Analysis | The value of Sonny's goal contributions

Where would we be without Heung-Min Son's goal contributions?

A central component of our side since he made his move to north London in 2015, Sonny has always been key contributor to our offensive threat - but just how important have has his goal involvements been for us this season?

Appointed our Club captain at the start of the campaign, our number seven has more than set the standard in terms of his contributions to goals this term as, in just 21 appearances in the Premier League so far, he has returned a team-high of 18 goal involvements.

The question is though, where would we be without those goal contributions and how much have they been worth to us in terms of points?

Well, after our skipper returned to north London last weekend and came off the bench to provide the assist for our winner against Brighton, we have taken a deep dive into his goal and assist contributions this term.

So, via Opta's metric of measuring the difference between results if we were to discount Sonny's goal contributions, here is a look at how much our South Korean star's goal involvements have been worth...

Watch - all 18 of Sonny's goal involvements this season

Hat-trick at Turf Moor | +2

Burnley 2-5 Spurs | 2 September, 2023

After not registering a goal or an assist in his first three outings of the campaign, Sonny made up for it in style when we made the trip to Burnley at the start of September.

In our fourth league game of the season, the forward rattled home a hat-trick in Lancashire which, if it were to be removed from the record, would have seen us draw the game 2-2 meaning his hat-trick was, in effect, worth two additional points.

An historic brace at the Emirates | +1

Arsenal 2-2 Spurs | 24 September, 2023

On our very next away day, Sonny then hit a double as we earned a 2-2 draw with Arsenal.

A feat that had never been achieved by a Spurs player at the Emirates, our skipper twice struck at the home of our north London rivals to earn us our first point there since September, 2019.

After a Cristian Romero own goal broke the deadlock in N5, Sonny tucked home from close range to have us level at the break. A Bukayo Saka penalty for the hosts put them back ahead once more on 54 minutes but we made the perfect response, pouncing on a mistake at the back for the Gunners before Sonny fired in once more.

Opening the scoring vs the Reds | +2

Spurs 2-1 Liverpool | 30 September, 2023

Sonny's scoring run continued in our very next outing as he bagged the opener in our eventual 2-1 win over Arsenal.

Guiding home from close range against to open the scoring against our Merseyside visitors with 36 minutes played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we were later pegged back by a Cody Gakpo strike in first half injury time before ultimately winning the game in the final seconds thanks to a Joel Matip.

Striking his goal from the record would have seen us draw that game 1-1, meaning his effort contributed to an additional two points.

Scorer and creator | +2

Spurs 2-0 Fulham | 23 October, 2023

Sonny contributed to both of our goals as we ran out 2-0 winners over Fulham back in October.

The first of three times this season in which he has registered a goal and an assist in a game for us this season, Sonny opener the scoring - again on 36 minutes - with a curling shot from the edge of the area before he rolled the ball through for James Maddison to strike for the first time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 54 minutes.

Scoring the winner | +2

Crystal Palace 1-2 Spurs | 27 October, 2023

Sonny was the match-winner as we defeated Crystal Palace on a Friday night in late October adding another two points to his tally.

Scoring our second and ultimately the winner in south London, the forward converted from close range to round of a fantastic team move at Selhurst Park on 66 minutes after a Joel Ward own goal had given us a 54th-minute lead.

But, with Jordan Ayew registering a consolation goal for Palace late on, if we return to the metric of removing Sonny's goal contributions, the game would have finished 1-1. The addition of Sonny's strike therefore changes the result to a 2-1 win and thus is worth an additional two points.

A double at the Etihad | +1

Man City 3-3 Spurs | 3 December, 2023

Sonny provided a brace of goal contributions at Manchester City in December as we earned a 3-3 draw at City.

Scoring the opener at the Etihad as he ran half the length of the pitch before finishing, he then provided the assist for Giovani Lo Celso's 69th-minute equaliser after an own goal and a Phil Foden effort had turned the game on its head.

Jack Grealish restored City's lead on 81 but Dejan Kulusevski dramatically secured us a point in the final minutes with his first headed goal for the Club. Again, if were to remove Son's goal involvements from the game, it would have been a defeat for us in Manchester, thus his contributions were worth a point.

A second hat-trick of involvements | +2

Spurs 4-1 Newcastle United | 10 December, 2023

Sonny grabbed his second treble of goal contributions as we enjoyed a comfortable victory against Newcastle United back in December.

Assisting our first two goals of the evening as Destiny Udogie (26) and Richarlison (38) put clear daylight between us and the Magpies, Sonny got on the scoresheet himself on 85 minutes as he dispatched our first and only penalty of the season to date.

Scoring the winner | +2

Spurs 2-1 Everton | 23 December, 2023

A Sonny strike was worth another two points to us as we ran out 2-1 winners over Everton in December.

Having taken the lead through Richarlison on 9 minutes, Sonny doubled our lead nine minutes later as he rattled in from inside the box.

With the Toffees later reducing our lead through Andre Gomes and just one goal between the sides, it means Sonny's goal was worth, by this metric, another two points for us.

Assisting the winner | +2

Spurs 2-1 Brighton | 10 February, 2024

And most recently, Sonny provided the assist for a winner as he marked his return from the Asian Cup to tee up Brennan Johnson in last Saturday's 2-1 win over Brighton.

Starting amongst our substitutes, Sonny entered the fray after Pape Matar Sarr had cancelled our Pascal Gross' 17th-minute opener, and of course our skipper had to have his say on the game.

Bursting forward down the left in the final seconds of the match, our South Korean star delivered the perfect cross for Johnson to crash home and win us the match. And that involvement equates to another two points for Sonny.

So, in total, Sonny's 18 contributions for us this season have been worth a total of 16 points to us this campaign. That is the second most by a single player in the division with only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah's worth more by the same metric (18).

It also shows that when Sonny has scored for us in the league this campaign - 12 times in total - we have not lost.

If we go a step further, it would suggest that if we were to take off 16 points from our current points tally, we would be down to 31 points for the campaign and would sit just a point behind Saturday's opponents Wolves in 11th.

But, while this metric does suggest the impact of an individual player, it is not an exact science and is of course all hypothetical.