(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
It seems a long time ago now that Arsenal fans were genuinely signing in their thousands as an online petition against Noni Maduekeās signing went viral.
Just over a year later, the former Chelsea winger is a Premier League title winner and looking even better in his second season than his first, all whilst going slightly under the radar due to criticisms of Mikel Artetaās tactics at Anfield this weekend.
Madueke put in a near-perfect performance out wide for the Gunners as they ground out a 1-0 win away to Liverpool, doing his bit to track back whilst also offering intelligent solutions on the ball to ease the pressure on his team. Declan Rice will rightly get a lot of the plaudits for an all-action midfield display, but Madueke also played an important role, both in the build-up to the winning goal and in offering an outlet that meant Artetaās side, whilst soaking up a lot of pressure, were never seriously troubled.
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Noni Madueke is no superstar, but is that why he works so well for Arsenal?
This has prompted something of a debate on social media, with one X user praising Arteta for ādoing this with Madueke, Havertz Tzolisā and inviting others to āimagine giving him some superstarsā.
One high-profile response read: āSuperstars donāt like sitting in blocks for 90% of a match. They want to play football. What heās got now is absolutely perfect for him. This reminds me of when people would say āimagine Klopp had creative CMsā when workhorses were fundamental to the system.ā
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
While itās true that itās hard to imagine someone like Vinicius Junior being happy to buy into playing that kind of role, it is worth noting that Arteta is perhaps more tactically flexible than many give him credit for. Even if the Vini Jr deal ultimately didnāt work out, it is well known that Arsenal really pushed for him, and he seriously considered joining, even if the mainstream view was that he just used their interest as leverage in new contract talks.
See also how Arteta has given Declan Rice more attacking freedom this season. Starting out as a defensive midfielder and even playing centre-back at times in his West Ham days, the England international has added a lot of goals and assists to his game since working under Arteta, and he leads the Premier League for assists so far this season, all five of which have come from open play.
But back to Madueke, is he even as workmanlike as heās being characterised?
Noni Madueke stats
See below for some Madueke stats that very much show heās one of the biggest attacking threats from out wide in this seasonās Premier League, in second place out of 54 players for carries into dangerous positions, carries into half chances, passes into dangerous positions, and crosses into dangerous positions, plus first place for open play crosses completedā¦
Another player Arsenal might have signed for their attack this summer is Bradley Barcola, who was of course on the opponentsā side at the weekend, so how does Madueke compare to the āsuperstarā Frenchman whose transfer fee was more than double his own?
So, yes, Barcola leads on assists, but itās not like weāre seeing a genuine superstar in this Liverpool team, at least not yet. For now, Madueke is far ahead with his dribbling, carrying, and crossing, and pretty much equal on key passes.
Just because he is disciplined and hard-working, doesnāt mean he isnāt also a really effective attacking player.
[Liverpool were denied a penalty. Then this referee footage emerged.
Liverpool were denied a penalty. Then this referee footage emerged.](https://thedailybriefing.io/p/andy-madley-gabriel-tunnel-conversation)
Just because he lacks the ego of a Vini Jr or a Kylian Mbappe, doesnāt mean he canāt also, in his own way, become a superstar of this Arsenal team.
As Luis Enrique once said to Mbappe in that PSG documentary: āIāve read that you like Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan would start defending like a son of a b****.ā
Mbappeās departure has made PSG better, and no one would accuse Enrique of deliberately fielding a team without superstars. Sometimes, like when Arteta quickly froze out Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, itās just about finding the right ones.