Tottenham’s Son achieves Cup record in scoring

Son Heung-min [AP/YONHAP]

As Arsenal F.C. captured the FA Cup at the Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur set another Cup record, becoming the first Asian leading scorer. Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the final match.

With a victory, Arsenal also set a record for the most FA Cup wins, with 13. Throughout the FA Cup, Son scored six goals, a record high tied with Adam Morgan while playing for Cruzon Ashton. Theo Walcott of Arsenal was the runner-up with five goals, not being able to score during the final game against Chelsea F.C. Through the 100-year FA Cup history, it is the first time an Asian player was one of the leading scorers.

There are no awards or trophies given to the FA Cup’s leading scorer since the cup consists of teams from the Premier League, top division, the Championship League, second division, and other lower league teams. Son scored his first FA Cup goal against Aston Villa, Championship League, on Jan. 9, two goals during the game against Wycombe Wanderers F.C., EPL League Two, on Jan. 29, and three goals against Millwall F.C., Championship league, on March 13.

All six goals were scored against teams in the lower league, but this doesn’t mean that all the players can become leading scorers in the FA Cup. Looking at the top scorers in previous seasons, the majority of them were rated among the top strikers in the league throughout their career.

The 2016-17 season was by far the best of Son’s football career, as he became the first Asian football player in the Premier League to receive the player of the month award in September and April and surpassed Cha Bum-keun’s single-season record among Korean players, at 19, by scoring 21 goals. Of the 21, Son scored 14 in Premier League matches, six in the FA Cup and one in the UEFA Champions League matches.

After completing the Premier League season, Son returned to Korea last week with his teammates for a corporate event.

He and three other Hotspur players attended fan events organized by AIA, Hotspur’s main sponsor, and recently played in an offseason friendly match against Kitchee FC, which they won 4-1, at Hong Kong Stadium on Friday.

Son will now be focusing on playing for the Korean national football team as he will be joining the team’s first training at National Football Center today.

Led by Uli Stielike, the team is scheduled to play its final 2018 Russia World Cup qualification match against Qatar on June 14.

BY PHI JOO-YOUNG, KANG YOO-RIM [kang.yoorim@joongang.co.kr]