Arsenal: Gary Neville suggests Bukayo Saka switch to help Noni Madueke thrive | OneFootball

Arsenal: Gary Neville suggests Bukayo Saka switch to help Noni Madueke thrive | OneFootball

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Evening Standard

·11 September 2025

Arsenal: Gary Neville suggests Bukayo Saka switch to help Noni Madueke thrive

Gambar artikel:Arsenal: Gary Neville suggests Bukayo Saka switch to help Noni Madueke thrive

Could Gunners swap their star man to the left when he returns with summer signing currently shining for both club and country on the right?

Gambar artikel:Arsenal: Gary Neville suggests Bukayo Saka switch to help Noni Madueke thrive

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Gary Neville has suggested that Bukayo Saka could switch positions at Arsenal to bring the best out of Noni Madueke.

Madueke started both games under Thomas Tuchel and shone on the right wing in the 5-0 win in Belgrade on Tuesday night, raising the possibility that there could be a dilemma for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in the weeks ahead.

The 23-year-old, signed from the Chelsea in the summer, is set to line up on the right in the absence of Saka, but Neville believes Madueke deserves to keep his place even when Arsenal's star man returns to fitness.

Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast, Neville said: "He's obviously a lot better on the right and that was clear when Saka went off the other week. Could Saka play on the left?

"[Gabriel] Martinelli's struggling a little bit on that left-hand side, could Saka go back on the left and leave Madueke where he is?

"You can see quite clearly Madueke looks a hell of a player on that right-hand side. (Against Serbia) some of his runs were really top level.

"I was looking at it as a full-back and thinking, 'Oh, I didn't know he had that, I didn't know he had that'.

"He's the young kid. Saka's the experienced one and the best player, let's be clear. Does the best player swap with him and do half an hour on the left and switch over a bit?"

Arsenal legend Ian Wright, however, responded: "Don't ask me about Saka playing on the left, I'm not even commenting on that.

"With everything that Saka has done up to this point on the right, you'd move Saka on the left and move Madueke on the right?"

Madueke arrived in a £52million deal in July to provide competition for Saka, who also had a serious hamstring problem last season.

While some questioned Arsenal's decision to spend that amount of money on Madueke, Neville suggested the move is already paying off for the winger.

"I’ll be honest with you, when Arsenal signed him, I’d seen him play quite a lot at Chelsea," Neville said. "I thought, 'I can see why Chelsea sort of let him go'.

“I tell you, what a different player at Arsenal and in the England games in the last few weeks.”

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