Gabby Agbonlahor says ‘excellent’ Arsenal player has now proven everyone wrong

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Gabby Agbonlahor believes a member of Mikel Arteta’s squad who was doubted by Arsenal fans has now proven them wrong.

The Gunners were active in the transfer market over the summer, adding eight players to Arteta’s ensemble to try to give the Spaniard the tools to compete for the Premier League title again.

Viktor Gyokeres arrived from Sporting CP for £63 million, while Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi were also acquired for significant fees.

While several of these new additions arrived with question marks around them, one has already started to win fans over with his performances.

• READ MORE: Confirmed Arsenal summer 2025 transfer ins and outs, signings and done deals

Gabby Agbonlahor says Noni Madueke has already proven fans wrong

Noni Madueke was signed by Arsenal from Chelsea for £52 million, in a deal that divided the Gunners’ fanbase.

Many felt adding the winger was an astute piece of business, with Bukayo Saka needing someone who could deputise for him.

However, many more fans felt that spending such a significant sum of money on a back-up option was a poor use of resources.

Madueke has hit the ground running in an Arsenal shirt, while he also impressed for England over the international break, prompting supporters to rethink their initial assessment of the signing.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Gabby Agbonlahor said those who were mocking the signing of the 23-year-old will have ‘changed their tune’ already.

“I want to hit out, to be honest, at all of the idiot Arsenal fans on the internet who were mocking the signing and were disappointed with the Madueke signing,” the former Aston Villa striker said.

“I saw it and I thought ‘what is going on here?’ Have they not watched him at Chelsea and how much of a top player he is?

“I’m sure the Arsenal fans who were hammering the signing are all saying they have great cover for Saka now that Saka’s injured; they’ll all change their tune now.”

Arsenal fans were right to question Noni Madueke signing

While abuse was obviously uncalled for and some of the reaction from Arsenal fans to the signing of Madueke was ridiculous, there were some valid question marks around the deal at the time.

The Gunners’ most blatant issue in their team was on the left-hand side of their attack, and yet, they opted to initially spend a significant sum of money on someone who has always looked better on the right.

There was also a feeling that spending more than £50 million on a deputy to Saka wasn’t the best way to allocate what was assumed to be a limited budget.

However, Arsenal signed Eberechi Eze to play off the left presumably, so ultimately this wasn’t an issue, but Gunners fans didn’t know this at the time.

Madueke has been described as ‘excellent’, and what shouldn’t have been questioned is his ability. One of the most talented wingers in English football, it was merely a question of the opportunity cost at the time the signing was made.