Breaking down Arsenal’s five reasons for signing Noni Madueke and which have been justified ahead of Chelsea return

A report has revisited why Arsenal went ahead with the surprising signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea this summer – but which of their five reasons is he on course to justifying?

Madueke will be back at Stamford Bridge as an opponent on Sunday as Arsenal visit Chelsea, four months after his transfer. It was a move that raised eyebrows at the time due to his struggles to cement his place across London, with some Arsenal fans even starting a petition against the move.

But Mikel Arteta gave his green light to the deal and Madueke became an Arsenal player for £48.5m. On Sunday, his return to his former stomping ground could be an opportunity to show any doubters from either fanbase why he was worth it.

In advance of the match, the Evening Standard has shed light on the reasons Arsenal decided to buy Madueke in the summer.

One factor was the influence of Bukayo Saka, a long-term friend of Madueke who gave a good reference to Arteta. Although they both play as wingers, there was a long-standing belief that Saka needed someone else to rotate minutes with anyway.

Another factor was that Arsenal believed £48.5m was a fair price for a 23-year-old England international with margin to grow.

The report also explained how Arsenal felt Madueke could add something different to their attack.

More specifically, his ability in one-v-ones, which he can win thanks to his pace and power, appealed.

Finally, his desire to get shots away was noted as something that could help Arsenal improve their attacking output.

So, eight games and one goal into his Arsenal career, how much of that is ringing true – or at least looking like it could?

Is Madueke vindicating Arsenal’s transfer reasons?

In terms of managing Saka’s gametime, Madueke has only recently recovered from a knee injury of his own, so there isn’t enough evidence yet of how Arteta would prefer to rotate them.

When both have been available, Saka has amassed 278 minutes of gametime in the Premier League compared to 151 for Madueke, which is a reasonable split.

As someone who’s been wearing the captain’s armband recently, Saka remains one of Arsenal’s most prominent players, so he wouldn’t have expected to be dislodged by his friend (who can also play on the opposite wing).

However, Madueke hasn’t played enough yet for pundits to be able to say whether he was worth the £48.5m they paid for him. It was about £20m more than Chelsea paid to sign him two-and-a-half years earlier; did he do enough in that time to warrant that inflation?

As for whether he’s added something different to Arsenal’s attack, again, a bigger sample size is needed. But on paper, yes, Madueke does have a different set of strengths and weaknesses to some of their other wingers.

Looking more closely at his one-v-ones, Madueke has attempted 19 take-ons in the Premier League this season and just under half of those (eight) have been successful.

Only Saka and Eberechi Eze have completed more successful take-ons than Madueke among the Arsenal squad this term, which is promising.

However, as for the shooting aspect, he has only shot five times this Premier League season. That’s lower than 11 of his teammates, and his ranking doesn’t improve much when balanced out per 90 minutes.

Madueke will need to up his output when he gets more opportunities throughout the season to show Arsenal’s faith wasn’t misplaced – and, if he’s selected in some shape or form, the trip to his old club could be a perfect starting point.

Latest Arsenal transfer news

As for what’s next for Arsenal in transfer windows to come, Real Madrid have reportedly accelerated their interest in a player who impressed for the Gunners against Bayern Munich.

Elsewhere, the latest step Arsenal have taken regarding their interest in Juventus playmaker Kenan Yildiz has been revealed.

And TEAMtalk can confirm Arsenal are battling Manchester City for one of the top Polish prospects.