By his lofty, elite standards, Bukayo Saka has endured a trickier season at Arsenal.
In recent years, the English winger has become the poster boy of the Mikel Arteta project. He’s been an irremovable object in the team, a regular starter, a producer of goals and assists. However, there is no doubting that the last year has been the most difficult of his senior career to date.
Saka sat out plenty of 2024/25, notably missing 21 games for club and country with a hamstring injury at the turn of 2025. As a result, he scored just six Premier League goals, although he did find the net 12 times in all competitions.
The ongoing campaign has also been a sticky one, largely due to injury. He missed a couple of games at the start of the campaign with another hamstring problem and is now out with a hip issue.
The club’s number 7 has still registered some impressive numbers, though, posting 14 goal involvements in 31 matches. On the basis of injury, it’s perhaps just as well Andrea Berta and Co brought in Noni Madueke over the summer.
Why the jury is still out on Noni Madueke
When Arsenal spent £52m to bring Madueke to the Emirates Stadium from Chelsea over the summer, it raised eyebrows. Fans protested the deal, largely because he was coming from the Blues but also because he’s an inconsistent player.
Well, the England international hasn’t done much to shake off that inconsistent tag, but he’s a valued member of the squad and possesses a set of traits that very few players in the Arsenal squad possess.
He’s a maverick, a take-on machine, a handful for defenders and much to the joy of set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, he has won the most corners in the Arsenal team per 90 minutes.
All that said, Madueke has only scored one Premier League since arriving and it was a fortuitous one at that against Leeds United last weekend. Arsenal won the game 4-0 with one of those strikes coming from the boot of the winger.
He swung a corner into the box before Karl Darlow in the Leeds goal palmed it into his own net. It initially went down as an own goal but the dubious goals panel eventually awarded it to the winger.
While there was a hint of good fortune to the 23-year-old’s goal, he did have a mighty fine game at Elland Road, also supplying the assist for Martin Zubimendi’s effort and showcasing why Saka hasn’t been as much of a miss as he might have been in previous years.
Sure, Madueke’s output isn’t the best, scoring just four goals in 22 games this term, but he has allowed Arsenal’s best player some vital rest and ensured the quality drop hasn’t been too large.
He does need to improve, though. Since moving to north London, he has been guilty of a lack of end product. That was particularly evident against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League last week. During that game, he attempted a whopping 11 dribbles, completing seven of them. However, he also had five shots without scoring. In a nutshell, that sums up the forward’s time at Arsenal to date.
|
Madueke vs Kairat |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Accurate passes |
32/43 (74%) |
|
Touches |
73 |
|
Shots |
5 |
|
Shots on target |
2 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Accurate crosses |
1/5 |
|
Successful dribbles |
7/11 |
|
Possession lost |
24x |
|
Ground duels won |
9/16 |
|
Aerial duels won |
2/2 |
|
Stats via Sofascore. |
|
For Madueke, he will have to keep a close eye over his shoulder. The Gunners have some elite talent coming through the ranks.
Arsenal have signed a future Madueke replacement
One of the main questions that got raised when the winger signed from Chelsea was: what happens to Ethan Nwaneri? Well, quite. The teenager was one of the best things about 2024/25 for Arsenal but after the arrival of Eberechi Eze and Madueke, his game time has suffered.
It has suffered so much that Arteta had no choice but to send him on loan for the back half of the season, where he joined Marseille.
How can we forget young Max Dowman, either? Both he and Nwaneri have broken through as wingers but it’s just behind the striker where they play their best football. So, Madueke can breathe a little easier because of that.
However, in the shape of another wonderkid, Edwin Quintero, Arsenal have signed a winger with elite potential who could surpass Madueke in the future.
Who is Quintero? Well, back in December, Arsenal announced that they had agreed a deal to sign him and his twin brother, Holger Quintero, from Ecuadorian side Independiente Del Valle.
Independiente have one of the best academy systems in the world and are famed for having produced the likes of Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo, PSG’s William Pacho and Piero Hincapie, currently at the Emirates.
Hincapie has already welcomed the brothers with open arms to north London but they won’t join just yet. Indeed, it will be a while before we see the Quintero twins in action for the Gunners as they won’t officially join until August 2027 when they turn 18.
Holger is an attacking midfielder by trade but Edwin is a winger and a seriously good one at that, earning rave reviews from plenty within the game.
Rated as one of very few 10/10 young talents in the game right now, alongside Dowman, by scout Jacek Kulig, he’s also been compared to Bayern Munich superstar Michael Olise by Como scout Felix Johnston.
Why? Well, in the words of fellow Como scout, Ben Mattinson, Quintero “has the ability to run games and create something out of nothing,” much like a certain Saka.
A left-footed right winger, it’s easy to see why comparisons have already been made to Olise and Saka. He has quick feet, fabulous agility and excellent vision, much like Arsenal’s starboy.
For a player as young as he (16) to possess such a wide array of skills is remarkable. He looks like a complete talent already and it would not be a surprise if by the end of 2027, he is a household name all around England.
Watch out Madueke; you may only have a few years to prove yourself under Arteta.
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