Noni Madueke lay sprawled on the turf, head in his hands, following his one-on-one miss late in Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Hull. His frustration continued to show even after the final whistle.

The winger's reaction showed the standards this "different Noni", to quote Mikel Arteta, is setting himself as he strives to reach another level. Bukayo Saka's injury was a significant setback to Arsenal. Madueke has made it his mission to soften the blow.

So far, he has filled in impressively. Arteta understood his demeanour after the game. "He knew he had three clear chances to score," he said, always demanding more. But there was also an acknowledgement of his crucial role in Martin Odegaard's goal.

Madueke's shot forced the Konstantinos Tzolakis save from which his captain scored. It was just one of many dangerous moments. His total of 13 touches in the opposition box was the most by an Arsenal in any Premier League game this season.

Madueke also hit his highest totals in a game this term for shots and chances created, with a combined eight, and successful dribbles, with five. This was not a vintage attacking display from Arsenal but almost everything positive came through him.

The 24-year-old was one of only five Arsenal outfielders to start having also started in midweek in Prague, where he scored the opening goal. His importance to Arteta is growing. He has happily taken on the extra responsibility.

Madueke was left out of Thomas Tuchel's England squad in between the two games; a blow which might have knocked another player. But he was impressing for Arsenal even on the left before his return to the right after Saka's injury against Bayern Munich.

Arteta puts his progress down to his decision to train independently during the last international break after only starting two of Arsenal's first seven games of the season.

"The way he reacted to that I think is a great example for the rest of the squad, which is, 'I want to do more.' He went away, started to train and was a different Noni. He wasn't going to accept that situation, he meant business. Since then he has been incredible."

Madueke's determination to better himself is not new.

He has worked on his game individually, mostly with specialist coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst, since his days as a young player at PSV Eindhoven. Isaksson-Hurst calls him as a "mentality monster".

But the benefits of his latest round of extra-curricular work are clear to see. Arteta still sees room for improvement. "There are still margins, there are moments that we can decide better, we can be more efficient and then the margin will be bigger," he added.

But it is striking how much Madueke's execution has improved. The former Chelsea winger has always been capable of causing chaos in opposition defences. But now he is far less erratic, offering clarity and composure in the final third instead.

It is illustrated by the sheer volume of chances he is creating.

His average has more than doubled from last season, to 3.57 per 90 minutes, putting him top among all Premier League players - even above Manchester City's Rayan Cherki.

He ranks behind only Cherki's team-mates Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku, meanwhile, for expected assists, on 0.32 per 90 minutes, showing he is offering quality as well as quantity.

His threat is varied. He has shown his capacity to contribute from both flanks this season and there were other examples of variety inside the first few minutes against Hull; a teasing, diagonal cross with his left foot nearly converted by Gabriel, then a right-footed cut-back for Christos Tzolis after attacking the byline.

Later in the half, he could be seen crossing for Rice, who headed too close to Tzolakis. There was another cut-back to find Bruno Guimaraes, whose shot was blocked.

Decision-making has always been one of his friend and team-mate Saka's many standout qualities. Now Madueke is making the right choices with far greater frequency too. He has found a level of efficiency to balance his unpredictability.

The numbers bear it out. In the Premier League and Champions League, Madueke is losing possession far less frequently than last season. His dribble success rate has jumped from 50 per cent to 55 per cent. His pass success rate has gone 78 per cent to 87 per cent.

It is not because he is choosing easier passes. In fact he is directing a higher percentage of passes forward. There was an example 26 minutes in against Hull, when a superb, diagonal ball through the lines from deep in his own half allowed Declan Rice to counter.

He is completing a far higher percentage of those forward passes and there has also been a notable improvement in his crossing. His open-play cross completion rate has leapt from 14 per cent last term to 33 per cent. It all adds up to markedly better end product.

Madueke appears to have matured. He was making his 100th Premier League appearance against Hull, 67 of which have come with Arsenal. Some questioned his decision to become back-up to Saka but he has made a success of his move from Chelsea, providing more evidence of the mental strength apparent to his coaches.

In Arteta, he has a manager who will continue to push him - and encourage him to keep going the extra mile. "Now you are in that position, you need to hold it and improve it and he can still do that," he added. "So let's see what he does in this break."