How Moussa Sissoko transformed into Tottenham's driving force

“I remember one day I hugged him when he was coming off and I told him, 'You are going to be a success here’,” Mauricio Pochettino recalls as Tottenham gear up to face Arsenal on Sunday. The player in question is Moussa Sissoko. No Spurs fan could have foreseen such a turnaround in fortunes in the France international. 

Sissoko moved to Tottenham in bizarre circumstances as Newcastle demanded a £30m fee for his services, even with the player ostracised from the team. Everton had met that asking price and were ready to secure his services, only for Tottenham to swoop in late on and have his move signed, sealed and approved before the summer deadline back in 2016. 

The move in theory made sense with Sissoko offering a direct threat from wide and in the middle of the park, affording Spurs another approach, but his style seemed to counter balance to the way Pochettino looked to play. However, he struggled with the demands of the Argentine and after his first and second seasons, he was linked with a move away from north London. 

Each time, though, Pochettino elected against allowing Sissoko leave and, in his third season at the club, the midfielder looks to be living up to his hefty price tag. In an injury crisis in central midfield, with Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama and, for a time, Eric Dier sidelined, Sissoko was entrusted to start alongside Harry Winks in a 4-2-3-1 setup and, you know what, it worked really well. Winks has the ball retention qualities and positional discipline to dictate the play in the middle of the park and this frees up Sissoko to charge forward and support the frontline. 

He has the high energy levels to break up opposition attacks and then, when he does win the ball, bombards upfield, maximising his speed to transition from defence to attack. What’s intriguing, though, is that Sissoko never looks ultimately comfortable when he is in possession. It’s as though the ball is a mysterious orb that he’s not sure what to do with, yet is able to keep in touching distance to ensure he doesn’t lose possession and as his performances have shown, it’s a tact that works. 

It means that a return of 1.6 successful dribbles per 90 is the fourth best of all Tottenham players in the Premier League this season, and 1.2 key passes is the fifth best at the club. Previously fans would audibly sigh when his name was announced in the starting XI, but confirmation of Sissoko’s inclusion from the get go is met with cheers as the 29-year-old wins over those who doubted him following his arrival from Newcastle two-and-a-half years ago. 

After relentlessly tearing Crystal Palace to shreds before the international break, both on and off the ball, Chelsea and and Inter were next to feel the full wrath of a Sissoko reborn under the watchful eye of Pochettino. Next up is Arsenal for the Frenchman and Tottenham, with Spurs making the trip to the Emirates for Derby Day on Sunday. 

The Gunners are on an 18-match unbeaten run, but have won only three of their last seven and if anyone can snap that run of form, it’s a Spurs side that has won their last five away league matches. With Spurs’ deadly attacking foursome of Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen all working well together again - the former trio were all on the scoresheet against Chelsea, while the latter chipped in with two assists - they have the means to really put Arsenal to the sword. 

Sissoko is the latest to sing from the same hymn sheet as the quartet and in providing attacking thrust and backup from a deeper position, with he, Alli and Eriksen all working in tandem to ensure there are no gaps in midfield, there’s another dimension to Spurs’ attack. Sissoko may have provided just the sole assist in the Premier League this season, but his numbers could have been higher had it not been for a last-ditch Mamadou Sakho block at Palace and Kane blazing a close-range chance over the bar against Chelsea. 

His good performances have reflected well on Football INDEX, too, with his share price rising 18.44% over the last seven days as users jump on the Sissoko hype train. He’ll have his hands full against an inspired Lucas Torreira in Sunday’s North London Derby, mind, but given the Frenchman’s good form of late, he could prove to be too hot to handle for the dogged Uruguayan.