Noni Madueke: Can ‘unplayable’ Chelsea forward succeed at Arsenal? The numbers behind potential Gunners surprise signing ahead of new season
Arsenal are starting to make some noise in the transfer window this summer. The Gunners have bolstered their squad ahead of the new season and the latest addition looks set to be Noni Madueke. But, after Mikel Arteta’s side finished in second place for the last three league seasons, is the 23-year-old ready to help Arsenal take that next step? With the help of Opta, we break down the statistics.
Arsenal are finally making some moves in the summer transfer window.
After a perceived slow start to proceedings, The Gunners are bringing new players in at pace now.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard have come through the door and Arsenal are set to make one more addition to the squad very soon: Noni Madueke.
The England international looks set to join The Gunners for a reported fee of £52 million after he played a role in helping Chelsea qualify for the UEFA Champions League, as well as lifting the UEFA Conference League trophy last season.
After finishing second for the last three seasons, is Madueke the right fit for Mikel Arteta’s side as they look to finally get over the line and become Premier League champions?
With the help of our friends at Opta, we take a look at Madueke’s numbers and see how he compares to Arsenal’s current crop of forwards, and what Gunners supporters can expect from their new signing.
How did Madueke perform for Chelsea last season?
“He can be unplayable at times. He’s probably more comfortable on the right-hand side but I don’t think it matters which side he plays.
“When he comes inside from the left, his finishing could be better, but he’s showed that he can easily play anywhere across the front.”
These were the words of TNT Sports expert Peter Crouch after watching Madueke’s performance in last season’s run-in as Chelsea battled to a 1-0 victory over Everton in April.
The winger was given a different role by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on the day and played on his less-favoured left-hand side, but he was one of the best players on the park.
He was a constant threat and his performance emphasised why Arsenal wanted him to join their squad ahead of the upcoming season.
Here are Madueke’s key stats for Chelsea across all competitions last season:
| Appearances | 41 |
| Goals | 11 |
| Assists | 4 |
| Expected Goals | 12.5 |
| Expected Assists | 4.3 |
| Touches in opposition box | 235 |
| Chances created | 41 |
| Possession won | 99 |
| Dribbles completed | 55 |
| Shots conversion rate per 90 mins | 11.6 |
Madueke’s contribution helped Chelsea to secure qualification to the Champions League for the first time since the 2022/23 season, while he also played 90 minutes as the Blues defeated Real Betis to win the Conference League.
The forward also earned his first start under new England manager Thomas Tuchel as the Three Lions secured a 1-0 win against Andorra in June.
Although the England boss was critical of his team’s performance, he singled out Madueke for his energetic display.
“He was maybe over the course of the match the most dangerous, the most active,” Tuchel said afterwards.
“I could feel his hunger and the desire and determination to do the plan. He was one of the few who met the expectations.”
Madueke could find himself on the plane for the FIFA World Cup next season, but can he lock down a regular place in Arsenal’s starting XI?
Where does he fit in Arsenal’s attack?
After finishing in second place for the third season in a row, TNT Sports reflected on what Arsenal needed to get over the line and one solution was to find a suitable back-up option to Bukayo Saka.
Can Madueke fill that void? With Madueke set to join the Gunners for north of £50m, it is understandable to think he will be more of a starter rather than an impact player off the bench.
As shown by his heat map above, Madueke is more comfortable on the right-hand side, but Saka has that position nailed down for Arsenal, so has the 23-year-old been bought to play on the left wing?
If so, Madueke would be competing with Gabriel Martinelli and Leondro Trossard for that spot.
Here is how he compares to Arsenal’s other options:
| Madueke | Trossard | Martinelli | Nwaneri | |
| Appearances | 32 | 38 | 33 | 26 |
| Goals | 7 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Assists | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Expected Goals | 9.6 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| Expected Assists | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.1 |
| Touches in opposition box | 199 | 165 | 195 | 50 |
| Chances created | 32 | 41 | 40 | 16 |
| Possession won | 84 | 104 | 78 | 34 |
| Dribbles completed | 45 | 38 | 33 | 37 |
| Shots conversion rate per 90 mins | 8.8 | 11.1 | 14.6 | 16.7 |
The numbers show that Madueke will have his work cut out to nail down a regular place in the starting XI.
Both Martinelli and Trossard had more goal contributions than Madueke last season, but Arsenal fans can be encouraged that the Chelsea man has a higher XG (expected goals), while also finding himself in the opposition’s box more times than his new team-mates.
However, there could be another player who might be fighting Madueke for that position at Arsenal.
Eberechi Eze has been linked with a move to Arsenal this summer and the Crystal Palace star could also compete for a place in the attacking front three.
Eze enjoyed an outstanding campaign last season and turned out to be the match-winner as Palace stunned Manchester City to win the FA Cup at Wembley.
| Madueke | Eze | |
| Appearances | 32 | 34 |
| Goals | 7 | 8 |
| Assists | 3 | 8 |
| Expected Goals | 9.6 | 10.5 |
| Expected Assists | 3.2 | 4.7 |
| Touches in opposition box | 199 | 104 |
| Chances created | 32 | 58 |
| Possession won | 84 | 146 |
| Dribbles completed | 45 | 67 |
| Shots conversion rate per 90 mins | 8.8 | 7.8 |
The numbers make very good reading for Eze, who managed to outshine Madueke in all but two categories in the table above.
Arsenal have needed more players to contribute up front to ease the pressure on Saka, and competition for places can only be a help rather than a hindrance.
Are Arsenal fans right to be sceptical about Madueke?
If you scroll through social media, a number of Arsenal fans do not appear enthusiastic about Madueke joining the club.
It could be a case of being fatigued about their club signing players from rivals Chelsea. But are fans right to be concerned by Madueke’s arrival?
Despite being a Chelsea player for just two years, there have been some situations where Madueke’s attitude has been questioned by his own manager.
Mauricio Pochettino was less than impressed during the 2023/24 campaign when Madueke was involved in a heated argument with Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson because he wanted to take a penalty against Everton.
“It’s a shame,” Pochettino said afterwards. “We cannot behave in this way. I told them that this is the last time that [I will] accept this type of behaviour.
“All [of the players] involved in this situation, all out the next time. That is not a joke, it’s impossible after a performance like this to have this type of behaviour.
“If we want to be a big team fighting for big things, we need to change more in the collective way. I made clear today to the fans and to everyone that Cole Palmer is the [penalty] taker.
“That is a really, really sad situation that happened, and I’m not going to accept that happening again.”
Madueke was also called out by current Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca despite scoring a goal and setting up another in a 5-1 rout of Southampton last December.
“Noni can do much more,” the Italian said. “He 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.
“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.
“But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic. He is doing even better in terms of numbers. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better.”
It is important to emphasise that Madueke is still a young player and likely to make mistakes along the way, but Arsenal could provide him with the right environment to improve as a professional in the long-term.
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