Noni Madueke: How Viktor Gyokeres will help fellow Arsenal new boy ahead of £52m Chelsea transfer

Noni Madueke will not face such a "brutal" reaction to his Arsenal transfer when the deal goes through thanks to Viktor Gyokeres, expert Charles Watts believes.

The England international is on the verge of completing his £52m transfer to Mikel Arteta's team, but the deal has been met with significant backlash online, including a petition on change.org that has racked up over 5,000 signatures.

However, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur youngster is also arriving alongside Gyokeres, as Arsenal have agreed a deal with Sporting Lisbon for the Swedish striker, while Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera is North London-bound too.

In addition, Arsenal are still interested in a deal for Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, and Watts believes that the reaction to Madueke's signing will now be less "brutal" thanks to the Gunners' significant progress in other dealings, specifically Gyokeres.

“There haven't been that many massive misses from Arsenal," Watts said. "There's been a few in the transfer market since Arteta arrived, but on the whole, they've been very, very successful with players that they've signed. It's going to be tough for Madueke, but if he can just prove why Arteta wants him, Arsenal fans will start cheering.

“Look at Havertz now. The noise in the stadium every time he scores a goal, the song, the chant, he absolutely turned it around. And Madueke I'm sure can. He's 23 years old, got bags of potential. It's just that end product. And if the coaching staff can work on that, and he can start really delivering in and around the penalty area, then all those negative views will very quickly disappear.

"Negativity is lessening" towards Madueke Arsenal transfer

“I already think the negativity towards that signing is lessening a little bit now because the striker’s happening. If Madueke had signed at the end of the window and Arsenal already had the striker and potentially another attacker on board, there would be far less public hostility towards it. He’s a bit unfortunate that that deal just has been wrapped up ahead of the striker deal.

“When that announcement does come, I don't think it's going to be quite as brutal as reaction now because of what's happening with Gyokeres as it would have been last week.”

Madueke missed Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final to complete his transfer to the Gunners, and the 23-year-old departs Stamford Bridge having amassed 20 goals and nine assists from 92 matches for the Blues in all tournaments.

Madueke could either cover for and compete with Bukayo Saka for starts on the right, or inherit the left-wing position from Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard, both of whom have been linked with moves away in the summer transfer window.

The attacker would not be the first Arteta player to arrive to a negative reaction either, as a portion of fans reacted furiously to Aaron Ramsdale's move in 2021, before the goalkeeper enjoyed a stellar two seasons at the club.

Kai Havertz has also performed admirably since his criticised move in 2023, and speaking to Sports Mole, Watts has affirmed that the Arsenal coaching team believe that Madueke's value will "soar" at the Emirates.

Madueke backed to follow Havertz, Ramsdale example at Arsenal

“You're going to have to have broad shoulders," he added. "Kai Havertz was under that sort of pressure when he arrived. Lots of real negative thoughts about him. Aaron Ramsdale was a few years ago; what he faced was brutal; death threats from Arsenal fans. Yes, he wasn't joining for a similar fee, but he still had to go through that and he handled it. It's horrible to see what Madueke is going through.

“I've spoken about this potential deal. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but to go as far as some are, I don't really understand the thinking behind that. If Arsenal want him and they're desperate to get him, you've got to support him when he's in the red and white.

“And Arteta really does want him. He’s pushing this deal from what I understand. He really does believe, and Arsenal do believe, that the fee that they're paying in a couple of years' time is going to look like an absolutely brilliant deal. They think his value is going to soar at Arsenal.

“They think in the environment that he's in, they can really improve on what he's done so far, they look at the data, what he will bring to this team and they think he's going to be a really, really good signing. They know far more than we do - I know we all like to think we know a lot, but these guys get paid the big money because they know what they're doing.”

Madueke's arrival at Arsenal is expected to be announced in the coming days, and the attacker will likely be part of the Gunners' pre-season trip to Asia later this month.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Madueke's move to Arsenal

Written by
Ben Knapton