Son, Tottenham Hotspur delivers in preseason finale versus Arsenal

It was not all blood and guts but few punches were pulled in an aggressive and entertaining preseason north London derby as Tottenham beat Arsenal 1-0.

Fans were back and so was the fun at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Spurs finished an unbeaten preseason topping Arsenal 1-0. It was not a classic performance and both teams had some chances but the Lilywhites had the best ones and more importantly scored the only goal to reward the fans. The Spurs showed some good signs and had some wobbles but on the whole, deserved the win and are starting to look ready for Manchester City.

What worked for Spurs on Sunday

After struggling at times in possession against Chelsea, overall Tottenham was much better on the ball against Arsenal. The first 15 minutes and really most of the second half were really controlled by Tottenham and their crisp flow of passing.

The Lilywhites leverage the long ball

We saw less of the through balls that had been a staple of the Tottenham attack up to now, and instead, we saw more long balls up to the front of the attack. Whether it was Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, or even Japhet Tanganga the Lilywhite defense did well to leverage long balls out of the back to keep pressure on Arsenal defensively and create possession in attack.

In the first minute of the match, Tanganga was playing a wonderful long diagonal ball out to Lucas and although the Brazilian and Dele could not quite hook up to finish the movement, it was clear the Spurs were going to attack the Gunners. Sanchez in particular played several nice balls over the top, which will help to keep defenses honest as the season progresses.

We even saw a nice quick restart from Hugo Lloris – who is not known for his distribution. If Tottenham moves faster in all aspects of the game to keep the game going, the long balls will be more effective so this was a positive sign from Lloris.

Tottenham knows how to recover the ball

Besides the long balls working to push Arsenal deeper in defense, Tottenham showed they have not lost the ability to counterattack after a ball recovery. Both teams had some of their best chances in transition as ball recovery was at a premium on the day as everyone was trying to make a tackle.

Five yellow cards in a friendly is usually a sign that things are pretty rough and it seemed like there could have been 40 fouls, not the 21 called on the day.

What was particularly impressive on the day was the ball recovery after losing the ball. Oliver Skipp in particular was tenacious in working to win the ball. Whether covering for a misplayed pass from his mates or recovering from his own giveaway, the young man showed the effort we need for him to help this team.

Ultimately, the goal for Tottenham was from some hard work and fighting for possession from Japhet Tanganga. His ability to win the ball back in the attacking third set up the goal. Then a sweet little dink chip from Giovani Lo Celso – who was sharp in limited minutes – put Tanganga in. Japhet then made a good decision with a little cut-back pass to Heung-Min Son, who took a touch and buried the ball past Leno for the 1-0 lead and win.

Spurs created several good chances

After struggling much of last season to mount a sustained attack offensively, it was good to see Tottenham outshoot Arsenal. Both teams only managed two shots on target, but Spurs did manage 12 to Arsenal’s 11 overall and of course scored the only goal.

Outside of the goal, it was Tottenham that had the best chances. Dele Alli hit the post twice – once on a darting run into the box and once on a corner – both off nice balls from Son. On a different day, those balls bounce in and not out, and the Spurs cruise.

Son probably should have scored earlier in the match himself as Lucas Moura did some nice work on the left to get around Hector Bellerin and put a cross into Son. Only a good save from Leno denied the South Korean in that instance.

This is not to say Tottenham was the only one with chances as Lacazette had three half-chances for Arsenal. However, only one of this three was on target and Hugo Lloris got down well to save it. That said, there was no big moment for Arsenal where the Gunners should have scored, and substitute keeper Pierluigi Gollini – making his second outing for Tottenham – did not even have to make a save in his 22 minutes.

A solid final preseason outing for the Spurs as they face the defending Champions to open the campaign a week from today. The good news is it looks like Tottenham should be ready.