In the summer of 2025, Arsenal officially announced the successful signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea with a transfer fee of up to £52 million. The 23-year-old player signed a 5-year contract, valid until 2030.
Madueke became the Gunners' fourth signing in the summer transfer window, after Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga. Arsenal are also actively negotiating with Cristhian Mosquera ( Valencia) and Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting), while their individual terms with Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) are said to be complete.
However, the Madueke deal unexpectedly faced great criticism from Arsenal fans. The reason is that this former striker did not play very impressively at Chelsea, with a record of only scoring 12 goals in the last 2 seasons in the Premier League.
Things exploded when the Hashtag #NoToMadueke became a trend on the X platform, along with a petition attracting thousands of signatures calling on the team to abandon this deal. Some wall paintings near the Emirates Stadium were vandalized and criticized even against coach Mikel Arteta.
In response to strong opposition from Arsenal fans, Madueke made some very familiar statements to please the new fans. He shared: It was very fun and exciting to get started working. It's great to be home, close to my parents.
I spoke to Declan, Myles, Bukayo and even Jurrien. They all say wonderful things about the club and the culture here. Arsenal fans, I really hope to meet you at the Emirates....
Of course, Noni Madueke will always have to be positive because he is a new player. However, the Rio Ferdinand legend was unhappy with the behavior of Arsenal fans: A 23-year-old English football player was defamed, bullied, and humiliated at this time. This should have been the time for Arsenal fans to celebrate a £52 million deal.
I just hope Noni Madueke will ward off all these negative things from impersonators. No matter what happens in the future, I wish Noni good luck.
