Son Heung-min has said that he and his teammates are desperate to prove a point against Arsenal on the back of their poor showing against Newcastle two weeks ago.
The 4-0 loss to the Magpies was arguably the Lilywhites’ most disappointing performance of the season, with the away side being second-best all over the pitch.
The Tottenham players have had two weeks to recover from that result and nothing focuses the mind as well as the North London derby.
Son admitted that there has been a lot of discussion internally among the squad about the upcoming game, with the players being keen to showcase their best.
The Tottenham captain said ahead of the big fixture (via Football.London): “We’re working hard. We had a massive week to prepare for this big game and we’re feeling great.
“Obviously, it’s a game everyone is looking forward to. It’s a big derby and we know what it means for the team and the club and also for the fans. So we’re going to prepare well and play our style of game.
“We have to be ready. It was an unacceptable result and unacceptable performance [at Newcastle], as well from me. As a group, we’re talking a lot about this game and performance and everybody knows how to step up, they’ve all been playing long enough in the Premier League or in a professional team.
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“So they’re working really hard to bounce back. It will be a really good game to bounce back and obviously, the motivation will be even higher than in other games so I think we’ve got to just work hard until the game and do our style of play. Then there’s no doubt we can bounce back.”
Son is keen to test himself against Arsenal
Son has a very good record against Arsenal and the forward usually tends to step up against the bigger sides. The South Korean confessed that he relishes these sorts of games and admitted that he does not need any extra motivation, given the bragging rights at stake for the fans.
He continued: “I’m always the type of guy with full confidence going into the games, believing in myself. Every single game is the same mindset. It doesn’t motivate me even more because it’s Arsenal. Every single game is big for me and a chance to show how impressive I can be.
“It’s not important who scores the goals or that I scored six goals previously in this game. I just need to be ready for the biggest game of the season.”
While Tottenham need the win in order to keep up the pressure on Aston Villa in the race for fourth, Son confessed that the players are also keen to test themselves against one of the best sides in the Premier League.
He added: “I think it will be a good test for our team. Obviously, we’re very young and we’re still a little bit inexperienced because we’re building a team with a young side with new experiences.
“Some of them are in their first season in the Premier League. So look, we can test ourselves against one of the biggest teams in Europe and the Premier League, but also in the world.
“So I think it’s very important the way we play. Stick to our play, stick to our game. I think it’s a very, very good test. As I said, it’s against one of the best teams in the world so it’s perfect [for us]. You want to always have good competition and you always want to face the best teams in the world.”
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It sounds like the players are raring to go and they will have the backing of a boisterous home crowd on Sunday, with every tackle likely to be met with huge cheers. These are the sort of matches that the really big players live for.
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