Gary Neville surprised by £52m Arsenal transfer: ‘He’s a lot better than I thought’

Gary Neville has been impressed with Noni Madueke’s impact at Arsenal (Getty)

Gary Neville admits he has been surprised by Noni Madueke’s impact at Arsenal and has likened him to former Chelsea and Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben.

Arsenal came under fire from a section of their own fanbase over the decision to sign Madueke in a £52 million deal from Chelsea in the summer transfer window.

The 23-year-old showed glimpses of his talent at Chelsea but struggled for consistency and was even urged to show more application in training by Enzo Maresca last season.

However, Madueke has made a bright start to the new campaign and followed up an impressive performance in England’s 5-0 win against Serbia last Tuesday with another lively display in Arsenal’s 3-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

‘Madueke, Eze… when you think about Martinelli and Saka, you thought they would dominate the right and left wing of Arsenal for the next five, ten years,’ Neville said on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.

‘Yet you’re watching two players yesterday, obviously Saka will come back in and Martinelli will play games as well… but Madueke is a lot better than I imagined and thought he would be. And certainly a lot better than Arsenal fans thought he would be.

Noni Madueke dazzled in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest (Getty)

‘A couple of runs that he made for England on Tuesday night were a different level, they’re runs I thought, ‘ooh’. They’re runs… Arjen Robben used to make those runs against me.

‘I’m giving you players where they’re a sort of level where you think, ‘ooh, I’m up against it, this is a different type of player’. Sometimes you play against a winger and they’re dribbling at you and you know they’ve got a trick and you know that you’re going to be in for a different game, then you’ve got players who are a step above, a level above.

‘I’m not saying Madueke is there yet, but his movement and the things that he’s doing are very, very good, and I’m talking from a full-back’s perspective playing against it.

‘Eze looks like he’s got that little bit of something – he has got that something.’

Gary Neville has described Viktor Gyokeres as a ‘misfit’ in Arsenal’s attack (AP)

Neville also described Viktor Gyokeres as a ‘misfit’ in Arsenal’s squad but believes the 27-year-old, who has now scored three goals in four Premier League games, offers a much-needed difference in Mikel Arteta’s attack.

‘Gyokeres… good day for him. The problem is for Arsenal they’ve got so many silky players in Zubimendi, Odegaard, Madueke, Eze, and you look at Gyokeres and he’s a misfit. He’s a misfit for that group of players in a sense of he’s not technically amazing, but I actually like that sort of contrast, that idea of having this battering ram who is sort of ungainly and I think he’ll beat up small teams,’ Neville said.

‘Whether he’ll do it in the big games and score in the big games, not as sure. I think that the best defenders might handle him, we’ll see. But I think he’ll beat up smaller teams for Arsenal, that’s not a bad thing, scoring loads of goals, getting 20 goals this season which he could do, they don’t potentially have to be all against the big teams, but just early on seeing him be a real threat, a handful, and I think Arsenal need a bit of imperfection in their attack, maybe someone who can get it into the box a little bit quicker.

‘I actually thought he [Zubimendi] was as important to sign as Gyokeres. I saw Arsenal last season, I thought there were moments where Jorginho played where he just pops balls through lines, I’m not sure Declan Rice and Partey… it’s interesting how Declan Rice is now being used by Mikel Arteta and Thomas Tuchel in that advanced role, I actually think that’s where Declan Rice should be.

‘Zubimendi I thought they really needed that type of player, Arsenal. Receive it and pop it through to Odegaard a bit quicker, break the lines. I wasn’t expecting him score a volley or a header at the back post like we got yesterday, but that’s the quality of him, he’s got great technical ability.’

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