Steve Nicol believes Arsenal have to keep feeding one individual in Mikel Arteta’s squad the ball against Manchester City on Sunday.
The Citizens travel to North London, having responded to a poor set of results before the international break with two impressive victories this week.
Pep Guardiola’s men overcame both Manchester United and Napoli, but now face a much sterner test against an in-form Arsenal side.
Arteta’s team beat Athletic Club in Bilbao on Tuesday evening, 48 hours before City’s game against Napoli, giving the Gunners a significant rest advantage.
Steve Nicol says Arsenal have to keep feeding Noni Madueke against Manchester City
Arsenal are likely to be without Bukayo Saka for this game, as the English winger is still recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained before the international break.
This means Arteta will likely start Noni Madueke on the right-hand side of the Gunners’ attack once again.
Madueke was brilliant against Nottingham Forest last weekend, but frustrated some with his inability to find accurate cut-backs and crosses against Athletic Club in midweek.
Despite this, he remains a huge threat with his electric pace and direct ball-carrying, and these attributes have prompted Steve Nicol to claim Arsenal should try to feed him the ball as frequently as possible against City.
“I think Noni Madueke, if I’m Arsenal, and, I’m a big fan of [Eberechi] Eze as well, but he had a little quieter game before Martinelli came on and then Trossard came on for Gyokeres,” the pundit said on the ESPN FC podcast.
“But bearing in mind City have their issues in the full-back position, particularly at left-back and Saka’s injured at the moment, I’m sticking that ball out to Noni Madueke, who was brilliant again in midweek.
“He was fantastic for England in Serbia, and he’s one of the most direct, wide players we have in the game, certainly in England at the moment.”
Who are Man City likely to play at full-back against Arsenal?
Madueke has been described as ‘excellent’, and there’s no doubt that the England international is capable of driving past almost any full-back in world football.
However, his job may be made easier by who City deploy as their full-backs.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is expected to miss the clash through injury, while John Stones is also expected to be absent, meaning Josko Gvardiol won’t be able to play at left-back.
This likely means that 20-year-old Nico O’Reilly will start on the left-hand side of City’s back four. While a competent young player in his own right, O’Reilly is naturally a midfielder and may not be ready to cope with the direct running of Madueke.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov could well start at right-back over the likes of Mateus Nunes and Rico Lewis.
These wide areas could be where the game is won for Arsenal.
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