Noni Madueke goes into Arsenal’s biggest afternoon of the season with an ankle problem, a manager saying he “needs to make that click” and no other natural right winger left in the squad.
Arsenal kick off at Anfield at 4.30pm today with Bukayo Saka out with a quad injury and 16-year-old Max Dowman starting a three-match ban. That leaves Madueke, who missed Tuesday’s Carabao Cup exit at Fleetwood Town, as the one recognised option on that flank. He is reported to have travelled north with Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis, but we won’t know if he makes the squad until the teams come out.
The stakes went up on Saturday. Manchester City lost 1-0 to Brighton, so a win would take Arsenal to 24 points, three clear of Enzo Maresca’s side. Against that, the Gunners haven’t won a league game at Anfield since 2012, and Liverpool have won five in a row under Andoni Iraola.
The wider picture is in our Liverpool vs Arsenal preview. This is about the one selection call that could shape the next few weeks, and our view is simple: if that ankle holds, Madueke has to start.
What did Arteta really say about Noni Madueke?
He didn’t dress it up. Asked at Friday’s press conference about Madueke realising his potential, Mikel Arteta said: “He’s getting closer but he needs to do it.” Then came the line that stuck with us, that “he needs to make that click”, the thing that separates the top players from the rest.
There was a kinder side to it. Arteta talked up his attitude in training and admitted the winger hasn’t always been handled ideally: “Sometimes we ask him to play when he’s not playing regularly, and that’s a bit unfair as well.” His conclusion was the important part: “Now he’s got a great opportunity ahead of him.”
That’s an honest thing to say about someone you may need badly two days later. It also happens to be accurate. Ask which of Arsenal’s attackers you would bet on today and the list is short. Martin Odegaard has been brilliant, Dowman isn’t available, and after that you’re looking at Madueke.
On the ankle itself, Arteta’s answer on Friday was “We don’t know yet”, with Saturday’s session to decide it. Asked if he was ruling him out, he replied: “Noni? No.” The problem isn’t thought to be serious, and we expect him to be involved.
Why this run matters more than one game at Anfield
Because the opportunity Arteta described doesn’t end at full-time. Dowman also misses Hull City on 7 November and Newcastle United on 21 November, while Saka needed a further scan to check whether the tendon has been touched. Asked if Saka will miss England duty, Arteta said it “looks like it”.
So the right wing could be Madueke’s for a while. He has given Arteta reasons to trust him lately: he played all 90 minutes in the 2-0 win over Everton, moved across to cover for Saka against Bayern Munich, and came off the bench to win it at Nottingham Forest on 18 October.
Even so, we wouldn’t oversell that. The goal at Forest was a heavily deflected shot ten minutes from time, and Arsenal’s only effort on target all day. What Gooners want now is simple: goals, and more than one good week in a row. As Arteta put it, he is close, but close doesn’t win at Anfield.
Should Arsenal swap Eze and Madueke?
It’s a fair question, and one that doesn’t get asked enough. Eberechi Eze has been filling in on the left since Tzolis picked up his injury with Greece on 1 October, and Madueke has also done a shift out there in recent weeks. Eze is right-footed, and Madueke tends to hold the touchline better, so there’s an argument for flipping them.
We just wouldn’t start with it today. Anfield isn’t the place to try something new from the first whistle. As a change around the hour mark, with Liverpool tiring and the game stretching, it could be a very handy card to play.
What if the ankle gives way?
This is where it gets uncomfortable. Tzolis is the obvious stand-in, with 26 club games on the right, six goals and five assists from there. But he hasn’t played since 1 October, and his Arsenal numbers this season are two assists and no goals in 362 minutes. The bench looks more realistic.
Then there is Kai Havertz, who has played 53 times as a right winger, although not since his Chelsea days in 2022-23. Arteta says he has “full trust” in him, but we’ve already been through the 561 goalless minutes. Moving Odegaard wide and rejigging the midfield is another route, and even a back three isn’t out of the question.
If Arteta has to experiment, we’d want it to make Arsenal harder to beat. They’ve conceded just five league goals in eight games, and that’s the strength to lean on, rather than shoving Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres into one team and hoping.
Why Calafiori might matter just as much
The other flank deserves a mention. With Arteta and Iraola both so organised, this could easily turn into a congested game through the middle, with the striker isolated and wingers doubled up on. In those games, the full-back is often the man with room to do something.
That’s why Calafiori’s return to training on Friday matters. He may not be the best pure defender in the back line, but he and Odegaard staying fit have been a big part of Arsenal’s good start. If he isn’t ready, Myles Lewis-Skelly or Piero Hincapie would come in, and a lot of that attacking threat goes with him.
Verdict: Noni Madueke has to start, but he shouldn’t have to carry this
If he got through Saturday, he plays. There’s no better option, and Arteta has all but told him this is his moment.
What shouldn’t be lost is how Arsenal got here. Tzolis was the only attacker they brought in over the summer, and the champions’ right wing now hangs on a banned 16-year-old and a winger with a sore ankle. That’s not on the kid, and it’s not really on Madueke either. It’s squad planning.
Arteta knows what’s on the line today: “It’s 14 years that we haven’t won there, so it’s time to do it.” A big performance from Madueke would go a long way towards that, and it might just be the click his manager has been waiting for.
