{"id":9668,"date":"2026-05-09T22:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T22:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=9668"},"modified":"2026-05-09T22:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T22:42:01","slug":"noni-madueke-names-his-toughest-opponent-at-arsenal-and-chelsea-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=9668","title":{"rendered":"Noni Madueke names his &#8216;toughest opponent&#8217; at Arsenal and Chelsea | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d.png?w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28299889\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Noni Madueke joined Arsenal from Chelsea last summer (Picture: Sky Sports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Noni Madueke has revealed the \u2018toughest opponent\u2019 he has faced during his career so far at Premier League clubs Arsenal and Chelsea.<\/p>\n<p>Madueke made close to 100 appearances for Chelsea after being signed from PSV in 2023, helping the Blues qualify for the Champions League and win the Conference League last season.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal agreed to pay London rivals Chelsea over \u00a350m for the England international last summer, with a large section of fans sceptical about the value of such a deal.<\/p>\n<p>Madueke has not been a guaranteed starter under Mikel Arteta but has still played a part in Arsenal challenging for the Premier League title and reaching the final of the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>The 24-year-old has come up against some of the best players in Europe but views Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk as his \u2018toughest opponent\u2019 to date.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I would\u00a0probably say\u00a0Virgil van Dijk,\u2019 Madueke told Sky Sports. \u2018He\u2019s\u00a0just so big and fast so\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0difficult to get in behind him.\u00a0I would probably\u00a0say\u00a0him, for sure.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Playing against players\u00a0like that is good competition, you want to test yourself against the best,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0the mindset you\u00a0have to\u00a0have going into the game.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2274591496.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=594\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28300220\" alt=\"Arsenal FC v Atletico de Madrid - UEFA Champions League 2025\/26 Semi Final Second Leg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Madueke in action for Premier League leaders Arsenal (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s football at the highest\u00a0level so it\u2019s definitely fun to test yourself against\u00a0those type of players.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Discussing his move from Chelsea to Arsenal, Madueke added: \u2018I just believed Arsenal\u00a0were going to win trophies so\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0why I\u00a0moved.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The England boys helped me a lot, I was already close to\u00a0them\u00a0so it was great. The whole club helped me though, everyone in and around the club was helpful.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275292248.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=594\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28300247\" alt=\"Liverpool v Chelsea - Premier League\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s\u00a0full of good people and people who want to work hard and achieve something. It was easy in that sense.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Madueke\u2019s Arsenal teammate Declan Rice is one of the frontunners to win the PFA Premier League Player of the Year award after a brilliant season in north London.<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether he believes Rice deserves the award, Madueke said: \u2018Yeah, definitely. I hope he wins it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Look at how consistent\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0been this season.\u00a0Those type of trophies\u00a0depend on team success as well as individual performances but if we\u00a0win\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sure he has a real chance.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019ve\u00a0known him for a few years now and\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0a top, top person and a top player,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0got a great vibe about him off the\u00a0pitch\u00a0and on the pitch\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0obviously a top player and a leader.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid last time out to reach their first Champions League final in 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta\u2019s side return to action on Sunday with another crucial Premier League fixture against relegation-battlers and London rivals West Ham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on <meta charset=\"utf-8\"\/><br \/>\n<strong>Facebook,\u00a0<\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Metro_Sport\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Pep Guardiola sends title message to Arsenal after Man City beat Brentford<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: \u2018So weak\u2019 \u2013 Michael Carrick urged to sell Man Utd star after Sunderland draw<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Michael Carrick names Man Utd star who was \u2018isolated\u2019 during Sunderland draw<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\">\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/> Noni Madueke names his &#8216;toughest opponent&#8217; at Arsenal and Chelsea | Football<br \/>\n<br \/>#Noni #Madueke #names #toughest #opponent #Arsenal #Chelsea #Football<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Noni Madueke joined Arsenal from Chelsea last summer (Picture: Sky Sports) Noni Madueke has revealed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[361,363,317,5005,324,5004,4077,8115],"class_list":["post-9668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-arsenal","tag-chelsea","tag-football","tag-madueke","tag-names","tag-noni","tag-opponent","tag-toughest"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901.png",1200,630,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901-300x158.png",300,158,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901-768x403.png",640,336,true],"large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901-1024x538.png",640,336,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901.png",1200,630,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901.png",1200,630,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901-1024x538.png",1024,538,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/madueke-136d_1778338901-540x340.png",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/news678.top\/?cat=6\" rel=\"category\">Sports<\/a>","tag_info":"Sports","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}