“Really smart signing” – Arsenal praised for surprise deal that hurt their rivals

Arsenal have been praised for their transfer deal for Noni Madueke, who has impressed since joining from rivals Chelsea in the summer.

Former Blues striker Chris Sutton says he felt at the time that Madueke’s departure from Stamford Bridge could hurt his former club, and it does seem like an increasingly smart piece of business by the Gunners.

Madueke starred for Arsenal in their midweek Champions League win over Club Brugge, scoring two goals in a 3-0 victory.

The England international also scored in the recent win over Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium, and it looks like he will prove a valuable squad player to take the pressure off Bukayo Saka, who has often had to play 90 minutes in pretty much every single game for Arsenal.

“It wasn’t just with his goals that Noni Madueke made an impact, he did really well throughout the game and showed he is ready to do a job when he is called upon,” Sutton said via BBC Sport.

“A lot is made of Arsenal’s strength in depth this season, and at the moment Arteta has got a few injuries in key positions.

“But in those wide areas he has got plenty of options and the fact he could bring Madueke and Martinelli off the bench against Villa at the weekend and then start them tonight and see both of them score brilliant goals is a real positive.

“More and more, Madueke looks like a really smart signing. I already thought he was a loss to Chelsea, but you are seeing now he is back from injury that Arsenal can have Saka off that right side, or use him – it bodes really well for them with such a busy period coming up.”

Some Arsenal fans might well feel Madueke is showing glimpses of being able to challenge Saka for his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

After a few injuries, there have occasionally been signs of Saka slowing down a little bit and not quite looking at his best.

And yet, as the stats above show, he’s still producing impressive numbers for Arsenal, showing how important he is to the team even when he’s not yet at 100% peak fitness and form.

Madueke also has his qualities and will surely improve once he’s more settled at Arsenal, while he’s another one of many players in this squad to have also had problems with injuries this term.

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