Noni Madueke told he's 'better than Bukayo Saka' as Chelsea blasted for 'strange' decision to let England winger join Arsenal

Madueke featured in Thomas Tuchel's starting lineup in both of England's World Cup qualifying games in September and contributed with a goal in the Three Lions' 5-0 rout of Serbia. Tuchel's side maintained their 100 per cent win record in the qualifiers and took a step closer towards sealing a berth at the 2026 tournament in North America.

After his impressive performances for the national team, Madueke garnered praise from former Chelsea and England defender Paul Parker, who claimed that the Gunners' new signing is a better player than their star winger Bukayo Saka. Parker also questioned Chelsea's "strange" decision to let Madueke leave the club. 

Speaking to WhichBookie, Parker said: "Chelsea let Noni Madueke go to Arsenal even though he’s one of England’s best wingers, and he was probably their best player against Andorra. He came on when Arsenal were behind against Liverpool and I think he looked really positive. I thought it was a strange decision for Chelsea to let him go. 

"With the way he plays, I actually think he’s better than Bukayo Saka. Saka doesn’t go on the outside, he doesn’t have a great change of pace and he doesn’t frighten defenders. Madueke does strike that fear into defenders because he wants to run at players and go past them."

Saka continues to recover from a hamstring injury that he suffered against Leeds United last month. The Gunners star is not expected to return for a few weeks and will not feature for Arsenal in their next Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.