Noni the Wiser as Arsenal's Super Sub Shows His Worth
There are occasions when winning the Premier League requires breathtaking football, moments of individual brilliance and a demonstration of technical superiority. And then there are afternoons like Arsenal's visit to Nottingham Forest, when the best you can hope for is a lucky deflection, three points and a swift journey home.
For 80 minutes, Arsenal looked about as threatening as a damp firework. Their passing was pedestrian, their movement predictable and their finishing non-existent. Indeed, neither side managed a shot on target during a first half that will hardly feature in any promotional video for the Premier League.
Step forward Noni Madueke, a player whose Arsenal career has largely been conducted from the substitutes' bench but who is rapidly making a compelling case for more regular employment.
Introduced at half-time in place of the ineffective Eberechi Eze, Madueke eventually provided the one moment that mattered. Cutting inside from the left, he unleashed a shot that took a substantial deflection off Jair Cunha before finding the net. It was Arsenal's first effort on target, and, remarkably, their last.
One shot, one goal, three points. Football can be a wonderfully uncomplicated business.
Mikel Arteta, of course, would probably disagree. The Arsenal manager has elevated the business of substitutions into something approaching a philosophical discipline. He doesn't have substitutes any more. He has "finishers", a term suggesting that the men who spend the first hour sitting in tracksuits are not merely waiting for their opportunity but preparing to deliver the final, decisive blow.
It sounds suspiciously like managerial jargon, but the statistics suggest there may be something in it. Arsenal's substitutes have contributed to 26 Premier League goals since the beginning of last season, more than those of any other club.
Madueke is increasingly becoming the embodiment of this philosophy. He possesses pace, directness and the willingness to run at defenders, qualities that can be particularly valuable when opponents have spent the previous hour successfully frustrating Arsenal's elaborate attacking patterns.
His critics will point to his inconsistency and occasionally questionable decision-making. Fair enough. But there is something refreshing about a winger who actually wants to beat his man rather than exchange another dozen passes before sending the ball backwards.
Having assisted Arsenal's opener against Lille in the Champions League, Madueke has now made decisive contributions in successive matches. It is difficult to ask much more of a player who has started only one Premier League game this season.
The situation is rather less encouraging for Eze, whose first league start of the campaign ended with an early shower. There is no disgrace in being substituted, but watching your replacement score the winner is hardly the ideal way to strengthen your case for selection.
Yet the real significance of Arsenal's victory lies beyond individual performances.
Championships are not won exclusively through exhilarating attacking displays. They are also won on miserable afternoons when nothing quite works, when opponents refuse to cooperate and when a single moment of good fortune separates success from frustration.
Arsenal have now won six of their opening seven Premier League fixtures, their only blemish being defeat at Brighton. They remain three points behind Manchester City, but there is something reassuring about a side that can produce such an uninspiring performance and still return with maximum points.
That does not mean everything is rosy. Eleven goals in seven matches is hardly an attacking avalanche, and relying on a deflection to overcome a struggling Forest side is not a particularly convincing formula for sustained success.
Nor should Forest's contribution be overlooked. The home side defended resolutely, showed considerably more adventure after the interval and might well have secured a deserved point had their finishing matched their determination.
But champions have a habit of surviving precisely these situations. Opponents can frustrate them, outfight them and occasionally outplay them, only to discover that the scoreboard remains stubbornly unimpressed.
Perhaps that is the most encouraging aspect of Arsenal's performance. A few seasons ago, this might have been remembered as two points dropped. Instead, it becomes another narrow victory, another clean sheet and another demonstration of the value of a strong squad.
Arteta deserves credit for recognising that his starting eleven need not be his finishing eleven. With the quality now available on Arsenal's bench, he can afford to change the complexion of a match without necessarily weakening the side.
And Madueke, whatever his limitations, has demonstrated that he can make those changes count.
There will undoubtedly be more attractive Arsenal performances this season. There will be afternoons when the passing flows, the chances multiply and the opposition goalkeeper resembles a man attempting to stop traffic on the M25.
But there is an old footballing truth that remains as relevant as ever: nobody remembers how the winning goal was scored when the trophy is being lifted.
Except, perhaps, the unfortunate defender whose backside it struck on the way in.
For Arsenal, this was hardly a masterpiece. But it may prove to be another important brushstroke in the bigger picture.
And for Noni Madueke, it was further evidence that sometimes the best way to make yourself indispensable is by taking your opportunities when they come your way.
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