Does he enjoy proving people wrong? “Yeah, definitely. I feel, for footballers, that sort of noise can be fuel. I don’t think any footballer really lacks criticism. When it comes your way, it just gives you that extra bit of motivation.”
There hasn’t been much for supporters to complain about in terms of his performances so far. Noni impressed before suffering a knee injury in September, and then returned to score his first three goals for the club, all in the Champions League and two of them against Club Brugge earlier this month. And all he has felt from supporters is… well, support.
“I definitely feel the love from the fans,” he says. “It’s a really special feeling for me to play here at Emirates Stadium.”
It helps that we play a brand of football that resonates with a forward who has pace, technical skill and a relentless workrate.
“I feel like that’s almost the best in me, when you see me in terms of that ability to go past players. I can score a lot more, I can assist a lot more, and I can be more decisive, but that will come.
"I’m starting to feel like myself again and I’m excited for my future. I’m probably my own harshest critic so I know everything I should be doing."
Support comes not just from the crowd but from the manager and his staff. Noni says that Mikel wants to see attacking flair. He wants to see, to use an old phrase, players play with the handbrake off.
“Definitely. For me personally, he wants me to play freely within the structure of the team, of course, to make sure that I’m still diligent. But he’s definitely great in the sense that he wants to see skill and he wants to be excited.
"He says that all the time we have a great balance between being structured and being defensively sound – working hard as a team and being difficult to break down – but also versatile in the sense that we can be really free and attacking. I don’t really see much weakness in our team.