Arsenal's win over Crystal Palace should have been a routine end to the league campaign. Instead, Noni Madueke walked off clutching his left hamstring before the final whistle, leaving Mikel Arteta with a fresh worry days before the Champions League final. He had scored his third Premier League goal of the season before going off, and Standard Sport understands he was not hobbling before or after the Premier League trophy celebrations.

Why Madueke's exit matters more than the result

The severity is not clear yet. One reading of the afternoon is that Madueke was simply withdrawn as a precaution, but the other is harder to ignore: a player clutching his hamstring shortly before a final is exactly the sort of problem Arsenal did not need at this stage.

That is especially true because Madueke has been useful in recent weeks. Across his last five matches he has averaged 6.88, and he has averaged 50.4 minutes in that same stretch. He has also scored 3 goals in the Champions League this season, so this is not a fringe concern around a peripheral player.

Arsenal's build-up already had enough moving parts

Arteta had already made nine changes from the 1-0 win over Burnley, so the Palace game was always about managing legs as much as chasing another result. Christian Nørgaard lasted just 45 minutes on his first Premier League start of the season, while Mikel Merino returned from a four-month injury lay-off and played 30 minutes at Selhurst Park.

Arsenal are also carrying a five-game winning run into the final, so the mood around the team has been strong. But the late sight of Madueke heading off is the kind of selection doubt that changes the final stretch of preparation. Arteta said after the game, "This shirt represents something else. Now we have the opportunity to create new history in our club. I am convinced we are going to do it."

Madueke was more upbeat about the squad as a whole, saying: "We're tight, that's the main thing. We want each other to do well; we know there are loads of minutes for all of us. It's about all of us as a collective; we know we all have a part to play. That's the good thing about this team."

For Arsenal, the next update on Madueke will matter more than the Palace scoreline. If the hamstring issue is only a knock, Arteta can keep moving toward the final with a near-full squad; if not, the late worry will sit right at the top of the team news before Paris Saint-Germain.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →