Noni Madueke's coach reveals how winger is like Cristiano Ronaldo and why Arsenal fans 'will come to love him'

Madueke swapped Chelsea for Arsenal in the summer transfer window in a transfer worth over £50 million ($67.8m). The move saw some backlash from Arsenal fans, with #NoToMadueke going viral on X and thousands of fans signing a petition calling for the Gunners not to sign the forward.

Madueke has featured in all of Arsenal's first three Premier League games of the new season but is yet to score or assist for Mikel Arteta's side. However, his private coach - Saul Isaksson-Hurst - has backed the England international to come good and has even compared him to Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo.

He told The Sun: "The big misconception about Noni is his mentality. He’s like a mentality monster. In terms of mentality, I would liken that to Cristiano. He’s so focused and driven in terms of wanting to be the best and wanting to improve. We’ve been away in Marbella for five or six days. I’ve had to force him to have a day off and take a rest in between. He wants to work, he wants to do more, he wants to do the extras. When his peers are partying around the beach clubs in Marbella, he’s on the grass, training with me every day. I can only comment on what I see when he trains with me. I haven’t seen him when he’s with Chelsea, but when he’s been with me, he’s switched on, he works hard, he’s on it.”

Madueke's coach also had a word for his critics, adding: "That’s water off a duck’s back. He takes that on board and it’s part of the game. That is not going to faze him and he wants to be a success there. Arsenal fans will come to love him, I’m sure. It’s close to the family home so he’s settled. Arsenal’s a massive club and Noni wants to be one of the best players in the world.”

Madueke is currently with the England squad and will be hoping to keep his place in the starting XI for Tuesday's clash with Serbia. The winger will then head back to Arsenal to prepare for a Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.