It would be fair to say that Arsenal had one of the best transfer windows in the Premier League this summer.
Mikel Arteta finally got his hands on a prolific number nine in Viktor Gyokeres, a dangerous left-winger and ten in Eberechi Eze, and the perfect six to anchor the midfield in Martin Zubimendi.
However, one player who didn’t necessarily excite the fans to begin with, but now looks like an excellent addition, is Noni Madueke.
The Englishman could be the perfect player to complement and rival Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side, although had Arsenal kept hold of one of their youngsters years ago, they’d have an even better option today.
Why Madueke can challenge Saka this season
Now, nobody is arguing that Madueke is the better player than Saka here; that would be far too reactionary.
However, from what we saw of him at Chelsea, and more importantly, what we’ve seen from him over the last couple of weeks, it looks like he could challenge the Hale Ender for game time this season.
For example, while he looked better than Gabriel Martinelli when playing off the left in the first two games of the season, it was away to Liverpool when he started on the right-hand side that he looked the most dangerous.
In fact, including the Reds’ frontline, the former Blues ace was probably the best attacker on the pitch, as even though he wasn’t able to score or set up a goal, he was a constant threat on the break.
According to Sofascore, he was successful in 100% of his dribbles, took the Gunners’ only shot on target, and had 29 touches, so the stats support the idea that he was Arteta’s best offensive player.
However, it’s been the 23-year-old’s performances for England over the last five days that have really turned heads.
In the game against Andorra, he helped to open the scoring when his cross was deflected in for an own goal, and then against Serbia, he was near enough unplayable.
In his 76 minutes of action, the Barnet-born winger scored his first senior international goal, completed 20 of 22 passes, completed 100% of his dribbles, won four of five duels, made two tackles and was ultimately a massive problem for the home side.
In all, Madueke currently looks like he’ll be able to challenge Saka for a place in the team when the Hale Ender is back to full fitness.
Although Arsenal would have had an even better option had they kept hold of a former youth player.
The Madueke upgrade Arsenal lost as a youngster
Just like other clubs of their size, Arsenal have let their fair share of incredible talents slip through their fingers, such as Harry Kane, Serge Gnabry and even Eze.
Where Are They Now
However, in this instance, we aren’t talking about someone who’s returned to the club or someone who’s nearing the end of their career; we’re talking about a player approaching the peak of their powers: Michael Olise.
Yes, as a youngster, the outrageously gifted Frenchman spent time in the Gunners’ youth setup before moving to Chelsea, Manchester City and then Reading, where he caught the eye of Crystal Palace.
The South Londoners decided to splash £8m on the then-19-year-old in the summer of 2021, and to say that it worked out for them would be a colossal understatement.
Over the following three years, the game-changing winger would score 16 goals and provide 25 assists in 90 appearances, more than justifying Sky Sports analyst Dougie Critchley’s claim that he is “one of the best players in the world.”
Moreover, the Eagles made a cool £42m profit on the player when they sold him to Bayern Munich for £50m last summer, although based on his performances for the German giants since, we’re sure they’d have gladly paid double that.
For example, he racked up a brilliant haul of 20 goals and 23 assists in 55 appearances, totalling 3842 minutes last season, and has already scored four goals in four games this season.
Appearances
55
46
Minutes
3842′
2646′
Goals
20
11
Assists
23
5
Goal Involvements per Match
0.78
0.34
Minutes per Goal Involvement
89.34′
165.37′
Ultimately, while there is every chance Madueke could be a brilliant player for Arsenal and great competition for Saka, it’s clear Olise is comfortably better than the former Chelsea ace.
