(Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison said they showed resilience once again in the Premier League by battling back for a 2-2 draw at Arsenal on Sunday and that they are leaving the ‘Spursy’ tag behind them.
Maddison, who joined from Leicester City in June, set up both goals for captain Son Heung-min as Spurs twice came from behind to earn a point in the North London derby.
Tottenham fought back to beat Sheffield United in their previous Premier League game, scoring twice deep into stoppage time to win 2-1, and Maddison said jibes from fans and the media that Spurs cave when under pressure are undeserved.
“When you hear fans and neutrals talk about Tottenham, they often say ‘soft, weak, bottle it, Spursy’, all that rubbish,” he told Talksport.
“I think the last couple of weeks shows we might be going in a slightly different direction. We scored in the 98th and 101st minute against Sheffield United to win late on when it looked like it was going to be one of those days.
“And today we go behind twice at arguably one of the best teams in the world and we pull it back and we’re still fighting to the end.”
Son, who scored in each half to cancel out Cristian Romero’s own goal and Bukayo Saka’s penalty, praised Tottenham’s “great character”.
“I think the performance was fantastic. We gave everything until the final whistle,” Son said. “Obviously the derby is an emotional game.
“Coming back at the time was important. We showed great character and Maddison showed great bravery.”
Both teams remain unbeaten in the league with 14 points from six games, with Tottenham in fourth, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
