Noni Madueke is an Arsenal player.
While the progress of the deal has been relatively serene, the reception among supporters has been anything but. Arsenal’s pursuit of the 23-year-old has met with considerable resistance from some fans.
It feels situational, rather than personal. Arsenal fans are wearied by a succession of signings from Chelsea. Madueke is the 10th player to make the move across London since the turn of the millennium. Many of those — Petr Cech, David Luiz, Willian and most recently Raheem Sterling — have underwhelmed. There is a feeling among supporters that when Chelsea want to cash in on a dispensable asset, Arsenal are sometimes too willing to oblige.
That feeling — perhaps enhanced by the news of an agreement for Madueke breaking before Arsenal secure the No 9 fans are craving — prompted a somewhat hostile response to the mooted transfer. At the time of writing, a change.org petition against the signing has garnered more than 5,000 signatures.
All for nought: the deal is now done. Arsenal will pay an initial fee of £48.5million ($65.5m), rising to £52m with add-ons. Madueke has signed a five-year contract until 2030. The figures involved suggest both he and Arsenal are committed to this new venture.
The Athletic has spoken to people with an understanding of the talks, from both clubs and the player’s side, to tell the story of the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity to protect relationships.
Despite the noise, Madueke is not fazed. Those close to him remark on his strong mentality. He sees any negativity around the signing as a challenge, and is energised by the opportunity to work hard to prove people wrong.
Arsenal are adamant they’ve secured an exciting young player for a fee that falls in line with market values.
He will not join up with Arsenal immediately. Madueke was eager to cut short his post-Club World Cup holiday to join in his new club’s pre-season plans immediately and be involved in the trip to Singapore and Hong Kong.
Ultimately, Arsenal have urged him to get some rest. They want him recharged and mentally fresh before a long season, and have convinced him to take a two-week break, during which he will have access to one of the club’s strength and conditioning coaches.
The deal came together relatively swiftly. Arsenal had been in the market for a winger who could provide an alternative to Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side — ideally a player who could offer speed, versatility and penetration.
They targeted Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, but when the Cameroon international decided his preference was to join Manchester United in early June, Arsenal began to explore alternative options — among them, Madueke.
Madueke has long had admirers among Arsenal’s coaching staff, including Mikel Arteta. In previous summers, former sporting director Edu and the recruitment department had reservations over any prospective deal, but with Andrea Berta now at the helm, there is a new dynamic.
Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
This summer, Arsenal were attracted by Madueke’s productivity, his Premier League experience, his ability to play on both wings — he played four consecutive league games for Chelsea on the left across April and May — and his age. Quick and physically strong, he was a good fit for the profile of attacker they were looking for to augment their front-line.
In a window in which Arsenal have signed 30-year-old Kepa Arrizabalaga (also from Chelsea), 31-year-old Christian Norgaard and are closing in on 27-year-old Viktor Gyokeres, signing a 23-year-old forward helps maintain the age balance of the squad. Despite his youth, he’s also a player who’s already amassed considerable experience, in both Europe and the Premier League.
Furthermore, over the past two seasons, Madueke has largely had a good injury record — an attribute Arteta prizes. Since joining Chelsea in January 2023, he has made 92 appearances. Last season alone, he played more than 2,000 minutes.
Chelsea have been open to offers for Madueke this summer — as they were 12 months earlier. He had occasional disciplinary issues at Stamford Bridge and towards the end of 2023-24, he was involved in an on-field dispute over a penalty with team-mate Nicolas Jackson.
He was twice left out of Enzo Maresca’s matchday squad last season — once for training poorly, and once due to a “technical decision”. His biggest high at Chelsea was scoring a hat-trick against Wolves — shortly after creating uproar by declaring on social media, “this place is s***.” This incident did put Madueke under scrutiny, but he remained a first-team regular under Maresca.
“With Noni, I have a personal relationship, in terms of he can do much more,” Maresca said in December. “In the moment that he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit. He has to understand that he has to train every day good, he has to be ambitious. If he scores one tonight, he has to go for the second one, the third one.
“He has to be ambitious, to give more assists… Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better.”
Madueke and Maresca had a positive relationship. As with previous Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino, there was an element of tough love — but Madueke believes it made him a better, more mature player.
Madueke with Maresca in training in Miami earlier this month (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
For their part, Arsenal undertook background checks on Madueke. They also spoke to their England contingent about him, and received good references about his personality and impact on the dressing room. They see a player determined to improve: he has worked with an individual skills coach outside of club training to further his development.
It’s also a question of numbers. On the flanks, Chelsea have Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian and new arrival Jamie Gittens. Cole Palmer and another summer signing, Joao Pedro, can also be used on the wing. Chelsea may yet go for another attacker later in the window — and have Geovany Quenda of Sporting CP arriving in 2026. In both the short and long term, Madueke’s opportunities looked to be diminishing.
Part of Chelsea’s model involves selling players for profit. Having paid €35million to sign him from PSV in 2023, Chelsea recognised an opportunity to make good on their investment.
As Arsenal stepped up their interest, there was an acceptance at Chelsea that Madueke would leave — but only for the right price. He still had five years remaining on the Chelsea contract he signed in 2023. Those long contracts were designed partly to ensure Chelsea protect the value of their assets.
“Noni has been very important for us,” said Maresca after Madueke started on the bench for the Club World Cup quarter-final against Palmeiras. “But my message to the players and to the club is that I just want players who are happy to be with us.
“The ones that are not happy, they are free to go.”
Despite Maresca’s assertion, Madueke never asked to leave Chelsea — even last year, when he was aware they were open to moving him on.
He recognised he was part of a previous generation of Chelsea signings, and that the club was moving in a different direction. With the new recruiting staff and the rise of co-director of recruitment Joe Shields (formerly of Manchester City’s academy), came a trust and focus on former City academy talent: Palmer, Romeo Lavia, Liam Delap, and Jamie Gittens. Madueke sensed he and the club were drifting apart.
Jamie Gittens is another attacking player signed by Chelsea this summer (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
As a potential destination, Arsenal held an immediate appeal for Madueke. At Chelsea, he was part of a group of predominantly young players. When things didn’t go well, it wasn’t always clear who to turn to for leadership and guidance.
Madueke believes Arsenal will be different. He sees a dressing room full of big, experienced characters and strong personalities. He regards Arsenal as a team with multiple captains on the field at the same time, and is eager to work in that kind of structure and with the level of accountability that tends to follow. He already has good relationships with several of the Arsenal players through England duty, and believes he will fit easily into the squad dynamic.
He recognises he is joining a settled team — and one in which the star player, Bukayo Saka, plays in his position — but believes he will be afforded an opportunity to make his case.
The move presents Madueke with a chance to remain in London. Madueke grew up in the north London borough of Barnet, equidistant between the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal’s London Colney training ground. As a boy, he attended St Columba’s College, a St Albans school a stone’s throw from Arsenal’s Sobha Realty training centre, and spent four years on the books at rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The deal was orchestrated by agent Ali Barat. The owner of agency Epic Sports, Barat has a good relationship with Chelsea as well as Arsenal’s sporting director Berta, making him ideally suited to being the middle man in negotiations.
Once Arsenal had expressed their interest, Madueke and his father spoke with Arteta. Both sides considered it a successful meeting. Madueke likes Arteta’s intensity and believes he will help him flourish. He was also impressed by the level of detail in Arsenal’s approach — their engagement with his data, and their plans for him.
Personal terms for a five-year contract were agreed relatively swiftly afterwards. Then, a deal needed to be struck between the clubs.
Arteta spoke with Madueke and his father (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
At the outset of negotiations with Arsenal, Chelsea ran a comparison of Madueke’s statistics against Mohammed Kudus, Anthony Elanga and Mbeumo, which reflected well on Madueke.
Over the past two seasons, Madueke has averaged a goal or assist contribution at a rate of 0.51 per 90. Of the four players listed, only Mbeumo (0.59) can better that. Madueke is also slightly younger than Mbeumo (25) and Kudus (24). Chelsea used this data to justify an asking price in the region of £60million.
That was not enough to put Arsenal off. They were taken with the player’s one-on-one ability, physicality and technical level.
Madueke’s price tag may also be reflective of his status as an England international. Madueke was first called up to the England senior squad in August 2024 and has gone on to win seven caps.
Despite representing England, Madueke will still take up one of Arsenal’s 17 ‘foreign’ squad slots. Because he left the UK for the Netherlands at 16, Madueke does not count as homegrown in England for the purposes of Premier League and UEFA squad regulations.
With Barat serving as broker, Arsenal and Chelsea quickly came to an agreement. Madueke left Chelsea’s World Club Cup training camp ahead of the final in order to complete the formalities of his Arsenal move. The completion of the deal was delayed due to Madueke’s negotiations with Chelsea over severance terms.
Arsenal believe that, taking into account Madueke’s age, potential, and the going rate for Premier League wingers, they have secured an excellent deal. Chelsea are content the final value of the deal could take them over the £50million mark — a considerable profit on their €35million investment.
There is plenty of precedent for players overcoming Arsenal fans’ initial scepticism. Aaron Ramsdale was abused on social media after joining the club in 2021, but swiftly became a fan favourite.
Even former Chelsea players have found redemption: aspersions were cast over the arrivals of Jorginho and Kai Havertz, but both became popular.
The onus is on Madueke. If he delivers on the pitch, any noise will quickly fade away.
(Additional contributors: Seb Stafford-Bloor, Simon Johnson)
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb; Francois Nel / Getty Images)
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