Gary Neville wowed by Arsenal signing who is actually ‘a lot better’ than he thought
Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Sunday in a free-flowing performance at the Emirates Stadium to bounce back from losing to Liverpool.
The international break gave Mikel Arteta and his players the chance to reflect and grow from their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given believes Arsenal can win the league this season as a result of their improved strength in depth.
Viktor Gyokeres got on the scoresheet again while Martin Zubimendi scored a brace as well. Yet, it was the pace and trickery on the wings from Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke that gave Arsenal a dynamic they didn’t have last season.
Noni Madueke has been a revelation at Arsenal this season
Against Liverpool, Madueke had little success against Milos Kerkez but he more than found his groove against Forest. Gary Lineker said Madueke was “probably the best player on the pitch” after the former Chelsea star wreaked havoc down the right.
Despite not scoring or assisting, the English winger’s pace, skill on the ball and direct approach was key to Arsenal’s win.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Sunday, Gary Neville revealed that Madueke is “a lot better” than he initially gave him credit for.
“When you thought about Martinelli and Saka you thought they would dominate the left and right wing of Arsenal for the next five, ten years,” Neville said.
“And yet you’re watching two players yesterday – and obviously Saka will come back in and so will Martinelli – but Madueke’s a lot better than I imagined and thought he would be. Certainly better than Arsenal fans thought he would be.
“Couple of runs he made for England on Tuesday night were a different level. They were runs where I thought: ‘Ooh.'”
Arsenal arguably have greater depth than Liverpool now
While Liverpool’s massive summer spending rightly stole the headlines, Arsenal quietly went about their business and now have one of the best squads in recent club history.
Most importantly, Arsenal didn’t release too many players and now have the numbers and the quality to really push Liverpool this season.
Last season, when Bukayo Saka was out seriously injured, it derailed Arsenal’s season completely. Arteta’s side struggled to win games as a result.
Now, they are able to name a front three of Eze, Gyokerez and Madueke if Saka is unfit. Of course, Arteta now has a massive selection headache on his hands when he is back.