Noni Madueke's imminent return from injury could impact Eberechi Eze's place in the Arsenal side, Gunners correspondent Charles Watts has exclusively told Sports Mole.
The former Chelsea winger has been sidelined since sustaining a knee problem in September's 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester City, an issue that required a two-month recovery period.
Assuming Madueke suffers no further setbacks, the England international is expected to be available for Mikel Arteta's side before the end of November, a major boost for the Premier League leaders ahead of an extremely difficult run of fixtures.
The Gunners meet Tottenham Hotspur (November 23) and Chelsea (November 30) in their next two Premier League games, and a colossal Champions League clash with Bayern Munich is sandwiched in between those two London derbies.
If Madueke is fit and available by the time the international break is over, Watts can envisage the 23-year-old starting against at least one of Bayern, Spurs or Chelsea, as Arteta faces the best kind of attacking selection dilemmas.
'Not surprising' if Arsenal's Noni Madueke starts against Chelsea or Bayern Munich
Charles Watts YouTube image
“I wouldn't be surprised if he starts one of them," Watts said. "I wouldn't be able to tell you which. I'm really excited about Madueke coming back. He was really fun to watch when he broke into the team. I'm also really interested in terms of Mikel's thinking, because this will be the first time we've had Saka, Madueke, Eze, potentially Martinelli and Trossard all fit together.
“What is the plan? How is he going to play them? Eze’s been playing in the Odegaard role - I do want to see him back over on the left. At Crystal Palace, when he was at his best, it was coming off that left-hand side. He’s playing a very different role in this position, on the right.
“It's more like a 10, but he's drifting over to the right a lot. So I really want to see him over on the left. Was Mikel thinking Madueke, Odegaard, Saka? Or Eze on the left, Madueke on the bench? I'm really intrigued to see what he's going to do.
“But what we saw from Madueke was so exciting. He was so direct, getting fans off their seats. It was a real shame to see the momentum that he built up halted by that injury. He turned around that fan feeling around him very, very quickly, in terms of negativity around the transfer. Suddenly it was like, ‘wow, this guy's got something, he's exciting.’”
Madueke failed to provide a goal or assist in his first six appearances for Arsenal, but the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster caught the eye with his explosive displays on the right-hand side, always showcasing a willingness to take on and beat his man.
How could Arsenal line up when Noni Madueke and other injured players return?
Arsenal's Noni Madueke pictured on September 13, 2025
The England winger is not the only offensive Arsenal player scheduled to return from injury imminently, as Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard should soon enter the final stages of their recoveries.
Once Arteta has all his attacking options are available, the possibilities are almost endless, although Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka should be guarantees up front when both are fully fit.
However, all of Eze, Martinelli, Madueke and Leandro Trossard can operate on the left wing, although Madueke should also be rotated with Saka, whom Arteta should be looking to protect over the hectic winter period following his hamstring issue last December.
Eze could be relegated to Odegaard's backup when the captain is back, but the ex-Crystal Palace man could potentially start alongside the Norwegian in the engine room, acting as the left eight if either Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi anchor the midfield.
Havertz is both a deep option and alternate to Gyokeres in the centre-forward role too, giving Arteta at least two high-quality options in a multitude of positions, including centre-forward, right-wing, left-wing and attacking midfield.
> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Arsenal's latest injury situation
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