For most of the 2020s, Bukayo Saka has been London's most popular player. His standing as the homegrown hero at the capital's most-supported club, combined with an inoffensiveness and lack of boastful arrogance to the neutral, has made him an attraction as notable as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace, an icon on his way to red bus and red phone box immortality. He is Arsenal's best player in the Emirates Stadium era.
But into the picture has come Cole Palmer, an out-of-town Mancunian making himself a home at Chelsea. The 22-year-old's unassuming charisma and number-running has served as catnip to the football world, particularly down in the Big Smoke. He is the early-season favourite to take various Player of the Year awards.
Saka and Palmer bring similar skillsets to the table, and right now are doing much of the heavy lifting to carry the hopes of their respective teams this season. The Gunners' regression has seen the already overworked Saka take on more of the creative and scoring burden, while Palmer is quite clearly the Blues' best shot of achieving anything of note in the BlueCo era.
Sunday's showdown at Stamford Bridge represents the perfect opportunity for Palmer to snatch the capital crown from Saka and kick-start Chelsea's new era, all the while tearing down the flailing hopes of Arsenal.
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