Noni Madueke Welcomes Competition After Arsenal’s Move for Eze

Noni Madueke has welcomed any ‘competition’ he will face following Arsenal’s move for Eberechi Eze and heaped praise on ‘special player’ Max Dowman.

The Gunners completed a £68m deal for Crystal Palace and England star Eze after hijacking Tottenham’s move.

Eze was closing in on a move to Spurs when Arsenal swooped in and made him Mikel Arteta’s seventh signing of the summer.

Madueke will face even greater competition at Arsenal following the arrival of Eze but says strength in depth is needed for teams who ‘want to do something special’.

The former Chelsea winger, who joined Arsenal in a deal worth more than £50m, also backed Eze to do ‘fantastically well’ under Mikel Arteta.

‘Yeah, competition is great,’ he said on BBC Radio 5 Live after Arsenal thrashed Leeds United 5-0. ‘I think if you want to do something special it’s something you need.

‘But on another note, yeah, it’s great to have him here. He’s a great person and an even better player, so he’s going to do fantastically well, I’m sure.

Eze was unveiled to Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday before the 5-0 victory over Leeds

Madueke made his first Arsenal start in the comprehensive win and said it was a ‘fantastic’ day all round.

‘Proud to make my first start, especially in front of all the fans at the Emirates,’ he added. ‘Fantastic result, five goals, clean sheet, fantastic.’

Madueke also said he was delighted to see Viktor Gyokeres get off the mark after he attracted criticism for his performance in the opening-day win over Manchester United.

Arsenal paid £64m to sign Gyokeres from Sporting earlier in the summer and hope the Sweden international will take the Gunners to the next level following three successive second-place finishes.

ADVERTISEMENT

‘Looking at what he did last year, it’s clear he lives to score goals,’ Madueke said of Gyokeres. ‘So I’m so happy he got two today.

‘It’s going to fill him with confidence and the rest of us with confidence as well. So it’s a positive for him on an individual note and us as a collective.’

Madueke was replaced on the hour mark by Arsenal’s 15-year-old sensation Dowman, who became the club’s second-youngest player following Ethan Nwaneri.