Arsenal’s move for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke has led to serious reactions from North London fans. The fans are outraged by his signing, and they have led a petition for the club to pull back their £55 million bid for Madueke. Former defender Rio Ferdinand has vehemently stood up for the 23-year-old amid the fan outrage, branding “a small section” of Gunners supporters as “an utter disgrace.”
Set to pen the dotted line for a five-year contract at the Emirates after Chelsea conclude their FIFA Club World Cup journey, Madueke finds himself in the thick of a foul storm. A section of vocal Arsenal supporters started an online petition, which garnered thousands of followers, claiming the England star was not up to the class to wear the jersey.
Ferdinand was outraged by the torrent of abuse poured on the young winger and took to Twitter to issue a passionate call for reason:
“For a Young 23 year old English footballer to be vilified, bullied, embarrassed and totally strip down at a time when you’re meant to be celebrating a transfer worth £55 million. Yes a young kid with a dream about to secure a £55 million dream move to a club of his desire leaving a rival at that to be treated in this manner via section of the Arsenal fan base is an utter disgrace.”
He also said:
“It’s fine for fans to disagree with signings or decisions made at their football club but the way some fans have publicly voiced their opinions and those who have gone a step further in publicly joining a petition for this player not to be signed by their football club is beyond me. I have never seen anything like this before, and I hope I don’t ever again.”
Ferdinand called upon Madueke to impress on the field:
“I just hope the transfer goes through and Noni Madueke rams all of this negativity back down the throats of these impostors. Whatever happens from here good luck Noni.”
Why Arsenal Want Noni Madueke
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta views Madueke as a very valuable signing who will alleviate some of the pressure from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. The Chelsea winger has scored 20 goals in roughly 90 games for the Blues since he left PSV to join them in January 2023. He could provide Arsenal with the kind of dribbling and pace they need to break through congested defenses.
