By Daily Sports on March 12, 2018

Son Heung-Min ensured Tottenham Hotspur didn’t pay a heavy price for an ankle injury suffered by Harry Kane as he scored twice in a win 4-1 at Bournemouth on Sunday.

Sixth-placed Arsenal were also comfortable 3-0 winners over Watford at the Emirates Stadium to snap a run of three straight Premier League defeats.

Spurs move above Liverpool into third in the Premier League, but it was a bittersweet victory with concerns over Kane’s fitness for both club and country.

England manager Gareth Southgate will name his squad for friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy later this month on Thursday.

“We are concerned because still we can’t know what will happen to him,” said Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

“We have to wait until tomorrow or after tomorrow for the scan for the reality. I hope it is not a massive problem. That is my wish.”

Tottenham had endured a hugely disappointing Champions League exit at the hands of Juventus in midweek and still seemed to be reeling as they struggled in the opening 10 minutes.

Junior Stanislas had already hit the bar with a clear chance before he opened the scoring by firing low into the far corner just seven minutes in.

Kane did have the ball in the net when he collided with Asmir Begovic just before the half-hour mark, but the offside flag had already been raised.

And much worse was to come for the visitors when Kane failed to return as he limped away to protect the same right ankle that saw him spend two short spells on the sidelines last season.

Spurs didn’t wallow for long, though, as just a minute after Erik Lamela replaced Kane, they levelled when Dele Alli steered home Serge Aurier’s excellent cross.

SCINTILLATING SON

The visitors always looked the likelier side to score after half-time and Son continued his scintillating form by acrobatically turning home Alli’s cross.

And with Bournemouth pushing for an equaliser, the South Korean had acres of space to run through and slot home his 18th goal of the season three minutes from time.

“I think he is doing a fantastic season, the best season since he arrived,” added Pochettino.

Indeed, only a super save from Begovic denied Son his hat-trick moments later.

But the Bournemouth ‘keeper was at fault as he parried Kieran Trippier’s cross into Aurier’s path, and the Ivorian headed home Spurs’ fourth in stoppage time.

Earlier, Arsenal eased the mounting pressure on Arsene Wenger by easing past Watford for a first Premier League win for five weeks.

Former Borussia Dortmund duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan again showed their fine relationship for the Gunners by teeing each other up to score in the second half after Shkodran Mustafi had headed the hosts into the lead.

Watford could have got back into the game at 2-0, but Troy Deeney saw his penalty saved by Petr Cech.

That was a sweet moment for the home fans, as Deeney had questioned Arsenal’s heart when the Hornets won the corresponding fixture in October.

“We have had a disappointing period and our supporters suffered like we suffered,” said Wenger after another sparse crowd at the Emirates.

“But our job is to perform and stick together in important moments and get the fans back on side.”

It was the first spot-kick the Czech ’keeper had saved in three years with Arsenal and it ensured he also became the first man to register 200 clean sheets in the Premier League.

“It is an unbelievable personal milestone,” said Cech who had waited since December for a shutout. “The most important thing is to win and so it was defeats that were more frustrating.”

•Sourced from AFP. Photo shows Arsenal’s legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 12, 2018

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