This summer could, and should, be a seismic one for Arsenal.
Andrea Berta and Co have already added some impressive depth to the side in Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga – not to mention the incoming Martin Zubimendi – but the area of the team that desperately needs reinforcements is the attack.
Moreover, while a new striker is a necessity, it’s just as essential that Mikel Arteta is handed one, or maybe even two, new wingers as well.
Fortunately, the club seem to be on the same wavelength, as recent reports have linked them to a player who has been compared to Bukayo Saka on more than a few occasions.
Arsenal's winger search
Given Arsenal’s comparative lack of cutting-edge wide options, it’s not been a massive surprise to see them linked with several exciting options in recent weeks, such as Antonio Nusa and Anthony Elanga.
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The former is reportedly available for close to £38m this summer and amassed a tally of 13 goal involvements in 40 games last season.
Elanga, on the other hand, could cost as much as £60m, but was that bit more effective for Nottingham Forest last season, scoring six goals and providing 12 assists in 43 games.
However, while there is clear upside in both of these wide talents, neither one has been or could really be compared to Saka, which isn’t the case for Noni Madueke.
Yes, according to David Ornstein, Arsenal are in fact very interested in the Chelsea winger.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Athletic podcast, the respected journalist revealed that the Gunners like the Englishman and are “working” on a deal, which, according to other reports, could cost around £50m.
It might not be the transfer some Arsenal fans would be hoping for, but Madueke has the ability and potential to be something special in North London, and the fact he’s been compared to Saka can only be a good thing.
How Madueke compares to Saka
Now, it should be noted that there are numerous surface-level comparisons that can be made between Saka and Madueke.
These include the fact that they’re both full England internationals, they both play for a ‘big six’ side in London, they’re primarily right-sided wingers, and they both came out of the academy of a North London team.
However, the comparisons do go deeper than that.
In fact, respected analyst EBL was bold enough to argue for the Chelsea ace’s similarity to the Gunners’ star as far back as March 2023, claiming that, he is indeed “very similar to Saka”.
They pointed out that, like the Hale Ender, the former PSV Eindhoven star is particularly adept at lulling an opposition defender into a “false sense of security” by first slowing down with the ball at his feet and then shifiting “the ball to either side” and making the most of his impressive “ball-striking.”
However, that’s not his only avenue for beating opposing defenders, as EBL also highlights his “explosive shift”, which is just a way of describing how he gets around players with a burst of energy when dribbling.
Interestingly, we can see how similar this is to Saka in the numbers, as, according to FBref, the North Londoners’ talisman completed 1.99 successful take-ons per 90 when playing in Europe’s top five leagues or the Champions League, which is the exact same number as the Blues star.
1
Savio
2
Salah
3
Diaz
4
Son
5
Madueke
However, that is not all, as when we look at just the Premier League last season, FBref ranks the “incredible” talent, as dubbed by content creator Matisse Armani, as the fifth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Ealing-born superstar.
Ultimately, while Madueke hasn’t quite reached the levels of Saka, there are some undeniable stylistic and statistical similarities between the pair.
Therefore, if a deal can be struck at a reasonable price, then Arsenal should go ahead and bring the exciting winger to the Emirates this summer.
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