With Christos Tzolis out for the next few weeks with a hamstring injury, Arsenal’s left-wing spot is up for grabs.

Mikel Arteta has already shown he’s willing to try something different to fill it. Against Leeds last weekend, he surprised plenty of fans by picking Noni Madueke on the left rather than Eberechi Eze.

On Tuesday against Lille, however, Madueke started on the right, delivering a frustrating performance. He lost possession 21 times, completed just one of his 15 crosses, and was replaced by Bukayo Saka, who set up a goal and scored another within six minutes of coming on. In total, he’s played just 114 Premier League minutes this season.

Mikel Arteta backs Noni Madueke to find his best form

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest, Arteta made it clear that Noni Madueke will get the chance to build some momentum.

“Yeah, we’ll give the possibility to any player to give him two or three or four games in a row,” he said. “I think everybody will appreciate that because they will get more familiar with the players, more minutes, more confidence, and if things go well, that’s the ideal thing to do with all of them.

“And he had a few, and he will have more minutes in the next few games, so I’m sure that we’ll start to see a closer version of Noni at the highest level.”

That’s a big vote of confidence for a player who has spent most of the season on the fringes. Madueke’s directness and pace give Arsenal something different in attack, and Theo Walcott described him as “very positive” against Lille despite his struggles.

The challenge now is adding the end product, and with Eze also pushing for the left-wing spot, he’ll need to make the most of the minutes Arteta has promised him.