Tottenham: Struggling Heung-min Son must step up as Spurs enter crucial period | OneFootball

Concerns over captain’s form remain prominent despite his contract extension and north London derby goal

Heung-min Son put his finger to his lips to shush the Emirates Stadium crowd as he celebrated opening the scoring for Tottenham in Wednesday's north London derby.

By the end of another disappointing Spurs defeat (their 11th in 21 Premier League games this season), however, the questions around Son's form still felt pressing, in spite of his deflected finish, which briefly left the visitors well-placed for an important result.

Three times within the first 10 minutes, as Spurs withstood an early barrage, Son lost possession (on two of these occasions he wanted a foul from Jurrien Timber but his appeals were ignored), setting the tone for another underwhelming display from Tottenham's talisman.

Son failed to complete a single dribble, cross or key pass and had fewer touches (24) than any Spurs player who featured for more than 45 minutes.

Most strikingly, Postecoglou's starting front three of Son, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all struggled to hold up the ball and relieve the mounting pressure on Antonin Kinsky's goal in the first half, which eventually told when Gabriel met Declan Rice's corner at the back post to force the equaliser.

When a Spurs forward had a sniff, they were invariably smothered by Timber, Gabriel, William Saliba or the hugely impressive Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18.

When they did get on the ball in the final third, they were blunt, and Son's goal was one of only two Spurs shots on target, along with a tame Kulusevski effort.

Son was not alone in struggling for Spurs at the Emirates but for Kulusevski and Solanke, it was an off game in an otherwise strong season; for Son, it was a difficult evening in keeping with a difficult campaign.

Son has directly contributed to 12 goals (including six assists) in 18 appearances in the top-flight – decent numbers all things considered, even if they are not at his usual standards.

It is hard, though, to shake the feeling that Spurs' talisman is labouring, short of confidence and a yard off his usually-blistering pace, and playing within himself.

Is age catching up with the 32-year-old or is he simply jaded from Spurs' midwinter injury crisis and the burden of trying to lead a flagging group of players?

Postecoglou has been adamant that questions about Son are premature, pointing out that he needs a rest and is operating in a "dysfunctional" team.

"An as attacking player, what do you need? You need a team that's in good form creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is cohesive. None of these things exist at the moment," the head coach said last week, when asked about his skipper's form.

It is an important point, even if Spurs could have done with Son dragging them through some recent matches, as Harry Kane so often did during their miserable 2022-23 campaign, when the England captain still managed to score 30 League goals.

Postecoglou has compared Son with Mohamed Salah, also 32, who had a difficult second half of last season after returning from the African Cup of Nations, with the head coach suggesting that even the Egyptian would struggle to perform for Spurs at present and, conversely, that Son would be in better touch for Liverpool.

Fortunately for Son, reinforcements should be on the way. Mikey Moore and Richarlison, who are both comfortable in Son's left-wing role, have returned to action this week and will be jostling for more minutes at Everton on Sunday, while Spurs are in the market for a new forward this month.

Watching Son, Solanke and Kulusevski struggle against Arsenal, looking exhausted, it was easy to understand why Postecoglou fears for their form without extra support in the second half of the campaign and the head coach reiterated calls for the club to provide "help" for the front three before the match.

Son has, plainly, earned the benefit of the doubt over his subdued form but with more support around him, he will be expected to start stepping up for struggling Spurs, particularly as their next five league matches are against clubs in 10th place or below.

Spurs last week exercised an option in Son's contract to extend his deal by a further year, tying him to the club until the end of next season. It was a move that ended the short-term questions about Son's future but, for now, the long-term concerns over his form remain, as Spurs enter another crucial period.