Fri 26 April 2024, 16:45
Tottenham HotspurHeung-Min Son is ready to take the game to Arsenal ahead of our ‘biggest game of the season’ at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Our Club captain is set to lead the side out for the first time in a home north London derby in what will be his 20th appearance against the Gunners in all competitions, the most of any Spurs outfield player in the Premier League era.
The man for the big occasion, few players in our recent history are more well-versed in what this rivalry means than our number seven, especially after netting twice in the reverse fixture to secure a 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium in September, 2023.
That brace took Sonny’s tally to six in top-flight meetings in this fixture - second only to Harry Kane who holds the outright record on 14 goals - and meant he has now either scored or assisted eight of our last 12 league goals against our N5 opponents.
Watch - Son's double against the Gunners
With a lot on the line for both sides heading into the 2pm kick-off in N17, the Korea international admits he is up for the contest and the squad are relishing the fixture after an intensive block of training at Hotspur Way.
"We had a massive week to prepare for this big game,” said the 31-year-old, speaking ahead of the 195th NLD in history.
"We’re feeling great. It’s a game everybody is looking forward to, it’s a big derby and we know what it means for the team, the Club and for the fans. We’ve prepared well for this game so we can impose our style.
"I always have confidence in my ability going into all matches and approach it with the same mindset, so I wouldn’t say I’m more motivated because it’s Arsenal as I see every game as big.
"Every game is a chance for me to impress. It’s not important who scores the goals or that I’ve scored six goals previously, I just need to be ready to fight in what is probably the biggest game of the season so far."
Up next is the first of our final six matches of the 2023/24 campaign, with a run-in comprising the Premier League’s current top three with Liverpool and Manchester City still awaiting Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Two weeks on from our disappointing defeat at Newcastle United last time out, our skipper admitted the squad are fired up to make amends on Sunday and are looking forward to testing themselves against some of the best teams in the world ahead of an enticing finish to the season.
"We have to be ready to bounce back," said our talismanic forward. "It was an unacceptable result and performance from myself included. As a group, we were talking about this game and performance, and everybody knows we now have to step up.
"It will be a really good game to bounce back and obviously the motivation will be even higher than in other games so we have to work hard until the game. It’s more important the way we play, rather than who we’re against, so we need to stick to our game. Then there's no doubt we can bounce back.
"This is a very good test for our team, we are still young and building experience. We have players who are in their first season here so it’s an opportunity to test ourselves against the biggest teams in the Premier League and Europe. This kind of competition is perfect and will be a great test because you want to face the best teams in the world."
