"Top level" - Gary Neville thinks former Chelsea star is much better for Arsenal

Gary Neville believes Arsenal may have finally got it right signing a player from Chelsea. The Gunners have a questionable track record when it comes to bringing talent from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates.

There were perhaps concerns that deja-vu would ensue once the club swooped for Noni Madueke in July. A £48.5m deal was met with some backlash from supporters who questioned the decision to sign a player who had been struggling for a regular starting berth under Enzo Maresca.

Madueke caught the eye with his early displays for Arsenal at the start of the season before this past week's international break. But his exploits for England have justified Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta's decision.

Neville admits Noni Madueke has surprised him

Madueke was the shining star for Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions in World Cup qualifying wins over Andorra (2-0) and Serbia (5-0). He was a bright spark on the right flank, forcing the opener against Andorra and getting on the scoresheet in the win away to a usually difficult Serbian team.

Neville waxed lyrical about the 23-year-old who has proven him and many others wrong. He told Ian Wright and others on Stick to Football:

“I want to talk about Noni Madueke. I’ll be honest with you, I’d seen him play quite a lot at Chelsea and when Arsenal signed him I thought, I can see why Chelsea sort of let him go. I tell you – what a different player at Arsenal, and in the England games in the last few weeks."

Madueke is without a goal or assist in his opening three games for Arsenal but has caught the eye everytime he's got the ball. This was touched on:

“Madueke looks like one hell of a player on the right, some of the runs he made were really top level. I was looking at it as a full-back and thinking, ‘oh, I didn’t know he had that’."

The former PSV Eindhoven winger will be one of Arteta's most important players in the coming weeks. Bukayo Saka is out injured meaning he'll undoubtedly be filling in for the Gunners' star man on the right wing.

Declan Rice foreshadowed Madueke shocking the likes of Neville

Madueke's transfer was so bizarrely criticised that it led to petitions that questioned the club's recruitment. But those doubters have been left with egg on their faces, including Neville.

Declan Rice always backed his English teammate to silence his critics and spoke of such confidence back in pre-season. He said (via TNT Sports):

"I've spoken to him and you're going to see what he's about this season. He wants to prove and show everyone what he really can do. He's hungry, he wants to play for Arsenal and that's the type of player we want. It's so positive. He's going to shock a lot of people and I can't wait for him to come."

Madueke will likely be in action on Saturday when Arteta's side hosts Nottingham Forest at the Emirates. He'll be keen to bag his first goal for the club and may relish doing so against Ange Postecoglou's Tricky Trees.

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