Mikel Arteta has backed Arsenal winger Noni Madueke to bounce back from his latest England disappointment after the 24-year-old was again overlooked by Thomas Tuchel.
Madueke was not named in the Three Lions squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain, despite enjoying the best run of form in his Arsenal career so far while stepping up in the absence of the injured Bukayo Saka.
The winger has four goal involvements in his last eight matches and opened the scoring to send Arsenal on their way to victory over Slavia Prague in midweek.
Timely form in Saka's absence
It has been a timely run, with Saka out with a quad injury, and it came after Madueke was also omitted from the England squad for the last international window in September.
Arteta revealed at the time that Madueke had been the best player in training after that setback, and the Arsenal boss was again full of praise on Friday as he expanded on how the winger has cemented his place in the Gunners side.
Arteta praises Madueke's mindset
“What he did was go abroad and he trained,” Arteta said. “He got somebody to train and he wanted a programme. He wanted to do that. That’s Noni and that’s his mindset. He wants to get better.
“I love that action that he took because in that moment he wasn’t playing. When he’s playing and everybody’s talking about you, it’s easy to do.
“When he was in a difficult moment that time, what he did helped him to after start being in the team and make the impact that he made. I’m very happy with him.”
Tuchel said it was a “close call and a difficult decision” to leave Madueke out of his latest England squad, with Rio Ngumoha, Josh King and Morgan Gibbs-White among those preferred in forward areas to the 24-year-old.
“That was an option for Thomas,” Arteta said. “There were so many options, he needs to make decisions. He made that one this time. That’s it. I leave it completely to him.”
