Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min has praised Arsenal for one thing after the Gunners’ North London derby win.
Arsenal kept the pressure on Manchester City in the Premier League title race as they recorded a 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners had taken a 3-0 lead by half-time, and were able to cling on throughout an increasingly nervy second half in order to claim all three vital points.
Set-pieces make all the difference for Arsenal in win v Tottenham Hotspur
Mikel Arteta’s side drew first blood with just 15 minutes on the clock. Bukayo Saka delivered a corner to the near post where, under pressure from Takehiro Tomiyasu, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could only succeed in glancing the ball into the back of his own net.
Saka then doubled the visitors’ advantage as he finished off a quick-counter attack by picking out the bottom corner. Saka was able to match two feats previously achieved by Ian Wright for Arsenal in this match.
Kai Havertz then put the Gunners 3-0 up before the break. Again, this goal came from a corner. Declan Rice delivered the cross on this occasion, and the German forward was able to find space in the box, win his header, and convert from close range.
Arsenal have been the most successful team in the Premier League when it comes to scoring goals from corners this season. Their excellence in this regard made all the difference against Spurs on Sunday. Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover was praised by Gary Neville for his influence on this match.
The hosts mounted a fight-back in the second half. A David Raya error gifted Spurs a goal, before Son Heung-min converted a late penalty to bring the score to 3-2. This made the final few minutes extremely nervy for Arsenal fans. Ultimately, they were able to hold on.
Son Heung-min praises Arsenal for one thing
Arsenal’s set-pieces made all the difference in the end, and Son was quick to praise that element of the Gunners’ game after the final whistle. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said “They were clinical and strong in the air. We had a lot of opportunities, hitting the post and having a disallowed goal.
“As I said before it was a big game and we had to be strong at set-pieces. Obviously they are good, but I think everyone has to step up.”
Given Arsenal’s record from set-pieces, Spurs will have expected them to be a threat in such scenarios, and will be especially disappointed to have conceded twice from corners despite having recognised the danger they faced in advance of the game.