Tottenham: Struggling Heung-min Son must step up as Spurs enter crucial period
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Heung-min Son put his finger to his lips to shush the Emirates Stadium crowd as he celebrated opening the scoring for Tottenham in Wednesday's north London derby. Son is Spurs’ captain and feels the fixture more than anyone in Ange Postecoglou's squad (five of the starting XI were making their first appearances against Arsenal) but, as he wheeled away towards the corner, perhaps the South Korean was also thinking of the doubters who have questioned his form.
By the end of another disappointing Spurs defeat (their 11th in 21 Premier League games this season), however, the questions around Son's form still felt pressing, in spite of his deflected finish, which briefly left the visitors well-placed for an important result.
Three times within the first 10 minutes, as Spurs withstood an early barrage, Son lost possession (on two of these occasions he wanted a foul from Jurrien Timber but his appeals were ignored), setting the tone for another underwhelming display from Tottenham's talisman.
Son failed to complete a single dribble, cross or key pass and had fewer touches (24) than any Spurs player who featured for more than 45 minutes. Most strikingly, Postecoglou's starting front three of Son, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all struggled to hold up the ball and relieve the mounting pressure on Antonin Kinsky's goal in the first half, which eventually told when Gabriel met Declan Rice's corner at the back post to force the equaliser.
