'Captain SON will explode!'+'Tottenham is in trouble again' Son Heung-min, frustrating Postecoglou shooting? "Same frustration as last season"→"Fans must have been disappointed as well"

Sep 16, 2024

The opinions of captain Son Heung-min and coach Enze Postecoglou were divided over the issue surrounding Tottenham.

Tottenham lost 0-1 to Arsenal in the fourth round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 15th (Korea time).

Tottenham was expected to dominate the game on the day. Arsenal had to miss key midfield resources due to injuries, and Tottenham faced off with the best lineup except Yves Bissouma. Expectations were high that he would win by catching Arsenal at home.

But Tottenham's hopes did not come true. Rather, Arsenal's attack destroyed Tottenham. In the 19th minute of the second half, defender Gabriel Magalyangis finished with a header with Bukayo Saka's ball on the corner and shook Tottenham's net. After the loss Tottenham went all out to make up for it, but to no avail. Tottenham, which failed to make up for the gap of one goal, lost the game as it was, recording its first consecutive defeat of the season.

After the game, there was a lot of criticism about Tottenham's set-piece problem. Sky Sports panelist Jamie Carragher said `Tottenham's corner-kick defense was weak. Arsenal, on the other hand, are strong in set piece. This difference changed the result." British media also reported that Postecoglou will have to think about defending set pieces for the rest of the season.

However, Coach Postecoglou denied this. He "broke most of the set-pieces well, but paid the price for one moment's mistake. Arsenal are a powerful and scary tip at set-pieces. Pass was accurate, Magalangis is always a threat in set pieces. Not one Romero, but everyone missed him. I paid for it," he said, insisting that there was no problem at all because it was just one mistake.

Then "For some reason people have been saying for quite some time that I don't care about set pieces. We always work on set pieces. I had a bitter taste today. I will continue to learn and move forward through this," he added, adding that he was continuing to think about the set piece.

However, he left a statement containing a tone of rebuttal to captain Son Heung-min. As a captain, the impact was even greater because it could be a word that represented the emotions of the team.

Son dominated the game in a post-match interview, but lost a set piece. I felt the same frustration as last season, and I think the fans would be disappointed. We have to improve, and we have to stick together in a difficult moment." He did not hide his regret for the set piece.

Tottenham's set-piece problem is not the problem that occurred this time. It has already been repeated since the end of last season. At the end of last season, Tottenham lost against Arsenal and Chelsea, giving them a game atmosphere by collapsing in back-to-back set-pieces. At that time, Son Heung-min and other players emphasized the need to improve the set piece. Son Heung-min said "We had to be strong in the set piece. Everyone should step up. You have to practice the set piece, have the strength and go back."

Postecoglou's position was the same at the end of last season. He might have put all his time and effort into it, if he thought fixing the set piece was the solution to bridging the gap. But that is not what we will do. Our set-piece defense was also very poor, but there are many other things to fix." He pointed out that set-piece is not the only problem.

Some British media reported that it is not unusual for Postecoglou to look disheartened after the defeat. Considering Tottenham's current tactics and tendency to lose set-pieces, there is certainly a lot to fill. However, Postecoglou warned that Tottenham had a much more important problem than a set-piece defense, and he had no hesitation in putting it on the table. 'The biggest problem Postecoglou faced was that, for the first time, the question of whether there had been a proper first season battle started.'"

Tottenham has been in trouble since the start of this season. There were also problems outside the game, such as the controversy over Bissouma's laughter gas and Rodrigo Bentancur's racism, but there were also a number of internal problems in the game. There was no good performance at the beginning of last season, and recently, the set-piece kicker problem broke out.

When Tottenham got a free kick in a good position during the last Newcastle match, Bissouma extorted the ball by expressing his intention to handle the free kick. Immediately, the prisoner complained and made a gesture for the ball. The problem grew as the non-marine did not back down. As it took a considerable amount of time due to the war of nerves between the two players, Son Heung-min appeared to step up and take away Bissouma's ball and make concessions. However, Bissouma did not retreat, and in the end, Son Heung-min shouted at Postecoglou toward the bench, and Porro took over the free kick while talking about it.

Tottenham reporter Alessdair Gold from Football London shouted to coach Postecoglou to decide as even the prisoners and Madison were deadlocked. This was a decision that could have been made by players or captains, but Radu Dragusin delivered the message' he explained that decisions regarding set pieces were not being made properly.

Along with Tottenham's sluggishness, several problems are being pointed out in each game. However, Tottenham and Postecoglou seem to need a decision to solve the set-piece problem that has been hampered since last season.

digh1229@sportschosun.com