Noni Madueke has revealed he is determined to beat Arsenal in Sunday’s London derby so he can win ‘bragging rights’ over England team-mates Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
The Chelsea winger will be hoping to play a starting role in what promises to be a fierce Stamford Bridge contest that could have a huge outcome on the Premier League title race.
Enzo Maresca‘s Chelsea side find themselves in the unusual position of being above the Gunners who are winless in their last three Premier League outings with losses coming against Bournemouth and Newcastle, while they also suffered a midweek Champions League defeat against Inter Milan.
Madueke, Rice and Saka will all depart for the upcoming England camp after the match having been named in Lee Carsley‘s squad and the Chelsea star is keen to get one over his Three Lions colleagues.
The 22-year-old has played an integral role in Chelsea’s stunning start to the season, starting nine consecutive English top-flight fixtures and scoring four goals in the process.
Now ahead of the huge derby encounter between London’s two iconic rivals, Madueke revealed there is more than just three points on the line for him.
‘They’re still a great team and they’ve challenged for the title for the last couple of years. But in terms of us, we are just going to prepare for this as we do any other match,’ said the Chelsea star.
‘There’s always a little bit of bragging rights with the boys but I’m going into Sunday trying to win for sure, so are my team-mates.
‘It’s just like any other Premier League fixture but there’s always that added rivalry when you play with them for the national team as well.
‘Whenever we don’t win, we are always frustrated and Manchester United was exactly the same – we have to try and win those games. We also dropped points against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace,’ he added.
However, his chances of coming up against Rice remain in doubt with the Arsenal midfielder facing a late fitness call to see if he is able to play after missing the midweek clash against Inter.
Sunday’s contest will however see him go up against Saka with the pair previously facing off in several academy clashes during their formative youth years.
“Evan as an academy player, the north London derbies were always super competitive. Bukayo was always a great player. He was a goal threat, fast, strong and always made the right decisions – just like he does now,’ he added.
“Everyone has a different path. My path was probably less conventional going to Holland but even his path, I’m sure he had to work super, super, super hard to get to where he is as well.
“It just goes to show that there are different routes to the top but the mainstay is that you just have to work as hard as you can and believe in yourself and that’s what I’ve done and I’m sure he did that as well,’ said Madueke.
