Myles Lewis-Skelly has suggested Chelsea have made a mistake selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal.
Arsenal completed a somewhat surprising move for Madueke earlier in the month, paying Chelsea over £50m for the England winger.
Madueke, who has signed a five-year deal with Arsenal, made 92 appearances for Chelsea following a £30m move from PSV in January 2023.
The 23-year-old helped Chelsea qualify for the Champions League and win the Conference League last season and made his England debut last year.
Despite his talent, some have questioned Arsenal’s move for a player who is yet to hit double figures in a Premier League season and look set to play back-up to Bukayo Saka.
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But Lewis-Skelly, who signed a new five-year deal with Arsenal in June, has pointed out that Madueke can play on both flanks and insists his England teammate is going to help the Gunners ‘so much’.
‘Noni is my guy!’ Lewis-Skelly told Arsenal’s official website from the club’s pre-season tour. ‘We get on so well and we are so similar.
‘I’m really happy he’s joined us because even when I joined up with the national team, he made me feel so welcome. And so vice versa when he came here, I made him feel welcome as well.
‘He’s so direct, can play on the left or right wing. His qualities are going to help us out so much. I’m so excited to have him because he’s going to bring a lot to the team.’
Lewis-Skelly is not the only Arsenal player to have endorsed Madueke’s switch from west to north London.
Speaking after Arsenal’s pre-season friendly against AC Milan last week, Gunners midfielder Declan Rice said: ‘I know how driven he is.
‘I’ve spoken to him and you’re going to see what he’s about this season. He wants to prove and show everyone what he really can do.
‘He’s hungry, he wants to play for Arsenal and that’s the type of players we want. It’s so positive. He’s going to shock a lot of people and I can’t wait for him to come.
‘People have been speaking internally – the players, the staff. We know the player that we’re getting and we’re really looking forward to having him at our club. It’s going to be really exciting.’
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, added: ‘Noni is an exciting and powerful young player, with his performances and numbers in recent seasons being of consistently high quality.
‘He is one of the most talented wide forward players in the Premier League.
Who else have Arsenal signed this summer?
‘At just 23, Noni already brings experience of club and international football, and he knows the Premier League very well.
‘Having seen the quality of Noni’s performances up close in recent seasons, we’re really excited he is joining us. His arrival will really improve our squad.’
Madueke became Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer and second from Chelsea following the arrival of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Arsenal signed midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard before agreeing those two deals with Chelsea.
The Gunners have since confirmed the £63m signing of Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon and the £13m signing of Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia.
Following his move to the Emirates Stadium, Madueke said: ‘Humbled and blessed to be here. Thank you to everyone that made this possible.
‘I can’t wait to get on the pitch and start to repay the faith shown in me. It’s going to be so special.’
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