Arsenal crowd reaction to Noni Madueke speaks volumes after brutal transfer petition

ARSENAL 3-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Noni Madueke impressed as the Gunners returned from the international break in style following goals from Martin Zubimendi (two) and Viktor Gyokeres

Just two months ago, a petition titled #NoToMadueke began trending online. It was a ruthless rallying cry from a collection of outspoken Arsenal supporters, who were strongly opposed to the signing of Noni Madueke.

How stupid must they have felt here as the Barnet-born 23-year-old was running rings around Nottingham Forest full-back Morato and the Clock End was bellowing out his name. There is no getting away from the fact his Arsenal arrival raised eyebrows, it was a total bolt from the blue and an addition that threatened to reshape Mikel Arteta's reputation where big recruitment decisions were concerned.

But on the basis of the past week, the shock capture of the attacker was an initial £48.5million well spent. Perhaps it's no great surprise a Premier League football manager knows more about what his team needs than faceless trolls on social media.

Arteta's faith and belief in Madueke is already rubbing off on the England international. There were signs of real promise at Anfield before the break when he asked serious questions of Milos Kerkez.

Madueke then backed that up by impressing against Andorra for England and then notching his first Three Lions goal in the 5-0 demolition of Serbia in Belgrade. It's plain to see the juices are now flowing and the confidence is pumping through Madueke's veins.

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In the first half alone against Forest, no player on the field completed more dribbles (three) or created more chances (three) than the ex-Chelsea forward. With Declan Rice dropped to the bench, Madueke also took it upon himself to grab the ball and swing in corners.

It fact, it was his cross that was headed out for Martin Zubimendi's sweetly-struck opener - it was a reward for Madueke's industry, energy and creative spark because he'd persistently looked like the player that was going to unlock the door. You almost felt for Morato, playing his first minutes of the season following Ola Aina's hamstring, as he was turned inside out and looked out of his depth. In truth, it was a slight surprise Ange Postecoglou did not make a change at the interval to spare the Brazilian's blushes as it was a mismatch. Bukayo Saka remains irreplaceable at Arsenal but Madueke's skillset, cute dribbling and ability to cut back inside onto his left foot from the right flank is helping the Gunners cope in the absence of their talisman.

Much like Saka, Madueke can go inside or outside and is now slowly developing his final product into something more polished. Even at Chelsea, few doubted the former PSV Eindhoven winger's quality - it was just a case of performing consistently and the consistency has been there so far this season.

All of Arteta's big-name signings have been hits. Viktor Gyokeres now has three top-flight goals from his first four outings, Eberechi Eze grabbed an assist on his first Gunners start, Martin Zubimendi bagged a rare brace while Cristhian Mosquera excelled at the heart of defence alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.

If they eventually fall short, rivals are unlikely to forget that Arsenal spent club-record cash this summer but you have to say, their business has been vindicated to date and that is credit to Arteta.

Madueke is already building a red-hot understanding with full-back Jurrien Timber and even if Saka was to magically return to fitness next week, it would be difficult to justify dropping him because he's been razor sharp.

He left the field on 79 minutes to a standing ovation and nobody can dispute he looks a real asset to this Arsenal side - even though there is still so much to improve on.

Come the full-time whistle, the England starlet created more chances (five), completed the most dribbles (four) and won more duels (nine) than anyone else on the field. It is hard to argue with those kind of numbers.

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