Bukayo Saka mocks James Maddison in north London derby against Spurs

Bukayo Saka aimed a subtle dig at James Maddison by performing the Tottenham star’s now trademark goal celebration in Sunday’s north London derby.

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The Gunners enjoyed the better of a typically frenetic and spiky opening period which saw a number feisty challenges go unpunished by referee Rob Jones.

Saka had already troubled Spurs left-back Destiny Udogie during the opening exchanges and drew a foul from the defender which ultimately saw him pick up a yellow card in the 15th minute.

With little protection offered by full debutant Brenan Johnson it was no surprise when Saka punished Spurs 11 minutes later, cutting in from the right flank unchallenging and launching a goal bound shot that flew into the net via Cristian Romero’s outstretched boot.

Saka sprinted towards the corner flag in celebration before pretending to throw a dart, as Maddison has done on each occasion he has found the back of the net this season.

Arsenal missed several excellent opportunities to extend their lead, most notably through Gabriel Jesus who blazed over from 12 yards after he robbed a dawdling Maddison on the edge of the penalty area.

The Gunners were made to rue those missed opportunities three minutes before the interval when Maddison enjoyed a measure of revenge by teeing up Son Heung-min’s equaliser.

Mikel Arteta’s side thought they had escaped when David Raya made up for spilling a miscued cross by blocking Johnson’s close range effort.

The willing Maddison retrieved the ball, spun Saka and fired an inviting low cross into Son’s path and the Spurs skipper did the rest.

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