Arteta explains why Madueke 'gave me no option' against Leeds

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Mikel Arteta says Noni Madueke left him with no choice but to start him, as the winger's impressive training form over the international break earned him the nod ahead of Eberechi Eze in Arsenal's 2-1 comeback win over Leeds.

Arsenal fell behind to James Justin's opener before goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimaraes turned the match around at home. Madueke, deployed on the left wing in place of the injured Christos Tzolis, was at the heart of the turnaround. His curling cross set up the equaliser, and no Arsenal player created more chances or had more touches in the opposition box than the winger on the day.

A change of plan over the break

Arteta has generally been reluctant to use Madueke on the left flank over the past 12 months, preferring him on the right. But that thinking shifted during the international break, when Madueke was not called up by England and instead stayed behind to train with Arteta and the rest of the group left at London Colney.

According to the Evening Standard, that spell of extra work proved decisive. Arteta made clear the decision to start Madueke over Eze, who did not play a single minute against Leeds, came down to what he had seen on the training pitch in the ten days before the match.

“I'm really happy because he deserved the chance that he got and he grabbed it with both hands,” Arteta said. “When I haven't liked so much what he was doing or he wasn't impacting the game, I made certain decisions. He has accepted them.”

Arteta praises Madueke's response

The Arsenal manager was direct about just how much Madueke had improved his standing within the squad in a short space of time.

“What he's done is raise the level and in training he's been the best player in the last ten days,” Arteta added. “He gave me no option not to select him and not to play him today. You could see that every time he was in and around the ball, he looked a threat.”

The decision meant Eze, one of Arsenal's higher-profile attacking additions, was left out of the matchday impact entirely, underlining the level of competition Arteta now has to navigate across his forward positions once Tzolis returns from injury.

With Arsenal having found a way to win despite going behind, Arteta will have selection decisions to weigh carefully over the coming weeks as his attacking options continue to compete for a limited number of starting spots.