Son Heung Min Opens up On Angry Reaction to Being Substituted During North London Derby

• Son Heung-min moved to within one goal of Mohammed Salah in the race for the golden boot
• The South Korean was visibly upset when Antonio Conte decided to substitute him in the North London derby
• Tottenham were comprehensive 3-0 winners over Arsenal as the race for a top four spot heated up

Son Heung Min openly showed his discontent at being taken off in the second half during the entertaining North London derby on Thursday, May 12.

Tottenham had the perfect evening as they ran out 3-0 winners against their city rivals, in a game where Son found the net yet again.

With his goal, the South Korean moved to within a goal of top scorer Mohammed Salah in the Premier League with two games of the season to go.

The 29-year old clearly fancied his chances of catching up to Salah, and was left thoroughly disappointed when Conte decided to haul him off with 20 minutes of the game to go.

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Upon being substituted, Son looked utterly devastated, and had to be consoled by his teammates as he made his way onto the bench.

Tottenham went on to hold off 10-man Arsenal to secure a famous derby win, and speaking after the game, Son opened up about his frustrations.

While admitting that he was gutted to be substituted fairly early in the game, Son also said he respected his manager’s call.

"I mean obviously I want to play always, but what can I say, he is the manager and it is the gaffer's decision and I need to accept that," Son said. "[Conte] said we have an important game on Sunday, so it is no big deal. I am not angry, I am disappointed because I came off." He said as quoted by Daily Star.

Son’s substitution might prove to be a tactical masterclass from Conte, who had one eye on the Sunday game against Burnley as they seek to topple Arsenal from the top four.

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Arteta told he complains too much

In other news, Sports Brief reported on Antonio Conte’s savage reaction to Arteta lamenting about refereeing decisions in the North London derby.

After the game, a seething Arteta could not help but aim a subtle dig at the referee for his decision making in the game.

But Conte observed that the Arsenal boss had a tendency to complain, as he urged him to focus on his team instead.

“He has to continue to work because he's a very good [coach]. To hear someone complain all the time is not so good.”