Mark Smith

Sat 23 September 2023 18:10, UK Updated Sat 23 September 2023 22:00, UK

Tottenham take on Arsenal in the much-anticipated first North London derby of the Premier League season on Sunday 24 September.

Ange Postecoglou has made a solid start to life in charge of the club, but he can take it to the next level with a win in one of the hottest games on the calendar.

There will be many key battles all over the park, but Destiny Udogie looks to have one of the toughest challenges, keeping that man Bukayo Saka quiet.

Instantly, there are moments that he will want to avoid if he is to complete that job effectively.

Spurs have looked to keep the ball much more under Postecoglou, racking up 62% possession on average this season, compared to 50% last season [Footy Stats].

Keeping the ball comes with risk though, as shown in this WyScout snippet against Sheffield United, where Udogie lost the ball down his flank and could not win it back – thankfully it came to nothing.

If that was against Saka and not Gustavo Hamer, you would imagine that Tottenham would be in much deeper trouble in the derby.

Winning the ball back in those dangerous areas could be key too, as hitting Arsenal and their attacking lineup on the break could be a real weapon – this is where Udogie must trust his powers.

Looking at this example in the big win against Burnley, the young Italian starts behind the attacker, some would say out of position and desperate to get back.

But, only seconds later, he puts in a brilliant challenge to leave his opposite number on the deck and plenty of space ahead of him to run on and cause some damage going the other way.

The key to keeping Saka quiet will be to take him into areas he does not want to be, and that is on the back foot, tracking his man back to his own goal.

Udogie is set up perfectly to do this, looking at his heat map compared to Saka’s, the defender is up and down, whereas the England international is heavily in the final third – hardly tracking back at all.

Udogie is in the 94th percentile for progressive carries already this season [FBRef] and if he can translate that into the game on Sunday 24 September, Saka could be in for a long afternoon.

On top of that, he is also in the 93rd percentile for successful take-ons, meaning he will not lack any confidence to do any of the above, no matter who is opposite him.

This is certainly a battle to watch tomorrow, and if Udogie can come out on top, Spurs may just take all three points.

In other Tottenham news, this is how one player can look to exploit an Arsenal weakness during the north London derby.