Arsenal are set to host Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium this weekend in a highly anticipated North London derby. And while the Gunners have a lot of offensive injuries, with players like Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz still on the sidelines, many others are only scheduled to make it back in time for this weekend’s kickoff.
And in a way this is good news for Thomas Frank, given that all of the aforementioned names are equipped to decide games themselves.
But then you look at the current lineup that Mikel Arteta can play, and while it is a bit out of place, he has enough and more quality of players even on his bench that can easily get into most of the first teams in the English top tier.
Though when you face Arsenal and the occasion screams North London derby, all the chatter is around a certain academy graduate from Hale End in Bukayo Saka.
The England international is capable and more of deciding games on his own (as we have seen on countless occasions in the past years). And while he is still a bit rusty this campaign, he finds a way to step up on big occasions almost always.
Saka got himself on the scoresheet in that 2-2 draw against Sunderland as he aggregated his tally for the Gunners to 76 goals and 71 assists in 277 appearances.
And he will be expected to give the North Londoners’ full backs, Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie, a lot of problems this Sunday.
Bukayo Saka has a strong record against Tottenham Hotspur
Saka has a mixed record against the Lilywhites, but he has a habit of deciding big games. And while the Gunners faithful have seen that consistently over the past few seasons, the Lilywhites supporters have felt it first-hand. As soon as he gets some time to face up to his man on an outside angle or gets some sense of space to drift into the box, the 24-year-old will punish without any sense of hesitation.
And for Thomas Frank & Co., the first task will be to ensure that he is not left in a 1v1 battle against his channel full-back consistently. Whoever of Spence or Udogie plays, both of them like to defend on the front foot, but with Saka he thrives when he has that space and time to isolate his marker, and then he suddenly stops (more like a pause) before he either bursts past his man or slips in a clever pass on the inside. So if the Lilywhites leave that wide channel marker alone against him without any midfielder helping him, then this kind of situation will suit the host’s number seven.
The thing with Bukayo is also that he feeds off opponents’ mistakes, as Tottenham have repeatedly found out. If we go back to that 2023/24 season, Cristian Romero’s handball at the Emirates gave him an opportunity to convert from the spot in what ended up being a 2-2 derby draw. Then, when you walk back to January 2023, Hugo Lloris had diverted one of Saka’s crosses back into his own net in the Gunners’ 2-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So the Lilywhites not only have to match his quality but also ensure that there are no rusty moments which turn into goals.
| Bukayo Saka Record vs. Tottenham Hotspur | Stats |
|---|---|
| Played | 10 |
| Won | 6 |
| Drawn | 1 |
| Lost | 3 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 3 |
How can Frank’s men stop Saka?
And Saka rarely loses his composure in these big games. Bukayo hasn’t even picked up a yellow or red card since he was booked on his derby debut. As we saw above, he is quite comfortable when you give him chaos, and Tottenham cannot afford to be the side that panics first when he starts to run at them.
Tottenham will try to limit his touches. Especially try to make sure that he doesn’t get into those outside angles in advanced zones. You cannot mark him out of the game, but you can cut off passing lanes into him; this will also force the Gunners’ defenders and midfielders to look elsewhere. With two players, one in front and one on the inside, Saka will either be forced to go back or push himself higher (which just restricts his angles).
When Saka is not getting passes on the outside, Arteta generally lets him play in the inward spaces. This is where he tries to pick pockets between two players. This is where maybe Van de Ven will have to get his angles right here to ensure that he doesn’t get through passes (something that Eze and Timber have been putting into him a lot this season).
Do you think Tottenham can stop Bukayo Saka today? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.