Mikel Arteta paid reluctant praise to a ‘really good’ Tottenham Hotspur team after Heung-Min Son struck twice to claim a Premier League point away at Arsenal on Sunday.
The North London Derby seldom disappoints, and this was no exception. A genuine blockbuster of a fixture, the script and the cinematography were certainly befitting of the occasion, while two genuine A-listers in Bukayo Saka and Heung-Min Son acted their backsides off in a pair of Oscar-baiting performances.
Saka scored twice at one end. Tottenham’s own number seven repeating the trick at the other.
And while Arteta was disappointed with the manner of Arsenal’s concessions – Son cancelling out Saka’s second half penalty almost immediately as Jorginho was pickpocketed by James Maddison – the Gunners boss was far from inconsolable after avoiding defeat against a Spurs side pursuing a first league win at the Emirates since 2011.
Arsenal avoid Tottenham defeat
“In big games, the boxes are so important. We have to put those chances away, and we didn’t,” Arteta tells the Arsenal website. “We had some errors in both goals to concede, and then it becomes difficult to win. But, honestly, the effort, the energy that the boys put in, the attitude… it was phenomenal.
“I think we today lacked certain composure on the ball to be more dominant, and to get set to get the structure we needed against a really good Spurs side.
“I think the second half we regained a lot of balls in high press as well. Credit to (Tottenham), because they have the quality and take their chances to do that.”
Son steps into Harry Kane’s shoes
Son has five goals in just six Premier League games so far this term. He is already halfway to matching his tally from the whole of 2022/23, rolling back the years with two clinical finishes shortly only a few weeks after that hat-trick against Burnley.
While not quite as explosive as he once was at the age of 31, a bonafide centre-forward role appears to suit Spurs’ South Korean superstar down to the ground; his game less about bursts of pace and more about instinctive finishing these days.
