There’s a feeling of ‘now or never’ for Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. Having failed to capitalise on Manchester City’s slip-up last season, Arsenal finished second for a third consecutive season, this time behind Liverpool at the top of the table.
While there’s a feeling that Arteta and Arsenal are trending in the right direction, patience will begin to run thin if the capital club aren’t able to shake their ‘always the bridesmaid’ tag. They’ve started what could prove a crucial summer transfer window on the right foot, adding midfield depth in the shape of Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, with efforts to sign a centre forward having certainly ramped up in recent weeks.
But one transfer target that has raised eyebrows among the Arsenal faithful is Chelsea winger Noni Madueke. At a rumoured fee in excess of £50million, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, it’s easy to see why some Arsenal fans have been scratching their heads, especially given Madueke hasn’t exactly torn the league to shreds since arriving in 2023.
Across 92 matches for the Blues, he’s netted 20 times and registered nine assists. Decent, but not particularly prolific.
However, apart from that elusive striker position Arsenal can’t seem to nail down, Arteta’s problem hasn’t necessarily been with their starting XI, instead, it’s often their strength in depth. This was on show last season, when talisman Bukayo Saka had his energy reserves pushed to the limit by the Arsenal boss, with the Englishman very rarely out of the side.
Across Arsenal’s first 26 matches last season, Saka missed just two - a run that even included a starting berth for their League Cup third round clash against League One Bolton Wanderers. But by the time December rolled around, the damage had already been done, with Saka picking up an injury just before Christmas, with the winger forced to sit out until early April as a result.
If Arsenal are serious about lifting the Premier League title, they can’t afford for their best players to be missing crucial chunks of the season with unnecessary injuries. That’s exactly why a signing like Madueke makes perfect sense.
Young, fresh, room for growth, but also good enough to deputise for someone like Saka, without the overall quality of Arsenal’s starting XI dropping off too much. Pep Guardiola and City made a killing out of that exact strategy for years and with six Premier League titles since he arrived in England, it’s safe to say it worked a treat. If Arsenal play their cards right, it could be the key to ending their own wait for a league win.