Even without him making too many appearances on the internet for a while now, it was already buzzing with news of him.
Under the #ClubWorldCup tag, fans began asking the same question over and over again:
"Wait, is Izan even playing in this thing? I can't be the only one who hasn't seen him right?"
"Why wasn't he in any of the Arsenal arrival pics?"
"Is he injured or something?"
Clips of Arsenal stepping off the plane in Los Angeles filled timelines with members of the team stepping onto their transport one by one.
But there was no Izan.
Not in the airport videos, not in the team photos, and not even in the casual snaps of fans waiting by the terminal.
It didn't make sense.
As someone who always fell in the spotlight, even if he didn't do anything to attract it, it was weird not to see his face on any broadcast or promotional materials used for the tournament.
Threads piled up, conspiracy theories mixed with jokes.
Then, finally, a user dropped a link with the caption:
