GASLIGHT EXPRESS: MADUEKE HISTORICAL REFERENCE POINT
Once a player deal has been done, it’s the job of any good faith Arsenal fan to gaslight themselves to levels so high, so wild, they don’t even recognize their own views. That’s where I am on Noni Madueke at the moment.
Now, to be clear, I like the player solely because he’s always looked good against Arsenal. But it’s pretty clear why Chelsea are moving him on… the output doesn’t map to the potential, and they have an insatiable need to spend all the money that exists on similar-looking players.
The best-case historical scenario for Madueke is Adebayor. The ex-Arsenal striker was diabolical in front of goal the season before he banged. It was painful to watch. He’d get himself into outrageous positions and fluff his lines in ways that were so bad, they were comical. He had the power, the technique, the smarts to create openings for himself… but when you’re replacing Thierry Henry, people need to see the hard cash—and he was offering pennies. He scored 4 goals in his first bit-part season. 12 in 44 through the season of pain. Then BANG, he was a 30-goal-a-season striker and pretty much unplayable.
Then his head was turned… he lost focus… moved to City… and that was that.
Madueke, my hope, is pre-Adebayor greatness.
This is a guy who was the second-biggest underperformer of xG in the Premier League last season.
… oof. Can’t believe what I’m writing here.
But… if the club is convinced those sad numbers can be turned around and they can improve his final decision-making, then they have a gem on their hands. We’ve basically taken a punt on an underachiever. This is Billy Beane shit. You know, like, if Billy Beane was uncovering undervalued baseball players, then paying the future price of the talent if they succeeded.
Arteta is the guy that finds pigeons with broken wings and nurses them back to health.
The question you could have here is this: Why would you take a risk on an underachiever in front of goal when you’ve just spent the season underachieving in front of goal? The only answer I can pose here is that we’re taking a chance on a backup option for Saka. This is a guy who can be developed behind the scenes without a massive cost to where we’re going as a squad. He’s levelling up on Reiss Nelson and Raheem Sterling. Excluding the goal-mouth problems, you still have someone who can beat a man, carry the ball at speed with tight control, and deliver accurate crosses. That’s more than we’ve had as backup in the past.
The window is shaping up quite nicely, in my opinion. There are two more deals I’d love to see drop this week to feel whole—and that’s Eze and a striker. The Swedish hitman has gone on strike this week. The Athletic has reported that Arsenal have offered over the fee required to release him, so he won’t be attending training. I’ve no idea where the Eze deal is or if we’re even going to pursue him… but you’d imagine Steve Parish and friends want to get a deal done soon-ish so they have a chance to reinvest the money.
If the summer ended:
Kepa
Norgaard
Mosquera
Gyökeres
Madueke
Eze
Zubimendi
Then you’d have to say that is a f*cking excellent haul of players that have raised the level, added to the speed of operations, and given us the bang BANG we’ve lacked.
I’d still love to see us add someone sensational to the left wing, but I don’t think Martinelli wants out, and the Rodrygo deal looks like a poison pill someone in the Premier League is going to eat and potentially regret. Desire and mental ruggedness are essential in the Arteta system, and the rumblings seem to indicate he lacks those two things.
Ok, short one today. Remember to listen to the podcast with Sam Dean and Nick Bright if you haven’t already.