-and-hope; that's a calculated dipper headed for the top corner. Big early statement."

Villa regrouped quickly.

From the corner, Arsenal worked a short routine—Ødegaard and Saka combining to drag defenders out—but it ended with McGinn blocking Jorginho's shot from range.

In the eighth minute, Villa finally found a pocket. Kamara intercepted a careless sideways ball from Zinchenko and immediately launched Watkins down the right.

"Here come Villa now, their first real foray forward… Watkins against Saliba—what a matchup this is."

Watkins checked inside, lost Saliba briefly, and squared it low across the box. Bailey came steaming in at the far post—but Tomiyasu, alert and decisive, stretched just in time to hook it clear.

"And Tomiyasu with a vital intervention! The pace of that counter—clinical from Villa. That's their blueprint today: absorb, break, and punish."

Arsenal weren't rattled. They reset, and Jorginho clapped his hands for the ball.

"Again!" he shouted.

Saka rotated inside, pulling Digne with him.

The momentary gap was all Izan needed.

Ødegaard found him with a first-time pass, and Izan drove forward, twisting Cash inside out before sliding a cutback.

Jesus got a touch, but it deflected off Carlos and spun wide.

"Arsenal knocking hard, but Villa holding firm. We're ten minutes in, and the visitors have had nearly seventy percent of the ball. But Villa have shown they only need one chance to threaten. This is shaping up to be an excellent contest."

As Martinez lined up the goal kick, the noise from the Holte End swelled again.

The storm had been weathered—for now.

A/n: Sorry, guys. I should have released this yesterday, but I was swarmed. Sorry, but don't worry; this is the 1st of four chapters today. Have fun reading, and I'll see you with the next chapters.