One of the most ridiculed transfers of the summer window is now looking like a masterstroke, the irony of football. Noni Madueke has gone a long way in silencing his doubters yet again when the Gunners faced Nottingham Forest this afternoon. Coming off the back of a fruitful international break with England, Noni Madueke reprised his role on the right flank amid the ongoing absence of Bukayo Saka. The England international delivered yet again, even though he was not among the goals or assists. Despite not making a goal contribution, he excelled in one-on-one situations throughout, being the most serious attacking threat for Arsenal due to his direct running. The former PSV man started like the proverbial house on fire, making himself a nuisance against the Nottingham Forest defence, particularly the left full-back Morato.
Madueke’s numbers against Forest
His performance was simply electrifying as fans even sang his name in the lead-up to the first goal. He was given a standing ovation for his efforts and even though he did not make a goal contribution, he led the way in some key statistics. He registered:
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4 dribbles completed (most)
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5 chances created (most)
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9 duels won (most)
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12 touches in the box
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7 defensive contributions
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3 recoveries
His performance had fans on the edge of their seat at times as he was completely unplayable, mostly in the first half. He had Morato on the ropes and had it not been for a forced tactical reshuffle by Ange Postecoglou, the winger would have potentially scored or assisted. His influence did wane as the game went on, especially in the second period, but he was no doubt the brightest spark for Arsenal on the day.
Arsenal vindicated
His latest showing perfectly illustrates his elite mentality. He could have easily been affected by the negativity surrounding his move in the summer, but he has kept his head down and is doing all the talking on the pitch. The highlight for me was the standing ovation when he was substituted. He is not the finished article yet and there are still a lot of improvements needed, but that would have been a nice moment for the player.
Arsenal will feel vindicated by their decision to sign the player for big money in the summer. Bukayo Saka has been injured for the last two game weeks and we have not even suffered a drop-off in quality. Like I said earlier, there is still a lot of improvement needed, particularly his end product in my opinion, but he has certainly been a hit so far.
I’m giving Noni a player rating of 8.5. Rate Noni Madueke’s performance on a scale of 1-10.
Let us know in the comments.
Benjamin Kenneth
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Madueke ,Mosquera and Zubemendi look to be very good additions to what is a stronger squad than we had last season.Merino has also gained in confidence after his exploits for Spain and the high dependancy on players like Rice and Odegaard is no longer a major factor when it comes to rotation.In essence, our Manager should no longer have to overwork certain players as he has been inclined to do in the past.
The England international delivered yet again …………..
even though he was not among the goals or assists !!!!!
Isn’t that like saying Dan cooked a great meal …. even though he didn’t actually make anything lol.
Man, I miss the days we didn’t judge players by goals and assists. Zidane and Iniesta are considered two of the best midfielders to ever play the game and yet their goals and assists totals are relatively unimpressive. And no,I’m not comparing Madueke to Zidane.
Madueke being a persistent menace allowed the others around him to thrive. The first goal came from a Madueke corner. That goal doesn’t happen without him plain and simple. He’s also the one who won the corner, so yeah he played a big part in the cooking of that goal.
Finally, a player registering an assist is not entirely up to him. If you create an excellent chance and your teammates fail to convert, you have done your job. On another day, some of those chances Noni created would have been assists.
👍
Beckham said as much; it was his job to put the ball in the area, their job to finish it.
@ dan , not at all and that’s potentially the worst analogy I’ve ever heard
Does that mean though potentially it might not be ? lol
Football is not only about goals and assists. Yes, they are the most important and what wins matches but there are several other factors to a successful team.
For example, Ferguson said, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles”
Disagree dude
In his position he will be judged on goals and assists
Your basically saying can we call him exceptional but don’t judge him on his main job
Dan I’d wish to know if he will be solemnly judged on goals and rightly so, how will he end up achieving that if there is no performance! Let’s say he doesn’t take on his man, what chance then does he have of scoring/ assisting? We are commending the boy for a great show of taking risks, the goals will come.
It’s your opinion but I think you’re trying to a naughty boy there !
And yet there’s plenty of play that goes on before an assist and a goal. Say a midfielder plays a defense splitting pass to the left back. The left back crosses the ball to the striker who scores. That defense splitting pass is just as important as the cross & goal ,if not more, but there’s no stat for it.
Madueke is not the finished article yet but he’ll only get better. There are two ways of judging a player- stats and the eye test. My eyes tell me Madueke was outstanding today and the stats are in agreement!
You are spot on Onyango, it was great to see him get a standing ovation from the Emirates. He can only get better
Modric was underrated by many at spurs because he didn’t score or assist that much – he did the work before the final pass. It’s only because real Madrid recognised how important he was that he’s gone on to have such a great career. And he was an attacking midfielder really, similar to Zidane (often played as a cm in a 442).
And he won the Balon’d’or with 7 goals and 11 assists in all competitions….🙄🙄
Not sure if you’re saying that’s wrong but Ballon d’Or is not a great measure of anything – it’s based on people’s opinions and the fact it rarely goes to defensive players (even though there have been a couple in recent memory) shows it’s really not about the best player. That said, I do think modric deserved it about as much as anybody (don’t think the competition was that great and he had a very good season?)
Just backing your point @ Davi.. He won the Balon’d’or but his goals and assists is just modest. But we can all see his contributions which goes beyond goals and assists..
Not stubborn mate
Just don’t agree with some of the words being used
Well no again we are just saying words that we want to believe are true
His stats are actually not outstanding
That’s the point
Now you could say Zubimendi stats were outstanding
Or Arsenal defensively have been outstanding
But a rm getting to the bar line and not finding a pass is not outstanding
Dan, don’t be so stubborn. Yes, you are entitle to your opinion, but all the other guys appreciate Noni performance.
That’s what I want to see from him, be brave take on your man, bring in the crosses, doing that will end up to scoring and or assist. He was lively to watch.
No mate
He played well
But we can’t say he has been exceptional yet
We do this every season with players
Nowhere have I said he was exceptional Dan, you should read my stament again, trying to alter what is a clear opinion I will never understand!
I’ll pause you a question, between Eze and Madueke who do you think had a great game?
Not literally you mate
In general i meant
Also for his price tag…dam straight against Forest at home he should be running at his man
But if I said to you in the summer , 4 games in , 0 goals , 0 assists
Would you honestly say ……’ wow that’s exceptional’
Noni,
Noni-noni,
Noni-noni,
Noni,
Madueke
To the tune of “There’s no limit”
Although I don’t wish injury on anyone, the two times that Odegaard has gone off. The team hasn’t missed him, his replacement Nwaneri moves the ball quicker than him which benefits the team going forward. He also takes on his man, and try’s to make things happen.
I just hope that Arteta doesn’t allow the fact that Odegaard’s the club Captain to blinker his view regarding benching him if said player is playing better than him. That remains to be seen.
Don’t hold your breath Derek 😵💫
Based on what I seen In 2025 we don’t win a title with Nwaneri as our AM
If you want to drop Odegarrd maybe Eze in the middle ?
Dan,
For me it doesn’t have to be Nwaneri, but I believe the likes of Eze, or Nwaneri, and even Dowman should be given more of a chance if Odegaard isn’t performing.
Although I stand by my previous posts concerning Dowman. As talented as he clearly is, it must be remembered is still a kid and is still developing physically. Give him some game time by all means, but don’t rush him.
Yeah Eze I would be fine with