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LEGEND RETURNS: SON HEUNG-MIN'S FAREWELL GREETS WINLESS SPURS CRISIS

Spurs legend Son Heung-min returns for a celebration while manager Thomas Frank struggles to end a five-game winless streak, highlighting the leadership vacuum.

Legend Returns: Son Heung-min's Farewell Greets Winless Spurs Crisis
Frank: Son's Leadership Missed

Son, the Spurs legend, is coming back to north London next week for a proper farewell.

Recently, the team hasn't been doing so hot. Tottenham hasn't won in its last five games across all competitions.

Son is seen as a club legend, so his return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will definitely be a celebration. When asked if the team misses Son's quiet leadership, Frank said that others need to step up.

“Yeah, I don't know. I would say he's not here, so others need to step up,” Frank said at the press conference before the match.

“It's like when you miss a player for any reason. Sonny has leadership qualities; he brings people together, all that.

“The level they had, others will step up, others will shine a little bit more, because some of the players that were there before took the shine, if that makes sense.”

Frank has only won once in his first seven home league games. He hopes his luck changes against his former club and that Tottenham gets a rare home win while Son is there.

“That would be nice. No doubt about that. I'm so pleased for Sonny that he's coming back, and I really hope he gets the celebration he deserves for everything he's done for this club,” Frank said.

“He was a guy who was really good at bringing people together at this club.”

I'm so pleased for Sonny that he came back and then really, hopefully got the well-deserved celebration for everything he's done for this club.

Thomas Frank

Son's absence has been felt by Frank since he started in north London. The Dane is having trouble deciding on who should play left wing.

Xavi Simons, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, and Richarlison have all played on the left, but Frank doesn't seem sold on any of them.

When asked if he had picked a go-to left winger, Frank said there's a lot of competition.

“I think it's fair to say that there is competition for that left-side role. I think everyone can see that there are two things in it.

“We've played a fair amount of games; we play every third or fourth day, so there needs to be rotation as well.

“But (it is) also fair to say there's not been one player that put his foot down and said, ‘Boom, I'm playing that position.’”

VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE

Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.

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Antoine Semenyo’s clumsy challenge handed Chelsea a vital lifeline

Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.

This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.

What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.

VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."

VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.

At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.

Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.

The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.

Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.

A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.

Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Referee: Sam Barrott

VAR: Craig Pawson

What: VAR check for a foul in the box

When: 11th minute

BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW

Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.

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Emery snubs Arteta's handshake

Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.

This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.

Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.

Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.

Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.

After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.

It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.

“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.

“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”

About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.

“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.

“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.

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