Tottenham’s Son scores a 25-yard curled strike against Arsenal

Son Heung-min of the Tottenham Hotspur who scored a fantastic goal in the “North London Derby” against Arsenal, didn’t stop smiling. Normally a self-effacing character, the 28-year-old Korean winger wasn’t hesitant to express how proud he was of his goal this time. Pointing out that his goals against Arsenal were missing from the social media feed, Son said in an interview that he hopes the goal from Sunday would be used forever.

In the Sunday match at Hotspur Stadium, Son netted a “wonder goal” against Arsenal. In the 13th minute, the South Korean galloped down the pitch upon receiving the ball from Harry Kane before firing a thunderous spin shot near the left side of the penalty arc with his right foot. The ball flew some 25 meters and cruised into the goalposts. Bernd Leno, Arsenal’s goalie who is 190 centimeters tall, threw himself to save the goal but with little avail. Posting the goal its twitter account, Tottenham Hotspur called it an absolutely unforgettable strike.

The spot where he scored the wonder goal this time is dubbed a “Son Heung-min zone.” In fact, Son honed his finishing skills in the zone as a boy with his father, practicing shots over 200 times each from the left and right side of the penalty box. “The goal came from the spot where I practiced a lot. I am really happy I could find the net from the very first opportunity for our time,” said Son after the game. Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho turned around to his son in the stand with his arms wide open to celebrate Son’s fantastic scoring, and said Son’s goal was simply amazing, adding even his son seemed awestruck. BBC said it was a fantastic finish from “world class” Son Heung-min.

Tottenham recovered his standing as EPL leaders after sinking Arsenal (ranked 15) 2-0, on the back of Son Heung-min, who found the opener and gave an assist for Harry Kane in the 46th minute of the first half. Having scored his 10th goal in EPL this season (a total 13 goals including Europa League), Son has set a two-digit scoring record in the EPL for the fifth consecutive season. “Son Heung-min has now scored as many Premier League goals as Arsenal this season,” said ESPN FC on its twitter account after the Sunday game. The only player who scored more goals than Son this season is Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton, who has found 11 goals.


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com