Noni Madueke cleverly took advantage of the time. When the match against Leeds was about 20 minutes away from starting, he saw Bukayo Saka injured and had to leave the field into the tunnel. Just a pat on the shoulder, Madueke immediately participated in attacking exercises with other Arsenal starters.
His presence in Arsenal's starting lineup at Elland Road was only confirmed about 10 minutes before the match. And 40 minutes later, Madueke had a goal and an assist - his first direct contributions in the Premier League after moving from Chelsea to Arsenal.
He was ready. Because you can't do it in just 2 minutes. The way he prepared, the way he waited for the opportunity, and that was rewarded today because it really created a big impact" - Mikel Arteta said about Madueke.
Taking advantage of time is the highlight of Madueke's season so far. This winger can play on both wings, but he has to be patient because the stable form of Saka and Leandro Trossard in those positions limits his playing opportunities.
The knee injury at the beginning of the season did not help his development. Besides, Madueke was pushed to the bench for 3 consecutive Premier League matches right after scoring an impressive double in the Champions League against Club Brugge.
However, despite doubts and criticism from a part of the fans when he joined the club, Madueke's performance in Arsenal's colors is generally still quite positive.
Being called up at the last minute for the match against Leeds is not the first time he has made an impression in a short period of time. In the Champions League, Madueke once scored very quickly after coming on as a substitute in the match against Bayern Munich.
If you look closely at the numbers in the Premier League, you can also see encouraging signs. No player in the Premier League has an average number of touches in the opponent's penalty area more than Madueke this season. He is also in the leading group in terms of successful dribbling, number of penetrations into the penalty area and number of accurate crosses into the 16m50 area.
Another aspect Madueke contributed is in set pieces, when he topped the Premier League in the number of clear chances created from set pieces every 90 minutes.
Goals and assists at Elland Road both came from set pieces, but Madueke was also excellent in creating those situations from the start, when he won more corner kicks than any other player in the league this season.
Even Leeds coach Daniel Farke admitted after the match: "Defensive situations are a big problem for us. We have given the opponent too many chances.
The performance at Elland Road showed that Madueke is a threat not only in situations where he doesn't need to finish immediately, but also in one-on-one situations.
Many people think that Madueke was wrong to come to Arsenal, where Saka was already in. There are also opinions that Chelsea was "greedy" when selling him, especially when Estevao arrived and was expected to replace him.
However, Madueke shows that he often creates more danger in the penalty area than the young Brazilian player, as well as compared to Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens - other wingers that Chelsea has invested in in the summer of 2025.
Although Arsenal has met Chelsea twice this season, Madueke has not really had a chance to face his old team. He only came on in the last few minutes in the Premier League match in November last year, before not being used in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
In the second leg, attention will be focused on Madueke, in the context that Saka is not sure to play, although Arteta described his injury as not too serious.
This is an opportunity for Madueke to prove not only why Arsenal was right to sign him, but also why Chelsea may have been wrong to let him leave.
