Noni Madueke was given a wake-up call when he was hooked early into the second half of Arsenal's clash against Nottingham Forest
12:38, 18 Jan 2026Updated 12:45, 18 Jan 2026
Noni Madueke needs to find his shooting boots
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Noni Madueke needs to find his shooting boots(Image: Photo by James Holyoak/MB Media/Getty Images)
Noni Madueke is fast-approaching the one-year anniversary of his last Premier League goal. But ironically, the Arsenal winger criticised his team-mates for not being clinical enough in their goalless draw to Nottingham Forest.
On Sunday, when the Gunners face Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium, it will be 12 months to the day that he last found the net in the English top flight. So, it certainly came as no surprise when the 23-year-old winger only let off two shots at the City Ground.
Madueke wasn’t the only Arsenal player to leave his shooting boots at home; the north Londoners had eight shots, which was their most without finding the target in the opening half of a Premier League game since Mikel Arteta’s first match in charge.
“We weren't clinical enough in front of goal," said former Chelsea star. "I think they didn't have a chance really, at all. They didn't really do anything to our goal. We weren't clinical, and we could have won the game – we take a point, and we move on.”
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The Gunners boss had seen enough, and he replaced Gabriel Martinelli, who missed a sitter, with Leandro Trossard at the break. Madueke was one of three more brutal changes before the hour mark, coming off for Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal were much improved with the Hale End graduate on the right, who would’ve put the visitors ahead had Matz Sels not tipped his header out for a corner.
In the dying embers of stoppage time, the Gunners were denied a penalty when the Video Assistant Referee cleared an apparent handball by Ola Aina.
In the final seconds of the clash, Arteta’s side showed little to no desire to nick a winner, walking the ball up the field from a short goal-kick. Arsenal settled for a point in the East Midlands, squandering the chance to take full advantage of Manchester City’s defeat at Old Trafford.
“It’s disappointing to draw for sure,” said Madueke. “We wanted to win the game, [but] we didn't achieve that.
“Disappointing in that sense, but it's a point we take on the road, and we regroup. We've got an important clash versus Inter in the Champions League [on Tuesday], which we'll go into trying to win.
“There is a long way to go. We know that we've been very consistent and we'll continue to do so.”
Noni Madueke struggled to impress during Arsenal's clash against Nottingham Forest
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Noni Madueke struggled to impress during Arsenal's clash against Nottingham Forest(Image: )
The Arsenal winger added: “We’re in four competitions, so we literally play, recover, play, recover, play. So it's a lot of games, but that's the beauty of playing in England.”
Madueke, whom the Gunners signed from Chelsea for an eye-watering £52m, has had a blue start to life under Arteta. As has Viktor Gyokeres, who’s gone 551 minutes without a goal in the Premier League.
Andrea Berta signed the Sweden international from Sporting Clube de Portugal for £64m in the hope that he could lead Arsenal to their first title in 22 years.
While Arteta’s side have topped the table for much of the campaign, Gyokeres has failed to impress. Three of his five strikes in the English top flight have come against newly-promoted clubs, with the other two coming against teams outside the top half.
He and Madueke will both hope to finally get on the scoresheet when Arteta looks to exact his revenge on Michael Carrick at the weekend.
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