Arsenal’s squeeze on the right
Noni Madueke is 24 and he is running out of minutes.
Caught Offside report that Atletico Madrid and Juventus have both started watching the Arsenal winger ahead of January, and that neither club is in a hurry. Nothing formal has been tabled. No negotiations have opened. What exists is interest, the kind that hardens fast if a player’s situation stops improving.
It has not improved so far this season. Madueke has struggled for regular Premier League minutes under Mikel Arteta, and the competition around him is brutal. Arsenal are the reigning champions and they have won each of their first four league games. A team going that well rarely rotates out of kindness.
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Why Madrid and Turin are looking
Atletico’s reading is simple. They want pace and directness on the flank, and Madueke gives them both when he plays. Juventus like the one-on-one side of his game, the willingness to run at a full-back instead of recycling the ball sideways.
Both clubs see the same route in. A loan, probably with an option to buy attached, is described as the most realistic structure. That suits everyone’s caution. Arsenal would not sell a 24-year-old cheaply in midseason, and neither suitor wants to commit a permanent fee for a player who has barely featured.
Arsenal’s position is stronger than it looks from outside. Madueke is contracted until 2030. There is no clock forcing a decision, no expiring deal to protect. He also still has a role, small as it is. He came on for 18 minutes in the 1-0 Champions League win over Napoli, which tells you Arteta has not written him off.
The January question
The tension is straightforward. Arsenal want depth for a season stretched across the league, Europe and a cup run, and they are usually one injury away from needing a specialist wide option. Madueke wants football at an age where a year of cameos costs him real ground.
If his minutes stay where they are through autumn, that gap gets harder to paper over. Atletico and Juventus are betting it will.
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