Tottenham´s Mason reflects on unforgettable week

Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason spoke of a “surreal” week after making his Premier League debut in the 1-1 draw with rivals Arsenal.

The 23-year-old, whose time at White Hart Lane has taken in loan spells with Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, Swindon Town and French club Lorient, scored his first goal for Tottenham when he came of the bench to spark the midweek 3-1 comeback win over Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.

Mason’s efforts were rewarded with a starting place at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday and he acquitted himself well as Nacer Chadli opened the scoring for the visitors before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netted a deserved equaliser for Arsenal with 16 minutes left.

“It’s been a bit surreal, to be fair,” Mason told Sky Sports.

“I had a 90-minute reserve game on Monday and then what happened on Wednesday and today – I’m over the moon.

“The gaffer did a bit of shape [work in training] yesterday and he put me in. I was just excited. I couldn’t wait to get out there.

“I’ve been here a long time and my debut was always going to be special, but to be away here and also get the result as well is amazing.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be nervous. [In the] first five minutes, I was a bit nervy but after a few touches I settled down and it was fine.”

Mason felt Tottenham’s efforts throughout the match were worthy of a share of the spoils, despite Mauricio Pochettino’s team being on the back foot for long spells.

“We always felt [we were] in the game and, even though they had a lot of possession, that we were dangerous on the counter-attack,” he added.

“We got our goal and then we probably sat in a little too much, but we dug in at the end and got a result.”