Man Utd icon says £35m Arsenal star gives Arjen Robben vibes
Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest last weekend.
The Gunners faced a tricky challenge against Forest, who had replaced Nuno Espirito Santo with Ange Postecoglou as their new manager.
However, they came on top with a resounding win. Martin Zubimendi bagged the man of the match after scoring a goal in either half against Forest.
The Spain international announced himself to the Gunners’ faithful with a stellar strike from outside the box to open the scoring in the 32nd minute.
Noni Madueke was equally impressive for the Gunners from the right wing despite not making a direct goal contribution in the victory over Forest.
Madueke had a superb outing on the right wing in Bukayo Saka’s absence. He was a constant tormentor for the Forest backline with his direct runs.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has now said that Madueke has performed a lot better than he had imagined.
He added that the 23-year-old has been playing on a different level this campaign, and compared him to Arjen Robben, who tormented defences.
Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast: “Madueke is a lot better than I imagined and thought he would be. And certainly a lot better than Arsenal fans thought he would be.
“A couple of runs that he made for England on Tuesday night were a different level, they’re runs I thought, ‘ooh’.
“They’re runs… Arjen Robben used to make those runs against me. I’m giving you players where they’re a sort of level where you think, ‘ooh, I’m up against it, this is a different type of player’.
“Sometimes you play against a winger and they’re dribbling at you and you know they’ve got a trick and you know that you’re going to be in for a different game, then you’ve got players who are a step above, a level above.
“I’m not saying Madueke is there yet, but his movement and the things that he’s doing are very, very good, and I’m talking from a full-back’s perspective playing against it.”
Madueke, who is valued at £35 million by Transfermarkt, has made a good impression at the Gunners since his summer move from London counterparts Chelsea.
His arrival from the Blues was met with a mixed reaction among fans, but the winger has started to prove his worth. He received a standing ovation at the Emirates Stadium.
The onus is now on him to find consistency. There are no doubts over Madueke’s match-winning ability on his day, but he needs to replicate the performance every game.
If he were to do that, manager Mikel Arteta may have a big selection headache on his hands when Saka returns to full fitness.
Madueke has another opportunity to impress when the Gunners take on Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League curtain-raiser at San Mames tomorrow evening.
Saka is unlikely to be available, but could be fit to face Manchester City this weekend.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
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