Noni Madueke is on the verge of joining Arsenal from Chelsea, and his impending arrival has awoken a vile section of the Gunners' fanbase.
A world away from a warm welcome, abuse, racism, and death threats have been the greeting issued to the 23-year-old by a vocal minority of Arsenal supporters.
(Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
(Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Even with his Instagram comments being disabled long before the Gunners' interest was reported, an already damning reflection of society at present, the winger has been the subject of a torrent of sickening abuse by so-called 'supporters' of his new club.
Judge, jury and executioner, some have jumped to the perplexing conclusion that, because they do not believe a transfer will be successful, the player in question deserves untold levels of abuse.
From hashtags denouncing his signing, abject racism and personal attacks aimed at Madueke and even his family, the last 48 hours have been a bleak reminder of the state of football and wider society.
In isolation, this would be a twisted situation with no justification, but it follows an even more wretched trend of behaviour that some Arsenal fans have displayed in recent years.
When the north London giants were linked with a move for then-Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in 2021, the shot-stopper was bombarded with abuse by 'fans', who presumably thought that their words sent from behind screens could derail the transfer.
Although given the intelligence, or lack thereof, of anybody willing to send such abuse, they could probably be forgiven for thinking this. But that is where the forgiveness begins and ends.
More recently, it was former Chelsea midfielder Kai Havertz who was abused ahead of and following a move to Arsenal.
While Ramsdale quickly won fans over, Havertz has remained a permanent target, with abuse heightened after any bad result.
So bad has the abuse of the German been that, back in January, manager Mikel Arteta issued a public plea for the attacks to end, and for supporters to... well... support their players.
"It’s [the level of abuse is] incredible, and we really have to do something about it because accepting that and hiding this, I think, has terrible consequences," he said back in January.
"It's something that we really have to eradicate from the game because it’s so simple and so dependent on the result of an action, and there is no other industry like this.
“On December 27 at home, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored a goal and the whole stadium sang the 'waka waka' song. That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?
“We are all responsible, and by all means, you guys [the media], everybody is responsible for the narrative, everyone is responsible for how we talk, and we cannot look somewhere else. That's a really serious matter, and it affects him, it affects me, it affects everybody in the industry in a way.
“We can accept it and say that it's our job, yes, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next, what is next in football, the next in football might be that this is prohibited. It cannot happen - that's it.”
His warning was not heeded, and the problem has reached a new height.
This time around, Arteta himself has also fallen victim to a level of abuse following news of Madueke's impending arrival.
Looks like some Arsenal fans are absolutely done with Mikel Arteta! 😳
The murals outside the Emirates Stadium have been vandalised with clear "Arteta Out" messages! 😳#Arsenal #Chelsea pic.twitter.com/NLZtNQ9WkA
— DR Sports (@drsportsmedia) July 11, 2025
Murals of the Spaniard outside the Emirates have been tarnished with profanities, while social media has offered no less of a hostile
For a fanbase who, quite rightly, rallied behind Bukayo Saka after the racist abuse he received following the Euro 2020 final, the rank hypocrisy is deafening.
It is easy to suggest that, for the betterment of the club, fans should rally behind any new signing, including Madueke, from day one. But, in all honesty, such a response gives too much validation to the obscene standpoint in the first place.
Because it is not a footballing issue, and it should not be a question in the first place. No person, footballer or otherwise, deserves abuse, especially of the frequency and ferocity that Madueke and Arteta have endured over the last few days, like those before them.