Arsenal Could Not Handle Son Heung-Min But It Was Their Decision That Allowed Him To Play

Tottenham's Son Heung-min was a constant thorn in Arsenal's side as they suffered their heaviest ever loss in a Premier League north London derby on Thursday.

Son won the penalty from which Harry Kane scored the opening goal in Tottenham's 3-0 victory.

The South Korea star was also fouled four times by Rob Holding, who was consequently sent off after 33 minutes.

To cap off a dominant display, Son then scored his 21st Premier League goal of the season to rub salt into Arsenal's wounds.

But Arsenal brought this on themselves.

It was Arsenal's controversial call to request that this fixture be postponed in January.

Son had been injured with a hamstring problem when the game was originally due to take place on January 16.

Arsenal had availability issues of their own but sufficient resources to field a competitive team.

However, the match was called off after Arsenal made a request to the Premier League at the eleventh hour, citing COVID as a factor.

Son Heung-min (left) pictured celebrating after scoring in Tottenham's 3-0 win over Arsenal

IMAGO/PA Images/John Walton

Just one Arsenal player, Martin Odegaard, had been unavailable due to COVID. The other absentees were because of injury, suspension and call-ups to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Later in January, the Premier League changed its rules to avoid similar requests for postponements.

Despite Arsenal's humbling defeat at their local rivals on Thursday, the Gunners remain slight favorites to finish the season in fourth place.

Champions League qualification is still in Arsenal's hands. If they beat Newcastle and Everton, they cannot be caught by Tottenham.

But any dropped points in those games would leave the door wide open for Spurs to finish above their rivals for a sixth straight season.