Report: Stats show why Spurs should not worry about Son’s goal drought

The Athletic have dug into the numbers behind Son Heung-min’s poor start to the season, and have concluded that it is only a matter of time before the South Korean finds his goalscoring boots.

Son has not found the back of the net and provided just one assist in the eight games so far this season (Transfermarkt).

Much to the frustration of some Spurs fans, Antonio Conte has continued showing faith in the forward, who has started every game this season.

The Athletic have now done some digging and found out that despite Son’s struggles this season, his underlying numbers have not changed much.

The report reveals that the 30-year-old averages 3.1 shots per game, which is more than most previous seasons and is also averaging 4.8 touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes, which is more than the previous two campaigns.

His xG per 90 is also said to be in line with most of his previous seasons, suggesting that the forward is still getting as many chances.

In addition, The Athletic point out that Son is no stranger to goal droughts and has had barren patches plenty of times across his Spurs career.

The report reveals that the forward endured a goalless run of six and seven games in 2020/21 and five and seven in 2019/20. He also started the 2018/19 season with a run of nine games without a goal while also failing to score in the final 10 games of 2017/18.

Spurs Web Opinion

Son is clearly short of confidence at the moment and perhaps Conte feels that leaving him on the bench will only exacerbate that problem. The numbers suggest that the floodgates might well open for the South Korean once he gets off the mark for the season.

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