Noni Madueke certainly gave Mikel Arteta exactly what he asked for after coming off the bench to make an impact for Arsenal against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal walked away from the BayArena with a draw in the Champions League round of 16 first leg, with a decisive 90 minutes left to play at the Emirates.
Truthfully, the Gunners hardly deserved a draw, as Bayer Leverkusen were largely the better side, as the visitors suffered familiar frailties in attack.
It feels difficult to watch Arsenal going forward at present, but there was one shining light, and that was Madueke.
Bukayo Saka’s dreadful performance saw him hooked in the 60th minute, giving Madueke the clear task of simply doing better than his teammate, which is essentially what Arteta told him.
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Who was Arsenal’s most disappointing player against Bayer Leverkusen?
Noni Madueke delivered Mikel Arteta’s demand against Bayer Leverkusen
In a disappointing performance from Arsenal, Madueke can leave Germany with his head held high, being the Gunners’ standout player.
Arteta will be delighted with his winger’s performance, as he delivered what he demanded of him before he headed onto the pitch.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the draw, Madueke revealed what Arteta had told him.
“Just ‘go and try and change the game’,” Madueke shared, as his manager looked to him to bring inspiration to a very lacklustre team.
The Arsenal boss’s orders paid off, as the summer signing did more than any of the starting forwards.
In half an hour, Madueke completed every dribble he attempted, won a penalty, pulled off four progressive carries and won 100% of his duels.
It was a top-quality cameo from the Englishman, who showed that, controversially, he should be playing ahead of Saka right now.
Noni Madueke needs to be rewarded for his performance against Bayer Leverkusen
Madueke needs to be starting, and Saka needs a change, whether that means dropping to the bench or changing position.
POV: You’re Mikel Arteta, are you dropping Bukayo Saka for Noni Madueke?
Once again, Eberechi Eze was disappointing in attacking midfield, which could be an opening for Saka to return to the central areas, where he impressed several weeks ago.
The bottom line is that Madueke deserves recognition for what he did against Leverkusen, as without him, Arsenal would’ve surely headed back to N5 a goal behind in the second leg.
Madueke did everything asked of him at BayArena, in what was a performance that his manager simply cannot ignore.
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