Perhaps the strangest thing about this story is how quickly it has travelled.
CaughtOffside report that Atletico Madrid and Juventus are monitoring Noni Madueke ahead of January, despite also acknowledging that no formal negotiations have taken place and his Arsenal contract runs until 2030 .
Nevertheless, the story has already been picked up and repeated across numerous Arsenal publications.
And that is how transfer speculation can quickly begin to acquire a life of its own.
One report becomes five reports. Five become ten. Before long, supporters could be forgiven for thinking Arsenal are genuinely considering moving Madueke on.
But strip away the repetition and ask the basic footballing question.
Why would Arsenal want to do that?
Arsenal Bought Madueke For Exactly This Situation
Arsenal have already lost Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal and Leandro Trossard to Besiktas this summer.
Whatever people thought about those departures individually, they removed two experienced attacking players from Arteta’s squad.
Madueke therefore isn’t some surplus winger sitting behind a huge collection of alternatives. He is one of the players Arsenal need to maintain attacking depth, and crucially he provides genuine senior cover for Bukayo Saka.
That matters when you consider Saka’s workload last season.
The England international made 48 appearances for Arsenal in 2025/26, comprising 31 Premier League games, 11 Champions League appearances, five in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup.
He finished those matches with 11 goals and eight assists – 19 goal contributions in total.
Those numbers underline precisely why Arsenal need another quality right-sided attacker.
For years, supporters have worried about Saka being asked to play too much football. Surely the answer isn’t finally to give Arteta a credible alternative and then send that alternative elsewhere six months later?
Limited Minutes In September Prove Very Little
The argument appears to be based largely on Madueke not currently starting regularly.
We’re in September.
Arsenal are competing across four competitions and have only just begun another Champions League campaign. Injuries, rotation, loss of form and fixture congestion will all influence Arteta’s selections over the months ahead.
Nobody knows today how many starts Madueke will have accumulated by January.
And if Saka does need resting or misses games, who exactly would Arsenal rather have available?
That is before considering that Madueke himself made 43 club appearances during 2025/26, scoring eight goals and supplying three assists.
This isn’t a young player being kept around merely to make up the numbers. Arsenal have an experienced international attacker capable of stepping into the team when required.
So Arsenal Should Sell Him In January? Really?
Could Atletico Madrid or Juventus like Madueke?
Absolutely.
That doesn’t mean Arsenal want to sell him.
There is a significant difference between another club admiring a player and Arsenal actively considering letting that player leave.
After losing Martinelli and Trossard, weakening the attacking squad again halfway through the season would seem bizarre unless Arsenal had a replacement already lined up.
Madueke gives Arteta something Arsenal have needed for years: proper cover for Saka.
Perhaps he hasn’t played as much as he would like yet.
But it’s September.
The idea that Arsenal should already be thinking about shipping him out in January feels less like logical squad planning and more like the transfer rumour machine doing what the transfer rumour machine does.
One story. Plenty of repetition. And suddenly we have an Arsenal transfer saga.
What do you think, Gooners? Is there any scenario in which letting Madueke leave in January would make sense, or should Arsenal be looking to give him more opportunities as the fixture schedule intensifies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Madueke is Gervinho 2.0 and its better to get rid of him as soon as possible. Infact, we should have kept Martinelli and sold Madueke in the summer. He is a chaos, which is good in some instances, but you expect more from a 50m player than just keeping the defense honest.
Madueke simply doesnt produce the end product often enough. So yes I would let him go IF we could get an upgrade on the left wing. I think Rodrygo might be possible in January.
Sell both him and Eze.and bring in Rayan for the right with. Kevin Schade for back up on the left wing and get Nwaneri back from loan as a number 10
Madueke Noni:
This is an era for Arsenal to upgrade in all areas which are operating just on average or below … Noni’s one is one of them
Eversince he dropped form in FIFA World Cup, he never recovered.
It is the right time to sell him and get an upgrade
But does he provide the “genuine senior cover for Bukayo Saka” that we need? Many could provide cover for Saka for a lot less than Noni cost. He simply hasn’t yet made the grade even as a backup. We can all see the potential is there (as did Chelsea?) but he can only be allowed so much time as we not only need backups but effective ones (they don’t have to break the bank).
MA must be ruthless if Noni doesn’t improve soon even if it means admitting to a mistake and potentially accepting another loss on a player.
For me this where the Martinelli sale grates with me. As frustrating as Martinelli could be, he did produce some excellent performances over his time at Arsenal.
Madueke on the other hand promises much but delivers very little. If you spend £50M on a player, you do expect that the said player will produce. If not, then that player is a very expensive mistake.
Given the choice, I know who I’d have sold.
100%
IF Madueke doesn’t turn his form around, and IF he has another season like the last one, then he should be moved on. In the Sunderland match and a 1 v 1 opportunity, Noni panicked and missed yet another shot. Say what you will, I bet Martinelli would have put that in the back of the net.
I see similarities between Madueke and Nketiah; both panic in front of goal and miss opportunities. Seemingly neither can calm themselves, find composure, and put it in the net.
As far as the rumor goes, we need the upgrade. If we could bring in Yildz or Kroupi, then Madueke should be replaced; hard to argue against.
If Madueke moves on in January then it is vital to get another attacker with Trossard, Martinelli and Jesus already gone this summer.
Also if Madueke’s playing doesn’t pick up and improve then we need to get another winger in January
We need quality LW and another RW OR a player who can play both
Madueke has played 2097 minutes for Arsenal and has scored 6 goals with 1 assist.
Martinelli played 5417 minutes and scored 63 goals with 36 assists.
If Martinelli was not good enough then Madueke certainly isn’t .
He is more likely to survive the season and be moved on at the end when Bartishvili, and Dowman come available.
Correction:
Martinelli has played 16.552 minutes for Arsenal. Martinelli has played 8 times as many minutes more for Arsenal than Madueke.
Not true at all. Get your facts right!!!
Madueke is always a threat to the opponents and is fine in combinations with the other attackers. Madueke has a fine understanding of the game.. Madueke. I believe will get better if he gets more playing time. I am not at all impressed by Saka this season, and certainly not when you consider how much more playing time he has got. Saka is too selfish IMO. Both of them, both Madueke and Saka must work hard to get better at making accurate crosses and assists and getting better at scoring in crucial situations. Early days in this season. There is no need to speculate on player departure almost before the season has really started. Now just give the players a fair chance.
Take the money and run…don’t look back.Add Zubimendi and Eze to that departure list…
Madueke is often called out in social media comments. In my opinion simply because he came from Chelsea. He is a World Cup starter and fans with any sense should support him because he is NOT the bad player many make him out to be. He is still only 24 with lots of time to get better. No way should be be sold
@john well. Fully agree.
I’m not ready to give up on Madueke after one season. I was ready to give up in Vieira who was totally unsuited to life in the Premier league and I don’t see that with Noni.
There’s no point harping back to Martinelli as if he was going to make more impact if he’d stayed. He’s gone so we must concentrate on the future. Zubimendi has come in for criticism rather unfairly. I found Eze mildly disappointing as I expected more from an experienced player. What I do feel is that Madueke was too pricey but I don’t think he’s a bad player. Time will tell of course but this season is pivotal for him to show if he’s got the potential to get to the next level. Arteta isn’t known for his patience when it comes to keeping the squad up to speed
I’d have no problem letting Madueke go if there was someone better and available out there to replace him with. But the reality is there’s a dearth of quality forwards in the market.
Just look at what other teams are doing to get some perspective. Ordinary Premier League players are going for £70m. City sold Savinho to Tottenham for £75m yet this is a play with a worse record than Madueke- scored only 1 goal for City.
I challenge those calling for Madueke to be sold in January to give me possible January replacements/upgrades.
I think Madueke has done ok, he had 19 goal involvements last season and isn’t first choice. People need to get a grip. Nobody would/could come to Arsenal, to play second fiddle to Saka and be able to produce that. He is a menace and he runs at defenders and they do not like that. He could produce more and he may but he is a model professional and is a weapon. I think a lot of this rubbish about him stems from the bad media that was banded about (undeserved) that has stuck around since.
Noni is just Noni, I have said it before; if he was taller, stronger, and faster, he would just miss more shots and opportunities. He panics in front of goal, decision making is horrendous, and I don’t see him anything more than an expensive 50 million dollar backup.
Maybe Nwaneri will return sharper and more experienced, and then we can offload Noni for some cash. Unfortunately, the opposite is likely to happen; sell Nwaneri for all profit, and limp along with a winger good at dribbling and pace, but that is about it.