Opinion

Mikel Arteta has now done yet another thing that has proven Arsenal fans wrong after initial pushback

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Arsenal are no strangers to having new signings criticised from the off, with Aaron Ramsdale arguably the biggest example.

When rumours of Arsenal’s interest in Aaron Ramsdale surfaced, many fans were not impressed and called for the club to drop their interest.

Then, when Ramsdale actually joined Arsenal, the reaction from the fanbase was mostly negative, as they pointed at his poor relegation record.

However, it didn’t take long for Ramsdale to dethrone Bernd Leno as Arsenal’s No. 1 and become a fan favourite at the Emirates.

Now, it looks as though Mikel Arteta has repeated his Ramsdale trick with another player who recently joined the club.

READ MORE: Martin Zubimendi has already done something at Arsenal that he never achieved with Real Sociedad or Spain

Noni Madueke in action during Arsenal v Nottingham Forest in the Premier League clash.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Noni Madueke wins over Arsenal fanbase after initial negative reaction

The player in question is Noni Madueke, whose move to Arsenal was met with a fair bit of derision, but who is quickly winning his new fans over.

A poll conducted by Sky Sports in June found that 70 percent of 35,000 voters felt he would be a bad signing for Arsenal.

Indeed, a petition against the Madueke deal was said to be doing the rounds before he ended up signing for the Gunners.

However, Madueke has had a bright start to life at Arsenal and was particularly superb in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal fans lauded Madueke for his first-half performance, picking up from where he left off while away with England.

He was a constant bright spark who caused Forest problems every time he got the ball, and received a standing ovation from the crowd when he came off.

“Madueke had Morato on toast,” Peter Crouch said on TNT Sports during the game. “He’s been unplayable. He’s a man full of confidence.”

READ MORE: Player Arsenal sold for just £4m last summer is now worth in excess of £50m

What convinced Mikel Arteta to sign Noni Madueke amid negative fan reaction

Arteta suggested to the Arsenal media team after the game that he was fully aware of the negative reaction about the prospective signing of Madueke.

However, the Gunners boss revealed that there was something Madueke said that convinced him even more that he would be a hit at N5.

“A lot of courage, that’s how I describe him,” said Arteta. “A lot of quality but a lot of courage.

“When we were about to sign him and there was that reaction around him, I spoke to him and he was like: ‘I go for it, I cannot wait to put that shirt on and play for you guys.’

“I said, wow, let’s bring him. If I was convinced before, I’m more convinced now that he’s going to do it.”