By OLIVER TOKARCZYK
Published: 11:07 EST, 11 December 2025 | Updated: 11:07 EST, 11 December 2025
Arsenal cruised to victory against Club Brugge on Wednesday night thanks to Noni Madueke's brace and dare we say this early on in his career, his masterpiece.
Madueke, the clear player of the match, shone bright as he filled the boots of a resting Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners came into this needing a win to all but secure a top-eight finish and Mikel Arteta's rotated side got the job done under the floodlights of the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Up stepped Madueke when needed. His first goal was an absolute belter, gliding into the top right corner from outside the box. The xG? An extraordinarily low 0.02. How he'd love to do that every week.
The delighted 23-year-old jogged over to Arteta, who briefly smiled, but the reaction of the staff arguably didn't do the screamer justice. After a few high-fives, Arteta dismissed the rest of the celebrations and went straight back to discussing tactics with his assistant.
His following goal early in the second half looked a lot less freakish and a lot more like it was worked on at their London Colney Training Centre.
Noni Madueke staked his claim for a starting spot with two goals against Club Brugge
The Arsenal winger shone on Wednesday night as he stepped in for the resting Bukayo Saka
Norgaard’s rare start lit a fire in the midfielder and he swung it across the Brugge backline, with Madueke getting in the right position to head in uncontested in the six-yard box.
Last season at Chelsea, out of all right-wingers in the league, he was ranked top for non-penalty xG per 90 with 0.37. He was also second in runs leading to shots and in sprints per 90.
We can all see the quality Madueke was providing Chelsea. These pretty statistics justified his £52million price tag but the numbers this season aren't as pretty and Arsenal fans are hungry for more.
So far this season he has exclusively scored in the Champions League. He only scored his first Arsenal goal in their previous European fixture against German giants Bayern Munich.
But football is not played on paper and Madueke still performs without goal contributions. He provides threat in attacks with piercing runs down the right flank, sprinting past defenders and whipping in crosses so that the Arsenal can shoot at the onion bag.
However, he has still a long way to go to nail down a starting place. Arsenal's 'starboy', Bukayo Saka, dominates the right side of attack due to years of brilliant service.
The left wing is more hotly contested. Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli both have been fighting for stability in that position. Madueke himself has started one game at left-wing against Leeds in August. But that's not his strongest position, so it's unlikely that he would become a mainstay.
Madueke can challenge Saka for a permanent starting spot long-term, according to former Manchester United defender Paul Parker.
The 23-year-old has given Mikel Arteta food for thought, with strong competition out wide
Bukayo Saka is Arsenal's regular right-winger but Madueke hopes to take his place
'Every time Madueke comes on, he’s got more about him than Bukayo Saka. Madueke frightens defenders and goes at people,' Parker told the British Gambler website.
'Saka doesn’t bother defenders because they know what he’s going to do, he’s too predictable.'
Now that’s unpopular. Although Madueke is just three goals away from equalling Chelsea legend Eden Hazard’s goal tally in the Champions League for the Blues, in most people's minds he will need to do a lot more to start over Saka.
The standard is the highest it’s been at Arsenal for many seasons now and if Noni keeps putting up performances like in Bruges he should be rewarded. The competition will become fiercer and this will force every winger at Arsenal to find another gear.