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Mikel Arteta says the summer protest by Arsenal fans urging the club against signing Noni Madueke gave him even more conviction to make the transfer a success.
A petition against the winger’s £52million move from Chelsea in July - using the hashtag #NoToMadueke on X - was signed by more than 4,000 people.
After joining, the 23-year-old impressed with a series of eye-catching performances but he has missed six of their 12 Premier League matches this season after suffering a knee injury in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City in September.
He returned from nine weeks out in Sunday's north London derby, coming on in the 78th minute of the 4-1 win against Tottenham - and is now in contention to play against his old club Chelsea on Sunday.
Ahead of the Gunners’ top-of-the-table clash with the second-placed Blues, Arteta said: ‘If anything, it (social media campaign) gave me more conviction and more will to help him and do everything we possibly could to make this relationship work and to prepare everything around him in the best possible way.
‘I think that (campaign) lasted a short period of time and immediately we had the complete opposite reaction which I think he valued, respected and it was like fuel to him. It did not affect him.’
Arsenal fans' initial protests aganst his arrival have 'fuelled' his form, says Mikel Arteta
The Gunners boss says it gave him 'more conviction' to help the 23-year-old winger
Meanwhile, Arteta is backing Declan Rice to win the Ballon d’or after an ‘immense’ start to the season.
Rice put in a man-of-the-match display against Bayern Munich midweek, following on from a string of impressive displays for club and country in this campaign.
He’s scored two goals and provided six assists across all competitions after being deployed in a role further up the pitch by the Spaniard this season.
When asked if Rice could win the Ballon d’Or, Arteta said: ‘I hope so. That would mean that we have won a lot.
‘Normally it goes very much related to (trophies). Again, I think he was immense the other day. I think he's been immense since the start of the season. He’s an incredible and crucial player for us.’
