Heading into the new Premier League season, Mikel Arteta will now have former Chelsea winger Noni Madueke at his disposal at Arsenal.
Even when Noni Madueke was playing for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Arsenal were being tentatively linked with the English winger.
Now it’s believed that Arteta was driving a lot of that intrigue – he’s a forward who the Arsenal manager has wanted to work with for some time.
Fortunately for Arteta, sporting director Andrea Berta was able to complete a deal and Madueke will be vying for first team chances in the coming months.
Perhaps partly because of Madueke’s arrival, Leandro Trossard is set to leave Arsenal, and there might even be chances for the former Chelsea man on the left at the Emirates.
That being said, all of Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane have now spoken about Madueke’s move to Arsenal on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast.
Neville initially called the winger’s move to Arsenal ‘strange’, before Wright and Keane then gave their interpretations.
And when it came to Keane, the former Manchester United captain actually thought Madueke could be a ‘surprise package’ for Arteta.
Neville initially asked: “Madueke was a bit strange, do you think it was a strange one, Madueke?”
Wright replied: “You know what, it’s a strange one simply because it’s another player from Chelsea for us, and it’s a player that Chelsea fans can take or leave.
“But again, like when Sterling came, I was thinking, right, he can show them now, listen, this team wants you.
“I think Madueke is in the same position, they’re thinking (the fans), come on and show us. Because he’s a player who can take people out of the game, he’s got the pace one vs one.”
Keane then added: “He could be that surprise package, right? Sometimes a player comes in and he’s under that radar, and he actually does it.”
Although Madueke has predominantly played as a right winger so far in his career, it might be a different reality for the 23-year-old at Arsenal.
On the right, Bukayo Saka will start the majority of games for Arteta across the season, and he’ll certainly play in the most important ones.
Therefore, Madueke’s best chance of starting regularly might actually be as a left-winger.
Arteta has tended to opt for inverted wingers since he arrived at Arsenal, but that was perhaps because he’s often played with a false nine in the middle.
However, with a more traditional striker in the shape of Viktor Gyokeres, perhaps Madueke being a left-footer on the left could be very beneficial.
Either way, there’s potential for the former Chelsea man to thrive in north London, and Arteta certainly seems confident in Madueke’s untapped ability.
