Antonio Conte has jokingly explained his reason for the substitution of Son Heung-min against Arsenal, a decision which left the Tottenham star an unhappy man.
Son was heavily involved in the north London derby victory on Thursday night, fouled numerous times by Gunners defender Rob Holding which ultimately led to his red card for two bookings. The South Korean star had earned Spurs a penalty after a push by Cedric Soares, then put in the corner that led to Harry Kane scoring his second goal before Son put the finishing touch on the performance with a goal of his own just two minutes into the second half.
With 18 minutes to go of the match, Conte made a double change, bringing Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn on for Dejan Kulusevski and Son with Sunday's lunchtime kick-off against Burnley in mind. The latter was not impressed and could be seen complaining about the decision while leaving the pitch and then on the bench. It was only after a big hug and chat from Conte after the final whistle that Son's trademark smile returned.
