View: 92% Tottenham ace undroppable for Ange, Walcott loved footage he saw of him

Destiny Udogie has become a key player for Tottenham, a school of thought he only enhanced by keeping Bukayo Saka quiet during the North London derby.

Ex-Arsenal winger Theo Walcott called the Spurs left-back a “solid athlete” for his performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which the hosts lost 1-0 thanks to Gabriel’s second-half header.

Udogie was booked midway through the first period for a foul on the England winger, but Saka was otherwise kept under wraps by the Italian as Arsenal ground out a narrow victory.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (15 September), Walcott said: “Udogie, who I felt was an absolute solid athlete throughout, has actually kept Saka quite quiet for most of the game.”

Destiny Udogie proves worth against Bukayo Saka for Tottenham

Although kept busy by Saka in an end-to-end North London Derby, Udogie was still able to get forward himself on occasion, creating 0.03 expected assists (xA) and hitting one unsuccessful cross [SofaScore].

The Italian international completed 92 per cent of his 48 attempted passes on Sunday, but his forages forward were hampered by the pressure Arsenal applied, completing just one from three attempts.

Defensively though, Udogie shone brightly, winning four of his eight duels on the ground and one of two in the air, as well as putting in three successful tackles to win possession back.

Udogie was dribbled past once, committed two fouls and lost the ball eight times, but did also put in two clearances to keep Arsenal at bay amid a total of seven defensive actions [FotMob].

Five passes into the final third also threatened to open Arsenal up on occasion, but Spurs were unable to find a way through and suffered their second defeat of the season at the hands of their bitter rivals.

For Udogie though, Sunday’s North London derby made clear that the Lilywhites’ left-back spot is his to lose for the foreseeable future.

In other Tottenham news, the club are set for a financial boost off the field following the announcement of a new sponsorship deal.

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