‘Not Ødegaard’: BBC pundit amazed by Arsenal star’s first-half; says Spurs pair couldn’t handle it
Clinton Morrison has told BBC Sport that Tottenham Hotspur could not deal with Bukayo Saka during the first-half of the North London derby with the Arsenal star playing a key role in both of the Gunners’ goals.
It proved to be a completely miserable first 45 minutes for Antonio Conte’s side. They have not been overly impressive this season. However, a derby always has the potential to be a leveller.
But that was not the case at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Hugo Lloris conceded a comical own goal for the opener. And Martin Odegaard scored from distance to double the lead before the break.
Ryan Sessegnon could not handle Bukayo Saka as Tottenham are torn apart by Arsenal
But it was Saka who was involved in both goals. He managed to get to the line to put the ball into the box that proved to be too difficult for Lloris to deal with. And he set up Odegaard for the second 10 minutes before the break.
It was Ryan Sessegnon who got the nod surprisingly for the left wing-back role. Meanwhile, he had Clement Lenglet just inside at centre-back. But neither were able to contain Saka.
In fact, Sessegnon was booked towards the end of the half for lashing out at Saka. It appeared that the frustration got the better of the youngster after a torrid spell.
And Morrison was extremely critical of the Spurs pair, as he praised Saka for causing all sorts of problems.
“Tottenham can’t deal with Saka. Lenglet and Sessegnon are struggling with him and they don’t know which one should pick him up. He has started the game really lively on this right hand side,” he told BBC Sport.
Conte has to take a lot of the blame. Sessegnon looked to be completely out of his depth defensively. And Lenglet was not able to offer him any help either.
Of course, Saka has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season. So it was always going to be tough to handle the Arsenal man anyway.
But Conte clearly got it very wrong with his lineup. And Tottenham’s players compounded that with an abject showing in the first-half.
