Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said Lilywhites skipper Son Heung-min was the one player in the Premier League he would have wanted as the ideal player that could have put Arsenal in pole position to edge out Manchester City to win the Premier League title.
The Gunners now head into the final weekend of the campaign relying instead on West Ham to take decisive points off Pep Guardiola’s side to end an arduous 20-year wait to win the league.
Conversely it could well be City now needing assistance from Arsenal’s opponents Everton on Sunday – despite Pep Guardiola and his key players maintaining that the edge is with them and that it is on them to dictate the final outcome – had Tottenham captain Son not misfired an 86th-minute equaliser that was intuitively blocked by substitute goalkeeper Stefan Ortega when the South Korean was clean through on goal on Tuesday.
“If I had to pick a player in the Premier League for that moment then it would have been him,” Arteta said.
“Michael Jordan explained it many times, how many times you have the winning shot and how sometimes he didn’t always manage to do it.
“This is the beauty of the sport too, so what can you do?”
City ended up beating Spurs 2-0 and will wrap up a fourth straight title if they beat David Moyes’ Hammers at the Etihad Stadium, which they are expected as favorites on paper to do so.
However a slip is all Arsenal needs to win their first championship since the 2004 Invincibles campaign by beating the Toffees.
Arteta – having been Guardiola’s assistant at City for two title-winning campaigns between 2016 and 2019 – said it would be one of his life’s greatest achievements if that should actually materialize.
“It would be one of the best days of my life,” Arteta said.
“It is a big dream I didn’t achieve as a player. If I can do it, especially with the people I work with everyday, it will be some day.
“It was great (winning as an assistant). Lifting the trophy was beautiful.”
Arteta believes the title battle highlighted the “magic” of the Premier League.
“The magic is already happening because this is what every football supporter wants and lives that it goes to the last game,” the Arsenal boss added.
“The last minute of the Premier League at this level, the most beautiful league in the world by far where you have two teams. This is what you want, this is why it’s the most competitive league in the world.
“The unpredictability is like a drug. You are still there, you still have to earn it and it’s uncertain. There are a lot of factors which can change things around very quickly but when you manage to do it, it’s phenomenal.”