Bukayo Saka’s back-up or Gabriel Martinelli’s replacement? How Noni Madueke will fit in at Arsenal | OneFootball

Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is on the verge of joining Arsenal in a deal worth around £50m.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given the green light to the deal for the 23-year-old, who has impressed in spells at Stamford Bridge.

Madueke regularly featured on the right wing for the Blues but, along with many other members of the squad, found continuity hard to come by, and he will leave with many fans thinking he never got the time to really show what he could do in west London.

And Gunners fans will have questions of their own, with the club currently employing one of the world’s best right wingers in Bukayo Saka and some fans feeling the money could have been used better elsewhere.

Here, The Independent looks at how Madueke might fit into the Arsenal team, and whether we can expect the youngster to be a starting player right away.

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Madueke has made 92 appearances for Chelsea, with most of them coming on the right wing (Getty Images)

It is safe to say that the deal has raised eyebrows on both parts of the capital. At Chelsea, there is a wonder if they’re letting a player go too early, but with incoming signings like Estevao, perhaps they need to make room in the squad.

But it is Arsenal’s movement that is most confusing, with the club already employing Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, not to mention Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri.

At this point, one thing is certain – he won’t be replacing Saka in his favoured right wing position. That can be ruled out immediately.

But could he be a replacement for Martinelli? Arteta has used the Brazilian on the left wing in the last few seasons, with Trossard also appearing there, and Madueke could offer a similarly direct style of play. However, he is left-footed, and it is not known whether Arteta would want to change the dynamic of his wing play by utilising a left-footed winger on the left.

According to Transfermarkt, Madueke has only featured on the left wing 11 times in his career, though several of those have come in recent matches – including eight out of his last nine appearances for club and country.

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Madueke has proved himself capable on the left wing, and as a left-footed winger, he could be used instead of Martinelli (The FA via Getty Images)

Madueke got the assist for Harry Kane’s winner against Andorra for England in June when playing on the left, and started the Conference League Final victory there too. However, in his seven starts for Chelsea on the left last season, Madueke failed to get a goal or assist or create a big chance in any of them.

£50m seems like a lot of money to gamble on a 23-year-old suddenly becoming an elite player in a position he’s only played a handful of times. So the question then becomes this: Is Madueke going to be a squad player? If so, £50m is a premium to pay for a non-starter too.

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Madueke got an assist for England from the left in the match against Andorra (The FA via Getty Images)

However, it appears that a squad role will be Madueke’s first at the Emirates, at least until he establishes himself.

Last season, Arsenal really only had Saka, Martinelli and Trossard as wing options, with Nwaneri also helping out, though putting that sort of burden on a 17-year-old was unhelpful when Saka was injured.

With Trossard linked with a move away from the Emirates, perhaps the Madueke deal is seen as a market opportunity to get a Premier League-proven winger who can play on both flanks.

He is not vastly different to Saka in terms of play style on the right, and the ability to go around his man on the left could be useful in certain games too, with each option offering a subtly different dimension to the Arsenal attack.

In short, this could be Arteta’s first move in trying to build the type of squad that he has lost consecutive Premier League title races to.

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Madueke could prove a smart addition to the Arsenal attack in an era of inflated transfer fees (The FA via Getty Images)

Both Liverpool and Man City have had more attacking options than the Gunners in recent seasons, with both clubs boasting at least four top-level wing options that all offered something a little different. City had Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Omar Marmoush and Jack Grealish last year, for example.

If the Gunners do indeed add a recognised striker as well as someone like Ebere Eze, then they go from last season’s injury-ravaged team to a squad that has four or five viable wing options as well as players who can play in the central pockets.

Recent seasons show that a wealth of attacking options is almost a prerequisite for winning the league (or short of that, a record-setting season from one attacker), and it seems like Arteta and Arsenal have caught on to that trend.

But while Madueke will likely be joining the Gunners to offer additional depth to start with, don’t rule out a starting spot in the near future if he proves himself capable in north London.