Noni Madueke Seeks Redemption as Arsenal Star Battles to Disprove Petition, Acknowledges 'Hostile' Chelsea Fans Awaiting Him

ARSENAL winger Noni Madueke admits he could face a “hostile” return to Chelsea in Sunday’s top-of-the-table Prem clash.

, who left West London for the Emirates in a in July, is pushing to start after returning from injury, with the Gunners six points clear of the Blues.

Noni Madueke is braced for a hostile reception on his return to Stamford BridgeCredit: Getty Madueke spent two years at Chelsea before joining Arsenal this summerCredit: PA

The ace, who scored in , said: “It might be a little bit hostile, but I am a professional footballer.

“I don’t know if anything will faze me. I’ll be focussed on the task. For me, it is another game.”

Arsenal are sweating on ’s fitness, after he came off in the first half against with a left leg problem.

Madueke has 5,398 reasons to prove a point against his former club.

That is the number of fans who signed two different ‘#NOTOMADUEKE’ petitions in the summer, asking for the club to reconsider their move for him.

Now, those same supporters will be feeling thankful the North London club did not take a blind bit of notice of them.

Madueke, part of ’s £250m summer spend, overcame the bitterness from Gunners followers to enjoy a bright start to life at the Emirates.

He suffered a knee injury against two months ago but returned as a substitute for the last two games.

He spent 2½ years at Chelsea after arriving from Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven.

And asked whether his first weeks at Arsenal were tough due to the reaction on social media, Madueke smiled.

He said: “I just kind of take that stuff in my stride.

“It is normal, you are in the public eye, people can say whatever they want about you.

“But being in the stadium, and how the fans have taken to me in the stadium, is unbelievable. I am not really worried about all of that. It is in the past.

“It was good to play against Bayern. Like the last game versus Tottenham on Sunday, the reaction from the fans was incredible and that gave me such a boost.

“I play on the side of the pitch and I can feel them near me, I can hear them. When they are that positive about me, it gives me a massive boost. I am made up about it.”

Madueke’s situation is the perfect example of social media not always representing the beliefs of match-going supporters.

Some Arsenal fans signed a petition in a bid to stop the Gunners from signing Madueke in the summerCredit: change.org

Despite the venomous stuff aimed in his direction after joining from Chelsea, Madueke enjoyed a standing ovation and had his name sung by the crowd when impressing in a home pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao.

But there is no doubt that injury against City, just when he was starting to find his feet, was a real blow.

He said: “It was horrible, the timing of the injury. You face adversity as a footballer and it is about how you get back.

“To score against Bayern was an amazing feeling.

“I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to play and keeping me fit and giving me a goal — and, most importantly, our team a win.”

Asked if Arsenal could win both the and , Madueke said: “Our goal going into every game is to win the game.

“I don’t know if it is great to be thinking so far ahead in November.

“I just feel like we can control what we can control — that’s every single day on the training ground, every single time we step up on the pitch — and try to give the best account of ourselves.”

Aside from his promising club season, Madueke also has a to look forward to in the summer.

He scored in in September before being sidelined — and Three Lions boss was in the crowd at the Emirates for the Bayern game.

Asked if he had spoken to Tuchel recently, Madueke said: “Before the game! He told me he was in the stands. It’s great that he was here.

“I know he does a lot of work trying to get out to as many games as possible. I am made up he saw my first goal here.”