Son Heung-min relieved to end goal drought after firing Tottenham into EFL Cup quarter-finals against West Ham

The 26-year-old netted his first Spurs goal since March in a 3-1 victory at the London Stadium

Andy Sims
Thursday 01 November 2018 09:36 EDT
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Son Heung-min admitted he was relieved to finally end his goal drought after firing Tottenham into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

The 26-year-old, whose start to the season was delayed by playing for South Korea at the Asian Games, scored his first Spurs goals since March in the 3-1 win at West Ham.

"Winning in the derby against West Ham always feels very good," Son told Tottenham's official website. "The most important thing is that we won. We're in the next round and, finally, I scored!

"It's been a long time, I've been feeling really sorry. It feels really, really good to score again for this team. Finally I'm back to scoring.

"Of course I've got a little bit of confidence back. It's been a long time to score again because I went away for a long time so I felt very sorry but finally I can score for this team and help this team.

"I don't want to pressure myself but I'm always hungry and want to improve every day. If I don't score I'm sad. Of course winning is important but I always want to score and do my best for this team."

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min celebrates after scoring his side's second goal
Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min celebrates after scoring his side's second goal (AP)

Son found the net either side of half-time at the London Stadium before Lucas Perez pulled one back for West Ham, but Fernando Llorente killed off any hopes of a Hammers comeback to clinch a last-eight showdown with north London rivals Arsenal.

"If you want to win cups you've got to beat every team so I don't think it matters who comes next," added Son. "Arsenal away, we will go and get to the next round again."

West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic, who has been playing through the pain of a knee problem, came on as a substitute as they chased the game.

The Austrian was limping at one point after taking a hefty knock, but manager Manuel Pellegrini is confident he will be fit to face Burnley on Saturday.

"He is OK," said Pellegrini. "Marko just worked one day during the week so it was too risky to play more than 30 minutes. He has no problem - he always has some sort of disturbance with his knee, but it is not an injury."

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