Can Noni Madueke Find a New Lease on Life at Arsenal? | OneFootball

Chelsea Crowned Club World Cup Champions After Stunning PSG in Final

Last Sunday, Chelsea faced off against Paris Saint-Germain in East Rutherford, New Jersey in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The Blues went into the match as the overwhelming underdogs — after all, PSG were the reigning Champions League winners, whilst Chelsea hadn’t even played Champions League football over the previous two years.

Despite this, it was Chelsea who bossed proceedings from start to finish and went two goals to the good via Cole Palmer’s early brace, whilst Joao Pedro put the seal on victory just before halftime. Chelsea prevailed with a 3-0 victory to secure their status as the first-ever victors of the newly expanded competition, wrapping up the campaign with well-earned trophy festivities.

From Underdogs to Champions: Chelsea’s Club World Cup Journey

It was a moment of unprecedented joy for new arrivals like Andrey Santos, Dario Essugo and Liam Delap, none of them were there two months ago when Chelsea defeated Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League Final to put an end to their four-year trophy drought. But out of all the players who basked in the celebrations, there was one conspicuous absence: Noni Madueke.

Born in Barnet, England to Nigerian parents, Madueke developed at the academies of Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur before heading to the Netherlands in 2018 and joining PSV Eindhoven’s academy, rejecting an offer from Manchester United in the process. Madueke quickly emerged as one of the most exciting wingers in the Eredivisie for PSV, earning the attention of Chelsea, who paid £28.5 million for him in January 2023.

Noni Madueke’s Chelsea Spell Ends With a Whisper, Not a Roar

Whilst there have been moments of magic throughout his time in West London, it’s fair to say that Madueke hasn’t quite been able to live up to his potential since making the move to Chelsea. The 23-year-old winger bagged 20 goals and 9 assists across 92 Chelsea appearances, having previously scored 20 goals and 13 assists in 80 PSV appearances.

What’s more, he’s come under criticism from manager Enzo Maresca, who publicly advised him to work harder after he scored in a 5-1 win vs. Southampton in December. “Noni can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained.”

Photo: IMAGO

“He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, he has to go for the second one and the third one. He has to give more assists. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better.”

Since the start of February, Madueke has found the back of the net in just two matches, grabbing a brace vs. Legia Warsaw and a goal vs. Djurgarden, whilst he also assisted Harry Kane’s goal in a 1-0 win at Andorra in World Cup qualifying, before coming off the bench for Bukayo Saka in the 71st minute of a 3-1 loss to Senegal.

A New Chapter After Club World Cup Snub

Madueke then headed across the Atlantic to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea, with the England international starting the opening match in California alongside Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson and lasting 64 minutes before being replaced by Tyrique George. Jackson and Madueke were dropped for their second match in Philadelphia, where Chelsea relinquished an early lead and lost 3-1 to Flamengo.

After making a quarter-hour cameo in Philly, Madueke returned to the starting eleven in a must-avoid-defeat match vs. Esperance de Tunis, where Chelsea would prevail with a 3-0 victory in the City of Brotherly Love. Madueke featured prominently throughout his 68 minutes, making three key passes, completing four out of five dribble attempts, and winning six out of eight ground duels. However, he was unable to convince Maresca of his merits for a second-straight starting appearance and remained on the bench throughout their 4-1 win agaisnt Benfica.

Madueke replaced Christopher Nkunku in the 54th minute immediately after future Chelsea winger Estêvão equalized for Palmeiras in the Club World Cup quarterfinal, where he registered four shots, won four out of five dribbles and seven out of 11 ground duels. Once again, however, Maresca was careful to hand out praise when I asked him about Madueke’s cameo.

“Noni has been very important for us this season. Today, again, he has been important. But my message to the players and the club is that I only want players that are happy to be with us. The [players] who are not happy are free to go. It’s just for Noni, but for all the players we have. But again, Noni has been very good during this season and very good tonight.”

He would replace Neto in the 68th minute of their 2-0 win against Fluminense in New Jersey before heading back to England to finalize a transfer to Arsenal, who look set to complete the signing of Madueke for £52 million. After Raheem Sterling Jorginho, Kepa Arrizabalaga, David Luiz, and many more, Madueke is poised to become the latest Chelsea player to make the move to the Emirates, and he’ll be looking to make a quick turnaround for an Arsenal side that will kick off its Premier League season at Manchester United in just a month from now.