Cause and Effect

Eight

I was prevented from responding to Mesut's words by Alexis joining us again. We continued to take free kicks, with no further exchange between Mesut and myself. And I realised that he'd been right - Alexis didn't seem to notice a thing regarding Mesut. But then, weren't all guys largely unobservant, and careless regarding each other's emotions? I didn't know what to think.

I felt as though I'd somehow been caught in the middle of a fight between two best friends.

This state of things continued for the rest of attacking practice, and for the first time, I was glad when training finally came to an end. Whatever the problem was, I hoped Mesut would fix it before the game this afternoon, or at least, find a way to suppress his emotions for the duration of the ninety minutes that required his concentration.

We now knew our lineup for today - Alexis was playing striker, with myself on the left, and Mesut on the right. Across the midfield we had Hector, Reiss Nelson, Granit, and Sead Kolasinac, and the back three were Koschielny, Mustafi, and Monreal, with Cech in goal. On the bench we had Aaron Ramsey, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, David Ospina, Eddie Nketiah, Alex Iwobi, Per Mertesacker, and Jack Wilshere. We'd been surprised he didn't put Aaron in the starting XI instead of Reiss, but came to the likely conclusion that since it was pre-season, he'd give some of the younger players a chance to show what they were capable of. Reiss was only just eighteen, and whilst he was fantastic for his age, he didn't have the experience that Aaron did, which could only come with time. Sead was a new signing this season, although it felt like he'd been with us for years, so of course he would be starting today. This would be his first game.

I couldn't help wondering what would change with the lineup once Neymar joined us - despite what Alexis and Mesut thought, it made more sense for Thierry to drop me from attack than Mesut. Alexis, Neymar and myself all played on the left. It would be better to either bench me, as sad as it made me feel, or move me to midfield, rather than play me on the right instead of Mesut, despite him being more accustomed to play in midfield. That didn't appeal to me too much either, but it could be fun to play midfield with my two best friends.

The rest of the day flew by, and we soon found ourselves in the changing rooms before our first game of pre-season. Excitement was high - we'd already warmed up out on the field, and so were fully kitted out in our new black and red away kits. Win, loose or draw, this game would be fun. To tell the truth, we could hardly wait to get out there and play.

Thierry silenced the room, so that he could speak to us. His eyes gleamed, and he gestured animatedly with his hands, something my intimacy with his ways had taught me he did only when expressing extreme emotions. It brought somewhat of an uncontrollable smile to my face. He was as excited as we were.

We soon filed into the tunnel, and Thierry gave me a pat on the back as I passed him. I grinned at him.

"You're excited, aren't you?" He asked.

"Aren't you?" I retorted, laughing.

He chuckled.

"Of course I am. I'm reliving my past through you, y'know. Although my kit was baggier, and didn't have number four on it. Or it did, it just had a one next to it."

"I don't imagine it was red and black either," I laughed. "This is basically your debut as manager, are you worried about what people think of you?"

"You sound like a reporter," he chuckled.

"A genuinely caring one," I pointed out.

"I'm confident enough in what I believe in that it doesn't bother me," he smiled. "You'll understand one day. Now go!"

He shoved me lightly towards the tunnel, and I slipped in place in the lineup, laughing at the fact that we could joke with each other without one of us getting offended. The Sevilla players were lining up beside us now, and I smiled at a few of them. I didn't know any of them personally.