LONDON — “Being a footballer is not all highs,” Noni Madueke once reflected. “In fact, it’s 50% lows.”

Arsenal’s arm wrestle of a contest against Hull City on Saturday had threatened to be one of those lows. The defending Premier League champions were held goalless for more than an hour by the wonderfully organized promoted visitors, toiling away in front of a meaty wall of blue fabric.

Madueke, himself, had epitomized the hosts’ frustrations, bickering with his teammate Jurriën Timber as the pair repeatedly found themselves confounded by the efforts of Elliot Stroud. Having been surprisingly overlooked by England manager Thomas Tuchel for the second camp in succession, a long two weeks stretched out ahead of the winger.

But the 24-year-old kept at it, forever ferreting toward goal in the hope that this time, his jink would work. Eventually, it did. After 72 minutes of endeavor, Madueke got his reward, finding a rare chink in Hull’s armor to rattle off a fizzing shot which Konstantinos Tzolakis parried to the feet of Martin Ødegaard for the game’s only goal.

Even two squandered chances to swell the scoreline played into the way this contest served as the perfect environment to demonstrate Madueke’s greatest quality: his character.

Madueke’s Message to Tuchel—and Arteta—Began Two Months Ago

Heading into the September international break, Madueke had amassed a combined 42 minutes in the Premier League and Champions League this season despite being fit and available for every match. If Mikel Arteta wasn’t going to pick him for Arsenal, the World Cup squad player had little hope of getting called up by England.

“I haven’t liked too much what he was doing, and it was impacting the game” Mikel Arteta bluntly pointed out.

When Madueke was left off Tuchel’s fall roster, he took a personal trainer with him on a warm weather break to work on his individual game. “That’s Noni and that’s his mindset,” Arteta would later beam with the warm glow of a proud father.

During that elongated hiatus, Madueke’s individual regimen paid off. Across the week back at London Colney, Arteta described his snubbed forward as “the best player” in training. “He gave me no option not to select him.” There has been little option to drop him thereafter.

Madueke’s run of first-team action is in part down to circumstance. The left footer got his shot against Leeds United last month on the left wing after Christos Tzolis pulled up while on international duty with Greece. Bukayo Saka’s popped quadricep opened up a slot on the right wing which Max Dowman’s red card has left entirely unmanned aside from Madueke. Yet, you still need to take the opportunities that have fallen your way. Madueke’s attitude helps him ignore the ones he’s missed.

Madueke’s ‘Healthy Delusion’ Pays Off

Madueke lives by what he calls a “healthy delusion” that willful ignorance which allows him to go into every duel as if it is his first of the match. Stroud demonstrated within the opening exchanges that he could match Madueke’s burst of acceleration and was all too aware of his desire to cut onto his stronger left foot, but that didn’t stop the winger from running at him with undiluted enthusiasm.

“When that delusion comes in,” he once explained, “I feel like that’s when you can really reach new heights. You need it as a football player. You need it.”

It was that confidence which convinced him to join Arsenal in the face of a vicious fan backlash. A cruel online petition under the tag NoToMadueke received more than 5,000 verified signatures before his arrival from Chelsea in the summer of 2025. That same “extreme faith in your ability,” to use his own words, allowed him to keep running at Stroud on Saturday. Hull’s wingback was belatedly worn down by Madueke’s wriggling, standing off just that little too far as the forward blasted a low shot toward the bottom corner which eventually provided the breakthrough.

Madueke didn’t stop there, emboldened if anything by the opener to carry on sprinting. Stroud’s last action was a cynical foul on his opposite number, collecting a yellow card while on the turf awaiting treatment for cramp which would conclude his afternoon. The Sweden international had been beaten physically and psychologically by that point, his body and brain pounded to mush as he took an age to trudge around the pitch’s perimeter.

Madueke’s Game vs. Hull in Numbers

• Mins: 90
• Goals: 0
• Assists: 0
• Shots: 4
• Chances Created: 4
• Dribbles: 5
• Touches in Opp. Box: 13

Stats via FotMob.

This bulletproof attitude is an innate trait. Saul Isaksson-Hurst, an individual coach Madueke first hired as a 19-year-old, gushed: “Noni is a mentality monster. He is so driven, sometimes you have to tell him to calm down. He is very aware, very astute.”

There is an argument that Madueke could be more effective. Consistent output has never been one of his best traits; he can boast one Premier League assist in his entire Arsenal career, the same tally as Coventry City’s freshly promoted goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. Yet, he gets the ball into dangerous places time and time again.

Saturday’s match served as a great example; Madueke led all players for shots, dribbles and touches in the opposition box, bludgeoning through Hull’s defensive rearguard with the game-breaking moment which won’t go down as an assist but won the contest all the same.

Tuchel described the “difficult decision” not to call up Madueke for November’s Nations League fixtures as “a close call.” Should Arsenal’s “mentality monster” continue to perform with the same infectious zeal, it will be a far easier decision for the England manager to make in the future.