David Raya and Mikel Arteta used the same word to describe Noni Madueke, following the winger’s match-winning performance for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal’s Noni Madueke won the Player of the Match award with his substitute display against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, coming off the bench to score the winning goal.
The former Chelsea player has been shifted to the left-wing for the last couple of Premier League fixtures, and it’s going very well so far.
There had been some criticism of the 24-year-old prior to the switch, but he’s still clearly highly-rated internally, with both David Raya and Mikel Arteta referring to Madueke as ‘special’ following the game.
“He’s a special player and it’s going to be a special goal for him to get the win at such a difficult ground and such a difficult team,” Raya said. “So, I’m delighted for him.”
Arteta added in his post-match press conference: “Noni puts a smile on my face, because he’s a special character. Very much loved in and around the dressing room. The way he connects, talks to people, he’s just a special guy.
“I think I saw an interview where they were asking a few of our players ‘who would you call if you had a problem?’ and some of them said Noni. I was surprised by that! But that’s a massive credit and shows the exact sort of person he is.
“After the break, he’s shown something else – another level of anger and conviction in his actions, and he’s becoming now decisive in matches which is what we expect from our players.”
Arsenal will hope for another positive performance from Madueke away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, perhaps the team’s biggest test of the season so far.
Gunners fans may remember that Madueke scored his first Arsenal goal against Bayern last season. But that was at the Emirates Stadium, and it will be another level if he can win his team the game in Germany.
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