The 2025-26 season has been a rollercoaster for everyone at Arsenal, but few of their players have endured more twists and turns than Noni Madueke.Last May, the England international helped Chelsea win the UEFA Conference League in Poland before leaving their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the U.S. early to sign for Arsenal in July. In a transfer saga indicative of the current football discourse, Madueke was subject to petitions from Arsenal fans who did not want the club to sign yet another Chelsea player.Of the reaction, Madueke told reporters: “All that stuff is irrelevant. I don’t think we worry about that stuff too much. We’ve got to handle things on the pitch. We’ll leave the bragging rights to the fans.”Like Madueke, Arsenal stuck to their guns. In him, they found much-needed cover for their star man, Bukayo Saka, as well as an MC for their title-winning celebrations in the early hours of Wednesday, May 20.Speaking about how dealing with that competition has been this season, Madueke told reporters last week: “It’s been different, but B (Saka) is a top player. We fight on all fronts — it’s the same for England and Arsenal — but we know that we’re pulling in the same direction.“It looks like that’s going to be our gig for the foreseeable (with the World Cup).“It’s amazing to have two high-level players, but completely different. There’s definitely parts of his game I try to implement. He would probably say the same. We’re so close off the pitch and that’s made for a great season.”Madueke has started 27 of the 42 appearances he has made. Saka has made 48 appearances, starting 36 times. Both have had injury issues, and it was during Saka’s first spell out with a hamstring injury in September that fans first warmed to the latest player to trade west London for north.Madueke’s arrival has allowed rotation with Saka (Glyn Kirk/ AFP via Getty Images)A different type of winger to Saka, Madueke’s more direct dribbling galvanised those inside the Emirates Stadium against Nottingham Forest so much that they were chanting his name at 0-0. Seconds later, a corner he won was cleared to Martin Zubimendi, whose cleanly-struck volley put Arsenal 1-0 up.Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Bournemouth in January showed how both him and Saka could impact a game, as they each had different types of contributions to goals from the right wing. Madueke also stepped up when Arsenal’s No 7 was injured in the warm-up away to Leeds United in January, scoring direct from a corner and assisting Zubimendi.Saka and Madueke both withdrew from England’s March international squad with respective Achilles and knee issues, but Madueke recovered in time to start both Champions League quarter-final legs against Sporting CP.From an England perspective, manager Thomas Tuchel has cited Madueke being accustomed to having to make an impact off the bench as well as him and Saka coming off the back of trophy-winning seasons as reasons for his World Cup selection.Their seasons could still get better with Arsenal’s Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain this weekend. Madueke, who is expected to be fit for Saturday’s showpiece, was not at the club when the sides met in last year’s semi-finals but since signing, some of his best moments have come in Europe.In March, Mikel Arteta’s big call to bring on Madueke for Saka on the hour-mark away to Leverkusen paid off as the 24-year-old won what proved to be a vital penalty at the death.Asked what the Arsenal manager has improved in his game, Madueke said: “He has helped me to be diligent. He’s helped me to really care about, really little details that count a lot towards winning. Winning games and fighting for major trophies.”Madueke with Arteta in training (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)Fellow summer signing Eberechi Eze has spoken about the intense demands of his new manager, while Declan Rice has also said he often relishes watching new signings get to grips with the minutiae behind what happens on the pitch.While he has made important contributions, the winger’s debut season has shown some teething issues. His form has been inconsistent, with his direct approach sometimes seeing him run out of space to supply a final ball, or the final ball not being precise. To play that way, though, a winger needs licence to make mistakes.Reflecting on this campaign, Madueke says his favourite moment was his first Arsenal goal, which came in the 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in November. Objectively, his best goal in Arsenal colours was the long-range strike that put them 1-0 up away to Club Brugge in December.He did score on the final day of the Premier League season, but Madueke’s mind had moved on to Budapest well before the sunny afternoon at Selhurst Park.“It’s definitely better that we won the Premier League before the Champions League final, but I don’t know if we’d be thinking about that,” he said. “The Premier League will be irrelevant (during the final) and we’ll be fully focused on the Champions League to bring that to north London as well.“It’s separate (the mindset). The pressure of the Champions League is there, but pressure is with us all the time. This is Arsenal Football Club. One of the biggest teams in England. The Champions League is of course the big one. So we’re looking forward to it. “To be able to do that for the first time in the history of the club would be amazing. The support in the last few weeks was great. The flares and all of the fans banging on the buses definitely gave us that little push that we needed, that little edge. “To celebrate it with all the Arsenal fans would be the cherry on top.”May 26, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms