Mikel Arteta - Arsenal
Wide players drop down a pecking order faster than most. When the first-choice starter is untouchable and a teenager starts taking senior minutes, the next name on the list becomes a January rumour whether the club wants that or not.
European sides watch those situations closely. A winger with Premier League experience, a long contract and a quiet league start is exactly the profile that attracts a loan enquiry from Italy or Spain.
Managers usually answer that noise by saying nobody is for sale. The test is whether they still say it when the minutes have not improved by Christmas.
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It’s been reported Mikel Arteta does not want Noni Madueke to leave in January and that Arsenal are expected to reject approaches. Juventus and Atletico Madrid are monitoring him, with the Italian club considering a loan.
The 24-year-old is understood to be willing to stay and fight for a starting place. That is the club’s current position, even after a slow beginning to the league season.
Madueke has played only 24 Premier League minutes across two substitute appearances, with no goal or assist. Bukayo Saka holds the right side and Max Dowman is pushing for more senior time.
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His record in other competitions is stronger. He started the Community Shield, played in the Champions League win over Napoli and scored in the 4-2 Carabao Cup victory at Ipswich.
The lack of league football has already cost him internationally. Thomas Tuchel left him out of England’s latest Nations League squad.
Arsenal can afford to wait. Madueke is contracted until 2030, so there is no need to sell on a deadline. Arteta is also working across the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups, where one injury on the right can change the hierarchy overnight.
The tension is obvious. Twenty-four league minutes is thin for a player in his mid-twenties. If that number has not moved by January, Atletico and Juventus will look more appealing than they do today.
For now the reported decision is to keep him. No loan, no sale, and another chance to force his way past Saka and Dowman when the league returns after the international break.
Whether that stance survives a quiet autumn is the next question. The interest from Spain and Italy will not disappear while the league minutes stay this low.
Arsenal huddle
Arsenal huddle