Emmanuel Petit urges Arsenal to sell £50m Madueke after four-goal debut season

Emmanuel Petit has publicly urged Arsenal to cut their losses on Noni Madueke, insisting the £50 million winger is ‘not good enough’ and that Mikel Arteta must prioritise new wide options in the summer transfer window.

Madueke joined from Chelsea last summer and, while Arsenal went on to win the Premier League title and reach the Champions League final, the England international contributed only four league goals — a return that Petit described as well below the standard required at the Emirates.

“I think it’s easy to know what Arsenal are missing — for me it’s wingers,” the former France international told talkSPORT. “You need to have strong and powerful wingers with technical skills that can make a difference. But before bringing in new players, they have to show some players the exit door too.”

Petit named Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus as others he would move on, while sparing Leandro Trossard. On Madueke specifically, he was unambiguous: “Noni Madueke, for me, isn’t good enough. I’m sorry to say that, but he must do much more than that to improve.”

The 45-year-old also called for Arsenal to add a striker with pace, technical quality and sharp movement, suggesting the squad still lacks a cutting edge in the final third despite their title success.

Madueke’s season was not without its brighter moments, and he has done enough to earn a place in England’s squad for the World Cup. He may even find himself in contention to start the Three Lions’ opening group game against Croatia, with Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka managing a minor injury heading into the tournament.

England manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed Saka is being carefully handled in training. “He is the one we are building and taking care of,” Tuchel said. “He is at the moment not able to do every training session through the week and then play. He is still going to be managed.” Tuchel added that it was “very unlikely” Saka would start and complete the full match against Croatia.

For Arsenal, the summer debate around their attacking options is only likely to intensify as Arteta weighs up which players form the core of a title defence.