Arsenal beat Hull City on Saturday, with Martin Ødegaard scoring the only goal after Noni Madueke’s shot was parried by Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Tuchel on the England omission
Noni Madueke had been overlooked by England manager Thomas Tuchel for the second camp in succession. Tuchel did not call up Madueke for England’s November Nations League fixtures, describing the decision as a “difficult decision” and “a close call.”
Heading into the September international break, Madueke had played a combined 42 minutes in the Premier League and Champions League that season. After being left out of England’s fall roster, he took a personal trainer with him on a warm weather break to work on his individual game.
Madueke’s route into the first team
Madueke’s first-team run was partly caused by Christos Tzolis pulling up while on international duty with Greece, Bukayo Saka suffering a popped quadricep and Max Dowman receiving a red card.
A petition under the tag NoToMadueke received more than 5,000 verified signatures before Madueke arrived from Chelsea in the summer of 2025.
Across the week back at London Colney, Mikel Arteta described Madueke as “the best player” in training. Arteta also said: “He gave me no option not to select him.”
Performance and personal outlook
During the match, Madueke led all players for shots, dribbles and touches in the opposition box. He had one Premier League assist in his Arsenal career.
Arteta said: “I haven’t liked too much what he was doing, and it was impacting the game” and added: “That’s Noni and that’s his mindset.”
Madueke once reflected: “Being a footballer is not all highs. In fact, it’s 50% lows.” The winger also said he lives by what he calls a “healthy delusion”, the willful ignorance that allows him to go into every duel as if it is his first of the match. He said: “When that delusion comes in, I feel like that’s when you can really reach new heights. You need it as a football player. You need it.”
