"To be honest..." - Tottenham star gives extremely blunt reply when asked about Arsenal's league position

Tottenham star Son Heung-min insists he is not interested in Arsenal being top of the Premier League ahead of Sunday's North London derby.

Spurs host their bitter rivals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend, with 11 points currently separating the two teams in the Premier League.

Arsenal are five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table after their excellent start to the campaign under Mikel Arteta.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are fifth – two points off the top four – after struggling for consistency this season.

Son's blunt Arsenal reply

When asked if had been tough to watch Arsenal's impressive start to the campaign, Son told The Telegraph: "I'm not interested, to be honest."

Arsenal beat Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates earlier this season, with Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka scoring for the home side.

Spurs ended the match with 10 men after Emerson Royal was sent off for a rash challenge on Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli.

Son says his teammates have studied that defeat in detail and are confident of pulling off an upset this weekend.

"We lost against them in the away game, so we have a lot of homework (this week) to make it good again," he added.

"I think the fans were really disappointed when we lost at the Emirates, so I think we have a massive task at home.

"Everybody must be ready to throw their bodies in and we're good to go."

Son has struggled to produce his best form this season, managing only four goals in 16 appearances in the Premier League.

He ended a run of eight league matches without a goal by scoring in Tottenham's 4-0 win over Crystal Palace last week, and the South Korea international says it was a huge weight off his shoulders.

"Scoring goals is everything for a striker and this goal was important for my confidence because it doesn't matter how much you work hard if the ball doesn't go in the net you get down because you have to be scoring goals or making assists for the team," he said.

"The goal came at a very important time as well for me to get back on track."

Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Football, Arsenal, Premier League, Son Heung Min

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan