Pundit Micah Richards has questioned Arsenal’s pursuit of Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, as he doesn’t know where he will play.
The Gunners are reportedly in talks to sign Madueke from Chelsea, in one of the more surprising transfer moves of the summer so far. Arsenal want to sign more wingers ahead of the new season in order to ease some pressure on the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
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Saka suffered a hamstring injury last season, which kept him out for over three months, Mikel Arteta will want to avoid the same thing happening again in this coming year. Whereas, Martinelli has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, amid reports that Arsenal could replace him with Real Madrid winger Rodrygo.
But with a deal for Madueke looking more and more likely, it is not clear what Martinelli’s future holds as the Chelsea winger can play on both the left and the right. He is expected to cost around £52m in any deal between the Premier League rivals.
Richards questions Arsenal’s Madueke pursuit
Speaking on the Rest is Football Podcast, Richards questioned why Arsenal are pursuing Madueke, as he doesn’t know what his role would be in Arteta’s side.
He said: “I think a striker is more important than getting Madueke in first. Madueke… where is he going to play? He’s been playing for Chelsea on the left recently. I really like him as a player, but I like him on the right and he’s not going to play ahead of Bukayo Saka, is he?
“So, I’m scratching my head on that one. I agree [that they need two players in every position]. But Saka is always fit normally, until he got that really bad injury.”
Despite his criticism of Arsenal’s potential deal for Madueke, Richards was full of praise for their business signing Martin Zubimendi, and their pursuit of Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.
“I like Zubimendi.” Richards added, “We saw him in the Euros final, when Rodri came off. Very good player, tactically really good. He’s good on the ball, really good awareness in midfield. Gyokeres is a really good striker.”
Click here to see what Martin Zubimendi said in his first interview as an Arsenal player after joining.