Arsenal are looking to add more attacking options to their ranks this summer with a winger and striker eyed.
Arsenal are eyeing a move for another Chelsea player this summer after confirming the arrival of Kepa Arrizabalaga from Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The Spanish goalkeeper is the first arrival of the summer for the Gunners as they look to ramp up their transfer business with pre-season around the corner. Arsenal are desperate to finally end their run of second-place finishes and will want as many signings through the door as possible ahead of the new campaign.
The Gunners have been linked with the signing of Chelsea winger Noni Madueke with Arteta keen to add more than just a prolific striker to his attacking options next season.
Whether Chelsea would be willing to do more business with the Gunners remains to be seen as they have added Liam Delap to their forward options while João Pedro has also agreed a switch to Stamford Bridge.
Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg reported that Arsenal had “submitted an offer” to Madueke and that “talks had started”. He then provided a fresh update a few hours later, insisting: “An Arsenal offer for Noni Madueke, 100% confirmed as revealed today. He is one of several top options for the wing.”
However, that information has been contradicted by Fabrizio Romano who provided an update on his YouTube channel. He confirmed Arsenal are interested in the Chelsea man but insisted no proposal had been sent to the player or the Blues.
He said: “Arsenal are considering a move for Madueke, from that point I’m told that nothing has changed today.
“So many stories today, but the reality is that Arsenal have not sent any proposal to Chelsea as of today, Arsenal have not sent any contract proposal to the player, they just had talks to understand the situation of the player last week.
“So Madueke is one of the names in the list but at the moment, still nothing has changed in terms of negotiations yet for Noni Madueke.”
It is unclear if Arteta would look to use Madueke on the right wing as that is occupied by Bukayo Saka. Madueke has played on the left a handful of times in his career but is simply not going to be selected ahead of Saka.
Former Chelsea player Jason Cundy believes the two players actually share a similar trait. Speaking after Chelsea beat Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, Cundy said: “The thing I love about Noni is whenever he picks the ball up, he looks that way [forward]. His first instinct with his first touch, ‘How can I get beyond you? How can I get in behind you?’
“What I noticed he did against Liverpool, and he does this very well on the right-hand side, but he will come inside on his right. Most left-footers out there tend not to. Left-footers love it on the right.
“When you’ve got a winger that can go both ways and threaten, as a full-back now you’re asking questions. He does that; Saka’s one of the best, goes out on the right and comes inside. You need to threaten both [ways], Noni has been really good, really impressive.”
