Heading into this season, one position that had some supporters worried was the left wing. Gabriel Martinelli’s pre-season performances offered little inspiration ahead of the new campaign and only underlined the need for reinforcement.
Arsenal had been linked with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, but those hopes faded as the window developed. Noni Madueke was eventually identified as a viable option, with Mikel Arteta describing him as “a real threat.” However, his competitive debut against Manchester United suggested he still has plenty to prove.
Madueke Struggles At Old Trafford
Signed for £52 million this summer, Madueke replaced Martinelli in the second half but failed to make an impression. He was beaten by Amad Diallo on multiple occasions and looked a defensive liability. Going forward he offered little, barely influencing Arsenal’s attacking play.
The numbers summed up his difficult cameo:
Noni Madueke vs Manchester United (Premier League debut)
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Minutes played: 30
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Touches: 14
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Ground duels won: 1/6
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Possession lost: 4
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Dribbled past: 2
Some might argue the winger came on when Arsenal were under pressure and had no platform to shine. Others will point out he missed much of pre-season. Yet Arsenal fans expected more. Martinelli also struggled, but at least showed basic work rate and defensive commitment. Madueke showed none of that, which was disappointing.
Opportunity Still There To Impress
With Arsenal securing a vital win, Madueke’s display may slip under the radar. But with the left-wing position there for the taking, he missed a chance to stake a claim.
If he can raise his game, Madueke has the potential to be more than just a backup to Bukayo Saka. He could be the one to bring genuine balance to Arsenal’s attack and deliver the threat the left side has been missing.
What do you think Gooners? Was this just early rust from Madueke or a warning sign he is not ready for Arsenal’s elite XI?
Daniel O
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People on here are saying that it was only Gyokeres first game and to give him a chance and rightly so. Well the same should be said of Madueke in my opinion.
Agree Derek. Maybe even more so with Madueke. Trying to stake a claim as the starting left winger with 30 minutes of trying to help keep a fresh and very dangerous Diallo (55th minute sub) quiet is no small task. Also, we didn’t have any players who were having a good game offensively so focusing on Madueke here is really out of place for me.
Absolutely. It’s a no-win situation because the new players are built up in the media, including JA, before they’ve played a minute for Arsenal that anything less that near perfection when they do start and it’s “Oh well, perhaps he’s not that good after all”.
Only a few days ago here there was an OTT article about the chances of Gyokeres winning the Golden boot – before he’d even kicked a ball in the EPL.
Completely agree DEREK…. so much doom and gloom after one match (win).
Give the fella a chance.
This is yet more negative nonsense .Madueki was far more involved after coming on for bloody useless Martinelli. And the guy hasn’t played 90 minutes and was late back to training.
Same goes for Gyok. Hadn’t trained at all untill he joined up in Asia.
Give it a rest
There is no single day Madueke will be better than Martinelli, offensively and defensively.
@Pistol
Thank you…👏🏾
Really? It’s not that hard to be better than Martinelli in attack these days. Beat a defender even once and you’re above his level now.
Absolutely! The guy had more of an opportunity any other new player to stake a claim on any position, because Martinelli ought to have been put up for sale weeks ago…
Why did Arteta prioritize this right winger over Eze if indeed the left wing was an identified problematic area? In my opinion, £52m was inexplicably spent on another leftover Chelski asset, the resources of which could’ve been added to bringing in Eze or Rodrygo or any other. The speed at which this individual was bought from Chelsea, despite genuine protests by Arsenal fans, leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth…
Absolutely! Madueke had more opportunity than any other new player to stake a claim on any position, because Martinelli has been consistently bad that he ought to have been put up for sale weeks ago…
It’s obvious consistency is a very rare feature in the evaluation of players by some fans.
Madueke plays the last 30 min of the season opener, where the entire team except Odergaard, Raya and Zubimendi underperformed. He’s then singled out as the one who failed to impress! Not Saka, not Rice, not Havertz, not Gyokeres? Where’s the excuse “still integrating into the system” that Havertz was showered with for all of last season, until it got so stale jogging around the pitch was reinvented as great positional play?
there were multiple players not having a great day,
zubi gabim, goy etc. I blame it on the first day jitters..hope to see a more fluid perfomance next weekend..
With the way Arsenal play , any winger who is not prepared to track back , fill gaps and help out his team defensively is a liability to the team . A lot of the comments are centering on giving players time . Its a steep learning curve because we have a difficult first half dozen games. We must hit the ground running to stay at or near the top. After all , these are all well paid professionals .
Going by that metric half the team that played won’t be close to the first team. Look, Saka and Martinelli were way off, Rice and Zubimendi weren’t at their best to say the least and Gyökeres had a shocker. It was the first game, they need to gel, we won and got three points, it will get better, trust me.
There is no choice. The one thing I need to be reassured of is that VG get the service early meaning we have to be quicker in transition.
If they weren’t a GK or defender yesterday, they played not very well. Unfair to judge Noni off of a sub appearance where basically the who team decided to put on a stinker. Still, if Mikel is not deluded, Noni is a depth signing anyways and NOT a starter. No trophy will be won with him at LW. Or Martinelli there either. Begging for Arsenal to bring in someone else and not throw yet another season away because we didn’t complete our transfer business for probably the 10th summer in a row!
Give him time to prove himself, he came in when Arsenal were in a defensive mode. Let’s wait and see.
Why did Arteta prioritize this right winger over Eze if indeed the left wing was an identified problematic area? In my opinion, £52m was inexplicably spent on another leftover Chelski asset, the resources of which could’ve been added to bringing in Eze or Rodrygo or any other. The speed at which this individual was bought from Chelsea, despite genuine protests by Arsenal fans, leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth…