Noni Madueke’s transfer caused senior figures at Arsenal to make one bizarre move

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Since his summer arrival from Chelsea, Noni Madueke has been a big hit on the pitch for Arsenal.

Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, Noni Madueke is currently sidelined with an untimely knee injury.

Madueke will miss a significant period for Arsenal, and Arteta will simply have to hope that the Englishman is able to contribute over the busy festive period to come.

During Bukayo Saka’s own recent injury, Madueke was really taking responsibility at Arsenal, arguably in a way that he hadn’t previously done at Chelsea, or at least for any sustained period.

The 23-year-old always showed glimpses of his rich talent at Stamford Bridge, but he never enjoyed a run of games that cemented him as a firm starter.

And had he not been injured at Arsenal, Madueke would probably be starting in the same team as Saka after his return, just out on the left instead.

Senior figures at Arsenal pushed back on fan noise about Noni Madueke

That being said, journalist Miguel Delaney has now shared an interesting insight into a move ‘senior figures’ at Arsenal made when Madueke arrived from Chelsea in the summer.

Speaking on the ‘Libero’ podcast, Delaney and co were speaking about how social media has changed the coverage of football, and in turn the consequences of virality.

When it became clear that Arsenal were going to sign Madueke in the summer, a large number of the club’s online supporters voiced their displeasure, in fact, fan petitions were even made.

And in reaction to those protests, Arsenal’s decision-makers made a conscious effort to push the other way.

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Delaney said: “Arsenal are a very interesting entry point into this, not just because of how sizable their fan base is online, but partly because of that. 

“I know for a fact that when a lot of noise grew around Madueke when they were signing him, once he was in the door, pretty senior figures in the club felt they had to start to do things to counter this negative noise around him.

“So they did take tangible steps to address that, and I think that has actually been partly successful – it’s been helped by his performances, of course.

“But then they would say that’s why they signed him, because they knew he could be this good, despite the fan noise.”

Martin Odegaard still has trouble winning over some Arsenal fans

In terms of players who still struggle with Arsenal’s online fans, captain Martin Odegaard is still a surprisingly polarising figure.

Odegaard was stunning against Olympiacos in mid-week, and it was a huge shame that his efforts against West Ham United on the weekend were curtailed owing to injury.

But even when fully fit, some Arsenal fans criticise Odegaard for not being decisive enough.

Interestingly, Martin Keown thought Odegaard played with more freedom in that aforementioned performance in the Champions League.

And perhaps Odegaard’s defensive responsibilities are actually causing fans’ frustrations, which might then be misdirected.

Clearly social media is always going to be quite a volatile environment – opinions can be so quickly published and shared.

But the majority of Arsenal fans are getting it right, and those are the ones who Madueke and Odegaard will be trying everything to win games for.