Just days before the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal’s 24-year-old right winger, Noni Madueke, stirred things up. According to The Touchline, the England international presented the Gunners as the best attacking and defensive team in the competition, a claim far from being supported by the statistics available before the final.
Madueke: “We’re also one of the best attacking teams in the Champions League, aren’t we?”
“We’re also one of the best attacking teams in the Champions League, aren’t we? Haven’t we scored the most goals? So… we’re the best attacking team and the best defensive team. This squad is very, very, very close-knit. The staff, the players, everyone. It’s a major strength for us.”
Noni Madueke’s statement had all the hallmarks of a carefully crafted opening salvo before PSG vs. Arsenal. Defensively, Arsenal can rely on a solid argument: the Gunners had only conceded 6 goals in the Champions League before the final, compared to 22 for Paris Saint-Germain. But this assertion becomes much more tenuous when it comes to attack.
The same statistics place Paris clearly ahead, with 44 goals scored compared to Arsenal’s 29. Arsenal, who were ahead at the end of the league phase, have been struggling since. In other words, Madueke is right to highlight Arsenal’s solidity, but much less so when he claims offensive dominance. This slight provocation fits perfectly with the pre-match atmosphere: Arsenal wants to assert its status, apply pressure, and establish the idea of a complete unit. Except that against PSG, the statistics don’t quite tell the same story.
This statement could also benefit Paris. By attempting to present Arsenal as the complete team, Madueke offers PSG a simple psychological advantage: respond on the pitch, where Luis Enrique’s team has already proven it can strike hard offensively, without being limited to a caricature of a team solely focused on attacking.
