Noni Madueke has surprised many people since he joined Arsenal.
The Gunners have done a lot of business with Chelsea over the years. That is why when news first emerged about their interest in Madueke, most fans were not happy.
However, Mikel Arteta ignored all the noise from the outside and splashed an initial £48 million to sign the England international on a long-term contract.
Madueke has won Arsenal fans over with his recent performances, but there is one thing Arteta needs to accept about the winger.
Who was the last player Arsenal had who was as exciting as Noni Madueke?
Mikel Arteta must stop playing Noni Madueke on the left at Arsenal
When Noni Madueke joined Arsenal, he claimed that he was happy to play in any position.
The Englishman is naturally a right-winger, but he is capable of doing a job on the opposite side as well, and Arteta has not been reluctant to use him there.
Madueke’s first two appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League came on the left wing. He is capable of whipping a good cross in from that position, but you can tell that he isn’t at his best there.
The fact that Arsenal’s left-backs don’t overlap a lot isolates him on that side of the pitch, making it harder to get the better of his opposition.
When he has played on the right, however, Madueke has always looked a threat and has caused all sorts of problems to opposition full-backs.
That should be a lesson to Arteta that he should stop using the former Chelsea man on the left.
Yes, Bukayo Saka’s presence makes it hard for Madueke to get a lot of game time on the right, but using him ahead of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard or Eberechi Eze on the opposite side doesn’t make a lot of sense.
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Noni Madueke still has a lot to learn, even as a right-winger
On his day, Madueke is absolutely unplayable.
The former Chelsea man possesses incredible skills and is capable of making any defender look silly with his tricks. He has done that quite a few times already this season.
However, the problem with Madueke is his end product.
Despite several eye-catching performances on the right wing, the Englishman has scored just once and has not registered an assist yet.
That needs to improve, and working with Saka, who is incredible, should help him a lot in the coming months and years.
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