When the links started getting serious for him that summer, it felt like I was spending half my life on the internet defending the move.
At the time, the skepticism wasn't hard to understand. Arsenal were going back to the Chelsea well yet again, and the optics of spending big on a rotational winger rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Some of the reaction was over the top (and wrong) but the timing of the transfer felt like a huge let down compared to the shiner and flashier names people had in mind.
When I wrote about him being a luxury backup back in July 2025, a lot of the pushback came down to bias and price tag rather than what the underlying profile and data was pointing towards. On the spreadsheets, he was one of the few available players who could offer genuine, natural cover on both wings without forcing someone out of position. He was also the combination of already having good Premier League experience combined with raw ball-carrying and shooting numbers that jumped off the page, giving you the rare package of a reasonable floor but with solid upside if everything clicked.
Still, the first season for him was just okay. He never fully found his rhythm or made a spot on the team his own, and he most certainly never went boom. He showed flashes of promise and made positive contributions across his 1,800-plus minutes in the Premier League and Champions League, but the things that have always made him a frustrating player remained.
Most annoyingly to me, he lost a bit too much of the chaos factor. When I did my initial stats scouting deep dive on Madueke, what made me optimistic about the signing was that he was unlike any of the other players that Arsenal had and that he was a player that wasn’t afraid to try something, he was a direct, high-volume shooter who relentlessly attacked his fullback and forced defenses to account for him.
I had been willing to let myself put up with some of the questionable decision-making and loose final-third possession as long as he brought that willingness to pull the trigger. Instead, the shot volume that he showed (and I craved) at Chelsea didn’t come with him in year one. He looked like a player trying a little too hard to absorb the tactical instructions from Mikel Arteta that he lost some of the freedom in his play.
There was never any polling on the matter, but I think that a sizable portion of the Arsenal fanbase would have been comfortable saying thank you for the contributions on helping win the title, while quietly being willing to see him move on this past summer if a shiny new winger was coming in the door.
I am glad that wasn’t the case.
The overall change in the numbers on the radar isn’t drastic but the improvement has come in the areas that make the biggest impact on the pitch and that has helped turn a frustrating rotation piece into a genuine difference-maker.
His shots between the Premier League and Europe were 1.97 per 90, this season he has upped that to 2.41. This has also come without a drop in his average shots quality and in fact it has increase ever so slightly going from 9% per shot to 10% and that means that his xG per 90 has risen from 0.17 to 0.21. There is still room for him to get back up to his 3.41 shots and 0.44 xG from his last season at Chelsea but I will take this step up in production within Arsenal's structure.
Where he has really leveled up, though, is in what happens when he doesn't shoot.
Last season, when defenses collapsed on his attempt to cut-inside, the play often died in the box or ended in a low-percentage cross attempt. This season, his creative numbers are showing the same improvement as his shooting. Last season he assisted 1.03 shots from open play per 90 and this season he has more than doubled it to 2.53. That has boosted his shot assisted xG numbers as well going from 0.09 per 90 to 0.24 per 90.
That combination of restored shooting aggression and sharper final-ball selection is what makes him so much harder to defend right now. Fullbacks can't just sit on his left foot anymore knowing he's either going to force a contested shot or turn back into traffic. His ability to beat his man is up, it is harder to take it off of him and he is getting into better and more central locations, more often.
This extra end product has also seen him push up the expected threat leaderboard in the Premier League.
It's still early enough in the campaign that we want to see this continue over a larger sample, and a larger load to carry. If he can continue this production or even bump up the numbers ever so slightly, the debate around whether he was worth the fee is going to look pretty silly by May.
Nice summation. These type of players are always going to cost a lot. That is the reality of where Arsenal currently exist. We have to continue developing young players, as well.
The question I have is related to Eze. Why did we not go after Olise? That type of attacking player is what we have needed.
Eze is a very good player. But he seems to be more of a 10, than 7 or 11. Is he Odegaard's understudy? If so, has he already been written off? We bought a box to box playmaker in Guimaraes. Zubimendi was tremendous last year, until he hit the wall for minutes played. I would make the argument that Rice did, as well. I thought that late in the season his touch, decision making and attacking runs were all off. Again due to being over used.
It seems like Arteta is doing a better job of squad rotation this season. I'm sure it's because he has more "toys" in his pram. I am curious to see how he handles Konsa once Saliba is back. Perhaps he can figure a way to rest Gabriel (imho the best centerback in the world!). I also hate to see Mosquera missing out on PT.
I thought his first season was good for a backup. He did what he needed to do: maintain a level of production on the right while Saka was injured.
Glad to see him going a step above that and showing more maturity and awareness after he beats his man. Long may it continue.