Tottenham's Son Heung-min played the hero's role in a thrilling North London derby against Arsenal, securing a 2-2 draw with a brilliant double. The Premier League clash on Sunday saw both teams coming from behind twice in a gripping encounter.
The action began with Cristian Romero's unfortunate own goal giving Arsenal the lead in the 26th minute. However, Son displayed his prowess just before halftime, levelling the score with a skilful finish.
In the 54th minute, Romero was again in the spotlight, this time for conceding a penalty that Bukayo Saka calmly converted to put Arsenal ahead once more. But Son quickly came to Tottenham's rescue, capitalising on a mistake by Arsenal's substitute, Jorginho.
Both teams had opportunities to secure a victory, with Son almost completing his hat-trick for Tottenham, and Saka seeing his shot saved. Despite ten minutes of stoppage time, neither side could break the deadlock, leaving them both undefeated in the league this season with 14 points from six games. Tottenham sits in fourth place, edging out fifth-placed Arsenal on goal difference. Manchester City leads the table with 18 points, followed by Liverpool with 16 and Brighton and Hove Albion with 15.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed disappointment at not securing all three points, praising his team's energy but noting a lack of composure in possession.
Tottenham, under the leadership of new manager Ange Postecoglou, has seen a positive shift in mood after finishing eighth last season, a position below Arsenal for the first time since 2016. With Harry Kane's absence for the derby, Son stepped up as a lethal striker, adding two goals to his tally and securing a well-fought draw.
The match began with Arsenal dominating, as they came off a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. Spurs' goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made crucial saves to deny Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah early on. However, Spurs was unlucky when a Saka shot took a deflection off Romero and found the back of the net.
Tottenham threatened with a Brennan Johnson attempt, but Arsenal's David Raya made a solid save. The visitors equalised before halftime when James Maddison set up Son for a deft flick past Raya.
Romero's misfortune continued when his outstretched arm blocked a Ben White shot, leading to a VAR-awarded penalty, which Saka converted. But Tottenham wasted no time in responding, as Son capitalised on Jorginho's error, calmly slotting the ball into the net.
Tottenham had a late opportunity to take the lead when Dejan Kulusevski played a pass to Son, who fired into the side netting. Saka had a late chance, saved by Vicario, and Arsenal's nerves were tested as Richarlison's effort narrowly missed the target, with the match extending to 100 minutes on the clock.
