Noni Madueke insists the support he has received from the Arsenal crowd has quickly drowned out the inflated online noise that greeted his arrival from Chelsea, after the winger scored his first goal for the club in Arsenal’s statement Champions League victory over Bayern Munich.
The £48.5m+ summer signing is still returning from a knee injury sustained in September and followed up his first appearance from the bench against Tottenham by finding the net in Wednesday night’s 3-1 win at the Emirates.
His finish, set up by Riccardo Calafiori, restored Arsenal’s lead after Bayern teenager Lennart Karl had cancelled out Jurrien Timber’s opener, before Gabriel Martinelli capitalised on a late error by Manuel Neuer.
Madueke’s move across London was briefly accompanied by a small online petition calling on Arsenal not to sign him, a campaign involving around 5,000 people from a global fanbase numbered in tens of millions, that was amplified by journalists who refuse to just let it go. The player says he barely gave the episode a second thought.
“To be honest, I just kind of take all that stuff in my stride,” he said. “It is normal, you are in the public eye, people can say whatever they want about you.
“I am not really worried about all of that. It is in the distant past.”
The winger said the atmosphere at the Emirates during the derby win over Tottenham underlined how quickly he has been embraced.
“Like the last game versus Tottenham, it was incredible,” he said. “I play on the side of the pitch, I can feel the fans, I can hear them. When they are that positive about me it gives me a massive boost.
“Honestly, I am made up about it.”
Madueke is now preparing for his first return to Stamford Bridge since leaving Chelsea, with Arsenal heading into the weekend top of the Premier League.
“For me, it is another game, honestly. The fixture is not about me,” he said. “The fixture is about Arsenal getting another three points in the league and being closer to our objective.
“That is honestly how I think about it.
“It might be a little bit hostile, it might not be, but I am a professional footballer. I have played in loads of atmospheres.
“I don’t know if anything will faze me, I will just be focused on the task ahead.
“That is the most important thing.
“It is about our team and trying to win the game. It’s as simple as that.”
Madueke’s goal against Bayern came with England head coach Thomas Tuchel in attendance, with the player admitting he had spoken to him only hours before kick-off.
“He told me he was in the stands and to be fair, I am probably going to run off to see if I can still catch him, Madueke said.
“But it is great he is here. I know he does a lot of work trying to get out to as many games as possible, trying to watch as many players as possible.
“I am made up that he saw my first goal, here, today.”
After the match, Madueke described the night as a marker for both himself and the team.
“It was a top night, a great night,” he said.
“A Champions League night, so it was perfect to get my first goal for the club and for the win on top. It’s a perfect night. It’s massive, it’s massive what we’re producing at the moment, not just in the Champions League but our domestic form, and we need to continue at this level and just keep it going.
“The level we’re playing at right now is incredible and we need to try and keep adapting, keep pushing it, keep pushing boundaries and that’s the only way we can stay there.”