Noni Madueke Arsenal form and training plan after England snub, Digi Mart USA News: When Thomas Tuchel named his latest England squad last week, the core of the Arsenal team was clearly represented. The Gunners had five players included for upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain, more than any other club and more than the other five members of the traditional ‘Big Six’ combined.
Bukayo Saka was not involved because of the quad injury he suffered against Bayern Munich last month. Even with such strong representation, the Arsenal player who drew the most attention was one who was not included: Noni Madueke.
Madueke can feel hard done by to miss out on a return to the England setup. He has stepped up significantly since the last international break and has filled the void left by Saka in the Arsenal side as well as, or perhaps better than, anyone could have expected.
The winger has three goals and an assist in his last nine appearances, eight of which have been starts, his best run of consistent minutes at Arsenal.
Although his exclusion from England is unfortunate for him, it is understood that Madueke will fly abroad during this international break for warm-weather training, something Mikel Arteta has approved. The winger sees the period as a chance to build on his best run in an Arsenal shirt and wants to maintain the sharpness and intensity that has impressed Arteta in recent weeks.
The plan is for Madueke to return to Arsenal’s training ground at London Colney early next week to prepare for the trip to Newcastle. The approach has worked well for him, and Arteta wants it repeated.
The previous international break was a turning point for the 24-year-old, who was also not called up by Tuchel. Before that stage of the season he had played just 23 minutes of Premier League football.
During the three-week break he flew to Portugal to train in the sun, asked for an individual training programme and trained hard throughout. When he returned to Arsenal’s training ground, Arteta and his coaching staff felt they had a ‘different Noni’ in front of them.
Arteta had earlier been frustrated with Madueke, believing he was not doing enough to earn more opportunities. That view changed over the last international break, and Madueke was soon rewarded.
In the first match after the break he started ahead of Eberechi Eze on the left wing against Leeds. ‘He’s been the best player in the last 10 days,’ Arteta said of Madueke’s training performances.
‘He gave me no option not to select him and not to play him today.’
Saka’s injury led to Madueke switching back to the right wing. He has played the full 90 minutes in every Premier League and Champions League match since then.
No Premier League player is creating more chances per 90 minutes this season, and his figure of 3.57 is more than double what he produced last term.
Against Hull on Saturday, Madueke had more touches in the opposition box than any Arsenal player has managed in the league all season. His attacking style is relentless, and while it has sometimes felt chaotic in the past, he is now delivering the end product that was missing from his game.
Speaking after the Hull match, Arteta set Madueke a new challenge. ‘He’s been incredible,’ the Arsenal manager said.
‘Now you are in that position, now you need to hold it and improve it, and he can still do that. So let’s see what he does in this break.’
