Noni Madueke dazzled for England during the international break, and now Gary Neville has suggested Bukayo Saka could change position for Arsenal to fit both men into the starting line-up.
Madueke played the full 90 minutes against Andorra and then produced a brilliant performance against Serbia, where he scored his first goal for England.
The 23-year-old gained plenty of praise from pundits and fans alike for his efforts at the international level, and now the question is how Mikel Arteta will continue getting the best out of him.
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Arsenal signed Madueke from Chelsea for £48.5million in the summer, which didn’t receive an overwhelmingly positive reaction at the time, especially since he plays in the same position as Saka.
Noni Madueke looks on during Arsenal vs Leeds in the Premier League.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Gary Neville admits Noni Madueke is a ‘different player’ after Arsenal move
Neville spoke about Madueke’s move to Arsenal on Stick to Football, admitting that he wasn’t shocked that the Blues had let him go initially, but he has since been impressed.
The former Manchester United star has now questioned whether Saka could move to the left wing in a bid to feature Madueke more frequently in the future.
“I’ll be honest, when Arsenal signed him, I’d seen him play quite a lot at Chelsea, and I could see why Chelsea have sort of let him go.
“I tell you, what a different player at Arsenal and in the England games the last few weeks. He’s obviously a lot better on the right, and that was clear when Saka went off the other week.
“Could Saka play on the left? If you think about it, Martinelli is obviously struggling a little bit on that left-hand side. Could Saka go back on the left and leave Madueke where he is?
“You can see quite clearly that Madueke is a hell of a player on that right-hand side. Last night, I thought some of his runs were really top-level.
“I was looking at it as a full-back thinking, ‘I didn’t know he had that.'”
Bukayo Saka looking on while playing for Arsenal in the Premier League against Manchester United.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Noni Madueke will be causing Mikel Arteta a headache
Madueke’s impressive start to the season will now be causing Arteta a headache, given that both his and Saka’s best positions are down the right wing.
Both men can also play on the left-hand side, but Arsenal would not get the best out of them by doing so.
Neville suggested the England internationals swap wings throughout a game, and that could happen this weekend as Arsenal prepare to face Nottingham Forest.
However, it’s currently unclear whether or not Saka is 100 per cent fit to play, which might provide Madueke an opportunity to prove himself once again.