Arsenal vs Tottenham: 5 key players in North London Derby
By Josh Sippie
![Arsenal, Bukayo Saka (Photo by Sam Bagnall - AMA/Getty Images) Arsenal, Bukayo Saka (Photo by Sam Bagnall - AMA/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/c99ef43787e8b1ddadd51ad961a7c3a5942cb54a060fa1084caf69cd94bf4722.jpg)
1. Bukayo Saka
Since Nicolas Pepe had the audacity to go off to be with his wife during the birth of their child, Bukayo Saka has played so convincingly that it’s going to be hard to get Pepe back into the starting XI. Even on short rest, I don’t see how you can justify taking Saka out of the starting XI here, which ranks him as the No. 1 key man.
Saka has shown us two different matches in his two starts. Against Wolves, he was pretty poor, but he scored the vital first goal in sparkling fashion. Meanwhile, against the Foxes he was tremendous and earned himself an assist while creating the most chances of anyone on the team.
Hard to do better than that.
Next. 5 Things Learned Against Leicester. dark
As he has just signed that massive new deal, he is going to want to stick it to Spurs in a big way. Even that does mean coming off the bench, he is going to be a central figure to what success we hope to accomplish in the North London Derby.