Heung-min Son has provided an update on his fitness with the South Korean having found himself on the Tottenham Hotspur bench for the last three Premier League matches.
Ange Postecoglou has opted to start Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert at left wing ahead of him in each of the last three league games for the Lilywhites.
Son was superb against AZ Alkmaar which has left supporters questioning why the manager has not favoured him in the Premier League recently.
The 32-year-old has now opened up on why Postecoglou has decided to bench him over recent weeks following questions from the South Korean media.
Heung-min Son on why Ange Postecoglou has been benching him for Tottenham
Heung-min Son has revealed that Ange Postecoglou has been benching him due to Tottenham Hotspur’s hectic run of fixtures.
The Australian is taking a rather cautious approach with his top players to avoid running them into the ground and ending up yet with more injuries.
There have been question marks over the South Korean’s fitness, but the Spurs captain claims that he is in the best shape he has ever been in.
Son told the Korean media: “As I’ve repeatedly said, I’m in excellent physical condition. I believe I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been.
“Since we’ve had so many matches, I think my club manager made those decisions to create better situations.
“Personally, I feel great, and there are no issues at all. I just want to emphasize that I’m maintaining a very good condition.”
How many minutes has Heung-min Son played recently?
Son has completed just one set of 90 minutes across the last six matches in all competitions and has been benched in half of those fixtures.
Fixture Minutes playedI pswich Town74Man City23AZ Alkmaar72 Bournemouth45 AZ Alkmaar90 Fulham45 Heung-min Son’s recent minutes
The winger was introduced at half-time in league games against Bournemouth and Fulham with Postecoglou quickly deciding he needed his captain on the field.
Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes is in the news.
The Brazil international has become one of the best central defenders in the world. He has been fantastic for the Gunners and has formed a great partnership alongside William Saliba.
Gabriel is one of the first names on Arsenal’s team sheet every week, and he is one of Martin Odegaard’s vice-captains at the club as well.
He is a hugely important player for Mikel Arteta, but the centre-half has been attracting some serious interest from Saudi Arabia.
This, however, isn’t the first time.
The truth behind Mikel Arteta dropping Gabriel Magalhaes at Arsenal in 2023
Gabriel has almost always been a regular starter at Arsenal since he joined the club in 2020.
The Brazilian has played 209 games for the Gunners in all competitions, and Arteta would ideally want him to double those appearances in the coming years.
Back in the summer of 2023, there was interest from Saudi Arabia in Gabriel, and rumours claimed that he was ready to go there as well.
Charles Watts has now revealed that Arteta dropped Gabriel then for this reason – even though he publicly claimed at the time that it was due to tactics.
The journalist wrote in The Daily Briefing: “In the summer of 2023 there were fears at Arsenal that Gabriel’s head had been turned by the money that was on offer, which was why he was left out of the team in those early games that season.
“Mikel Arteta publicly said it was tactical, but it wasn’t. It was because of what was going on behind the scenes with the interest from Saudi.
“Arsenal did not want to lose him and ultimately Gabriel stayed put, with Arteta swiftly restoring him to his starting XI once the situation was put to bed.”
Arsenal already have a plan for Gabriel
Arsenal, unsurprisingly, have no interest in selling Gabriel.
The Gunners have the best defence in the Premier League thanks to the former Lille man and Saliba, and breaking that partnership up could create a ton of problems.
So, Arsenal are planning to offer a new contract to Gabriel – that will be one of the first things Andrea Berta will do once he is officially announced as the new sporting director.
However, it remains to be seen if the Brazil international will reject the tempting riches of Saudi Arabia for a deal at the Emirates Stadium this summer.
Gabriel’s current contract at Arsenal expires in 2027.
