Noni Madueke: Arsenal Accidentally Confirm New Signing While Unveiling Former Chelsea Star
- Arsenal accidentally confirmed their new signing in a mistake that happened when they unveiled Noni Madueke
- Madueke was presented as a new Arsenal player on Friday, but fans spotted another new player in an Arsenal shirt
- The Gunners have gone to Singapore for the first part of their preseason tour before heading to Hong Kong
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Arsenal inadvertently confirmed their new signing while unveiling Noni Madueke on Friday, July 18.
Source: Getty Images
Madueke was officially confirmed as the club's new signing, but hawk-eyed fans spotted another player that they had been linked with.
How much did Arsenal pay for Noni Madueke?
Madueke was unveiled after he sealed a KSh 9.5 billion move from Chelsea. The England international was handed the number 20 jersey as he seeks to add more options to Mikel Arteta's forward line.
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"It's already a great team with a clear identity, and I can't wait to bring my style to the team and try and help the boys as much as possible to take that next step. To win all the competitions we're in, I feel like we're capable of doing that. And also to help the team in every way I can and grow as a player, but also as a person," he said during his unveiling as quoted on the club's website.
Arsenal accidentally reveal new signing
But even as they went about presenting their new number 20, the Gunners accidentally also confirmed the imminent arrival of Cristhian Mosquera.
Mosquera was spotted in an Arsenal jersey in the batch of images uploaded on Getty Images during the Madueke unveiling.
The picture, which has since been pulled down, showed the defender being interviewed by a member of the Arsenal staff as quoted by London Standard.
Who is Cristhian Mosquera?
Mosquera is expected to be Arsenal's fifth signing after the arrivals of Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Christian Norgaard (Brentford) and Madueke (Chelsea).
The Spanish centre back will join from Valencia in a deal expected to be around KSh 2.3 billion.
He is expected to replace Takehiro Tomiyasu, who left the club after an injury-ridden spell in North London.
He made 100 appearances for Valencia in all competitions.
Source: Getty Images
Arsenal's transfer plans
After Madueke and Mosquera's deals, the Gunners are still actively looking for s striker. They have been linked all transfer window with a move for Viktor Gyokeres, but the deal is far from over.
Gyokeres' club, Sporting Lisbon, has refused to budge and there remains a gap in how both clubs value the striker.
"We're calm. Everything can be solved with the closure of the market, a heavy fine and an apology to the group. If they [Arsenal] don't want to pay Viktor’s fair market value, we'll be very comfortable with that for the next three years," said Sporting Lisbon's president Frederico Varandas last week, via journalist Ben Jacobs.
"No one is above the interests of the club. Whoever they are."
Arsenal confirm preseason tour
Arsenal failed to get Gyokeres in time for their preseason tour in Asia. Arteta has taken a 30-man squad to Singapore, where they will kickstart their preparations for next season's campaign.
The squad is headlined by the returning Gabriel Magalhaes, who missed the end of last season with a hamstring injury.
Madueke hasn't been included as he has been granted extra rest after his participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. He featured five times but missed the final, where Chelsea beat PSG to win the title.
Goalkeepers: David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tommy Setford, Alexei Rojas-Fedorushchenko.
Defenders: William Saliba, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Josh Nichols, Marli Salmon.
Midfielders: Martin Odegaard, Christian Norgaard, Mikel Merino, Sambi Lokonga, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Louie Copley.
Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Reiss Nelson, Kai Havertz, Ismeal Kabia, Max Dowman, Andre Harriman-Annous.
UEFA make Champions League change after Arsenal complaints
In a separate report, UEFA has made changes to their Champions League format after Arsenal's complaints.
The Gunners were greatly disadvantaged during the inaugural season of the new format.
They nonetheless reached the semi-final, where they were eliminated by eventual winners PSG.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
