#71 - Noni Madueke: A new weapon in the Arsenal

Madueke is officially here, so why have Arsenal signed him?

I, like most fans, instinctively didn’t want to believe the Noni Madueke rumours when they first emerged. Another Chelsea player, a lot of money and not the headline name like a Rodrygo we’d been teased with.

But it’s now official and it all happened fairly quickly. So why did the club move so swiftly to do this deal?

On his arrival, Sporting Director Andrea Berta said: "Noni is a dynamic, versatile wide forward player with strong technical ability who will significantly strengthen our squad.

Boss Mikel Arteta added: “Noni is an exciting and powerful young player, with his performances and numbers in recent seasons being of consistently high quality. He is one of the most talented wide forward players in the Premier League.

Qualities Arsenal have missed

Madueke brings something Arsenal sorely lack: directness, dribbling, and acceleration from a standing start. He can beat a man on either side and has serious pace, perhaps more than anyone else in the squad.

In his own words: “Definitely directness,” he said when asked about his strengths. “I have one thought when I get the ball—and that is to beat my man.” - how many of our players have this mindset currently?

That mindset is backed by data. Madueke completes around 2 take-ons per 90 minutes, ranking in the 76th percentile compared to other wingers. He has 6.82 progressive carries (4.12 of these into the box), which both rank at the 99th percentile. He also averages 3.5 shots per game (93rd percentile) —one of the highest rates among Premier League wingers. He’s aggressive, fearless, and always looking to make something happen.

When you evaluate Arsenal's current wide options, Madueke possesses a unique style and certainly a different tactical option for the club, whether he's on the right or the left.

What’s crucial is that we don’t coach this out of him. Arteta doesn’t like losing the ball, but with a player like Madueke, you have to be willing to see mistakes in order to reap the rewards.

Arteta’s long-awaited Raphinha-type winger?

Back when Raphinha starred for Leeds, Arteta pushed hard to sign him. The Brazilian ended up at Barcelona, and is now tearing it up. Madueke’s profile isn’t far off.

Raphinha was a player I loved at Leeds and I was desperate for him to join Arsenal, but he just had Barcelona in his mind. Madueke was really keen to come to the Gunners.

Their numbers during Raphinha’s Leeds spell and Madueke’s time at Chelsea are more similar than you’d think and rank favourably for Arsenal’s new man.

Both can play either wing, both are aggressive in one-v-one situations, and both offer a goal threat. This could finally be the Raphinha-style winger Arteta has wanted for years.

The above chart is from the excellent Scott Willis

Of course, the context of the teams they were playing in will warp the data, but I think it does show the potential of Madueke, who was two years younger than Raphinha in this dataset.

Young, Affordable, and Ready

At 23, Madueke is two years younger than Reiss Nelson—who is likely to be sold this summer. Yet despite his Premier League experience and growing reputation (7 caps for England’s senior team), his wages remain modest by Arsenal standards - reportedly the same as what he earned at Chelsea (£50,000 weekly basic).

That combination of Premier League experience, age, upside, and wages makes what initially appeared a large transfer fee, a more understandable, modest package.

Tactical weapon from the left

Though he’s more likely to start on the right, Madueke could prove extremely useful off the left too, especially from the bench. His pace and ability to drive outside from a standing start will stretch opposition full-backs and create channels for Arsenal’s central attackers.

Arteta loves his wingers really wide, and you can imagine Madueke stretching the game on the left when Arsenal are looking to break down low and mid blocks. Offering that threat to go on the outside of a defender can really open up the central zones - if you watch compilations of games where Madueke played on the left, you can see this.

Take a look below at every touch when he played left-wing against Liverpool. It’s far from perfect, but you see several moments of huge threat he creates during the game.

Arsenal were too predictable last season and Madueke will certainly add an unpredictability to Arteta’s in-game tweaks.

In his interview, he says he ‘doesn’t care where he plays’ and I think he will recognise there is more of a chance of regular minutes if he can star from the left, compared to his more familiar right. He won’t want to just be a Saka backup.

He gives Arsenal something new: unpredictability, width, and directness that could change the dynamic of tight games.