Gary Neville has compared Noni Madueke to a Champions League winner after witnessing his performance for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest.
Mikel Arteta’s team strolled past Forest at the Emirates on Saturday, courtesy of a brace from Martin Zubimendi and a goal from Viktor Gyokeres.
Madueke impressed throughout the clash, persistently opting to take on Morato in the first half and doing so successfully on several occasions.
The man who arrived from Chelsea in the summer in a move that caused division amongst the Gunners supporters was given a standing ovation when he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli in the 79th minute.
Gary Neville compares Noni Madueke to Arjen Robben
Arsenal signed Madueke for £52 million in the summer.
Many felt that allocating such a significant sum to a player whose job will primarily be to back up Bukayo Saka was a poor allocation of resources.
However, the tide has already turned for Madueke amongst Arsenal fans, as well as the media, who have started to give him his flowers after a positive two weeks for club and country.
Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, the former Manchester United right-back compared the winger to ex-Netherlands and Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben.
“A couple of runs he made for England on Tuesday night were a different level, those runs, you know, Arjen Robben used to make those runs against me,” he said.
“I’m giving players of a level where you think ‘oh, I’m up against it’. This is a different type of player.”
Robben enjoyed an extremely illustrious career between 2000 and 2021, scoring over 200 goals for the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern.
Winning 11 domestic titles and the Champions League, Madueke would no doubt be delighted if he comes close to replicating what the Dutchman achieved in the game.
Noni Madueke is yet to show Arjen Robben’s main trait
Robben was most well known for cutting inside onto his stronger left foot and bending the ball into the far corner, beyond the goalkeeper.
Madueke is yet to develop this specific skill to a high level, mostly favouring going on the outside onto his weaker right foot.
He looks more comfortable driving to the by-line and cutting the ball back or crossing, rather than driving inside to shoot.
As he grows in confidence, this should be another facet that he adds to his game, which should make him more unpredictable and more of a goal threat.
Regardless, this flattering comparison from Neville will do Madueke the world of good regarding his confidence.
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