Arsenal fans delight in first foreign NLD: ‘Hong Kong flooded red and white – words cannot describe that feeling'

New York Times

31-07-2025

Since Arsenal adopted Louis Dunford's The Angel (North London Forever) as their pre-game anthem, it has become a fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
To hear it sung with just as much gusto at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium is another matter entirely. Tens of thousands of Arsenal fans, from the other side of the globe, singing about the streets of north London.
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Spurs won the friendly. Arsenal won the shouting match. This looked and felt like an Arsenal home game. Even a 1-0 defeat, courtesy of a goal from Pape Matar Sarr, did little to dampen the atmosphere.
'I was amazed,' marvelled Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. 'It just makes you feel how wonderful and big this football club is and how lucky we are to have the support with this level of intensity. It was great to witness. A big thank you.'
The attendance was a Hong Kong record, with 49,975 fans packed into the stadium. A significant majority were decked out in the red and white of Arsenal.
The club have had a strong following here for decades. Arsenal Hong Kong Supporters Club is one of the oldest international fan groups in the club's network. It started in 1994 and continues to grow.
'North London Forever' sung at Kai Tak Stadium #ARSTOT #HongKong #NorthLondonDerby pic.twitter.com/v4nutIQybc
— Chris-KL-Lau (@Chris_KL_Lau) July 31, 2025
Will Bedoucha is one of the group's leaders. He has supported Arsenal since watching television coverage of Michael Thomas' league-winning goal at Anfield in 1989 as a six-year-old. He sees his role as being a bridge between local fans and the ex-pat community. When the group get together for watchalongs at the Cosmo pub in the Mong Kok district, he will DJ or start chants.
'For any Arsenal or even Spurs fan in the region, this is a dream come true,' Bedoucha tells The Athletic. 'We're so used to top teams coming but playing against our local sides, and the dearth in quality is quite telling.
'This is the first time in history that a real north London derby is played outside of London. The buzz is absolutely out of this world. Seeing Hong Kong absolutely flooded with a sea of red and white — words really cannot describe that feeling for me.'
Before the game, the Arsenal Hong Kong supporters group printed and distributed song sheets with lyrics to well-known chants, and an original composition extolling the graduates of Arsenal's Hale End academy — 'We've got Saka and Lewis-Skelly' and 'We've got Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri' sung to the tune of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine.
It's easy enough for London-based fans to be cynical about these initiatives, but for Bedoucha and the supporters club, it was necessary preparation. They knew they would be on display to the Arsenal-supporting world and did not want to disappoint.
'I had dreamed of one day having an opportunity to concoct a magical fan experience similar to the Emirates in Hong Kong,' says Bedoucha.
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'It took two years to really get the Hong Kong fans into singing the chants and developing that atmosphere. We will all feel it at the stadium — we are prepared for war.'
There were clear displays of tribalism from both sets of fans. When Spurs legend Ledley King appeared on the screen, he was roundly booed. At the water break midway through the first half, the classic Arsenal call and response chant of 'What do we think of Tottenham?' prompted a chorus of 'Champions of Europe, you'll never sing that' from the Spurs fans.
There were also moments that served as reminders we were nearly 6,000 miles from north London. In the concourse, concession stands offered a variety of derby-themed snacks, from 'North London Nachos' to 'Gunners Gourmet Hot Dogs'.
As the players came out for the warm-up, Thomas Frank's team were announced as 'The Tottenham Spurs'. When Sarr scored Tottenham's opening goal of the game, the credit on the big screen was given to Mohammed Kudus. The surface of the pitch cut up in a way that would not be deemed acceptable at either the Emirates Stadium or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But the atmosphere generated was remarkable and created the impression that this was much more than a friendly. The pre-kick-off renditions of When The Spurs Go Marching In and particularly The Angel (North London Forever) were deafening.
Before the game, they put a decibel reader on the screen. Spurred on, the roar of the supporters pushed the noise in the enclosed stadium up close to 110 decibels — roughly the same level as a symphony orchestra. It was loud.
At half-time, club mascots Gunnersaurus and Chirpy Cockerel went in goal for a penalty shootout for young fans, won by Arsenal when Gunnersaurus saved a shot with his gut.
Gunnersaurus saves the penalty and Arsenal win the half-time shoot-out!!! pic.twitter.com/vQPEDHLwSq
— Connor Humm (@TikiTakaConnor) July 31, 2025
In the 78th minute, there were tit-for-tat, highly anticipated substitutions: first Viktor Gyokeres came on to a huge ovation, before Son Heung-min was introduced to the delight of the Tottenham fans — and disdain of the supporters wearing Arsenal red.
While the game lacked the characteristic derby intensity of a competitive game, there were occasional flashpoints: a brief spat between Djed Spence and Christian Norgaard after the Tottenham full-back walked away with the ball after committing a foul; Arteta stepping across Pedro Porro to prevent him from taking a throw-in.
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Arsenal fans spent much of the game shouting Chinese profanities at the referee, especially when he failed to punish a foul on Myles Lewis-Skelly in the build-up to Tottenham's goal.
When the full-time whistle blew, there was a huge roar and fist pump from Tottenham's Kevin Danso. Exhibition or not, the outcome clearly meant something to the players.
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It was Spurs who celebrated with the Herbalgy Trophy, celebrating to the sounds of Gala's Freed From Desire.
The Arsenal fans in attendance — many of whom travelled from across Asia, and even beyond — will remember the game for the atmosphere they generated.
'It wasn't the result any of us wanted or expected, but we can still look back with immense pride at the spectacle of it all,' says Bedoucha. 'It was an incredible atmosphere and definitely leaps and bounds more lively than Singapore. I'm sure the players would've also felt that electric atmosphere that was generated.
'Both supporters clubs also did plenty to improve the atmosphere and worked tirelessly to hype up their fanbases, and it showed.
'Hearing North London Forever booming strong by a local audience — among which English isn't the first language — we could only beam with pride.'
Perhaps Bacary Sagna said it best. The former Arsenal defender has been part of the touring party as a club ambassador and was interviewed at the side of the pitch before the game.
'We always knew that north London is red,' Sagna said. 'Now we see that Hong Kong is red, too.'