In the aftermath of the intense 2-2 draw in the North London Derby, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie became the focus of contrasting narratives.

While Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglu claims Udogie dominated Saka, statistics, and what we all saw, tell a very different story.

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka proved to be a key player in a fiercely contested North London Derby that ended in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

Contrary to Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglu’s assessment, Destiny Udogie struggled to contain the Arsenal winger.

During his post-match press conference, Postecoglu offered his viewpoint: “I thought both our full-backs had difficult jobs today.

“Arsenal have outstanding wide players, that’s where their threats are. Destiny picked up a yellow card and it could have made him nervous but I felt he dealt with it well and ended up as the dominant player on that side of the pitch.

“It will have been a great learning experience for him, going toe-to-toe with a top side.”

However, Udogie’s statistics from the game suggest otherwise.

The defender, who narrowly avoided a second yellow card, lost 10 of his 19 ground battles, won only 50% of his tackles, was dispossessed three times, and was dribbled past twice.

He won no aerial duels, committed four fouls, and mishandled a backpass that almost led to a goal for Eddie Nketiah.

Additionally, he handled the ball in the penalty area which should have been awarded as a penalty by VAR, with his hand above his head, and was forced to rugby tackle Saka to prevent a breakaway, further undermining Postecoglu’s claim of dominance.

In contrast, Bukayo Saka was involved in both Arsenal goals, something Udogie was tasked with stopping, although he can obviously be excused for the penalty.

In total, Saka created four chances, more than any other player on the pitch.

When you look at the player ratings for both, based on Opta stats, Saka was Arsenal’s highest rated player – by a distance – with 8.6.

Only Tottenham’s captain Heung-min Son had a marginally higher rating on the day (8.8) and he scored two, despite an xG of just 0.51.

Udogie, on the other hand, picked up a poor 6.3, making him the second worst-rated Spurs player and the third worst from both sides.

But sure, Ange, Udogie “ended up as the dominant player on that side of the pitch…”