logo
Spurs star Pape Matar Sarr lobs Arsenal's David Raya ‘playing as a centre back' from half-way line in pre-season clash

Spurs star Pape Matar Sarr lobs Arsenal's David Raya ‘playing as a centre back' from half-way line in pre-season clash

Scottish Sun7 days ago
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
PAPE MATAR SARR scored from near the HALFWAY LINE to break the deadlock in the North London derby friendly in Hong Kong.
The Senegal star, 22, robbed possession from England man Myles Lewis-Skelly just inside Arsenal's half shortly before half-time.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
4
Pape Matar Sarr netted from the halfway line against Arsenal
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
4
He won the ball off Myles Lewis-Skelly
4
The midfielder spotted Raya off his line and went for goal
4
The ball looped over the goalkeeper and into the net
Play Dream Team now!
Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play
Over £100,000 in total prize money
Play in Mini Leagues against your mates
Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw
Play via Dream Team's app or website today!
Sarr then had the presence of mind to drill a shot over helpless Gunners goalkeeper David Raya.
Arsenal tried to claim a foul from Richarlison on Lewis-Skelly just before Sarr won the ball, but the referee saw it differently.
It was a truly staggering strike to make it 1-0 at the Kai Tak Stadium out in the Far East.
The effort backed up the nickname of 'Roberto Carlos' Sarr was given as a youngster, due to his shooting ability from long range.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
Wrex bomb ITV confirm first free-to-air matches of new season including Wrexham opener
Former Arsenal and Spurs striker Clive Allen said: 'It's so difficult in terms of how he's driven the ball over the goalkeeper.
'It's a drilled ball, not looped, not giving the goalkeeper a chance to backpeddle. It's fired over with great precision.'
Fans were left stunned by the effort on social media while others pointed to the error by Raya.
One posted: "Fair enough Pape Sarr, fair enough. Not sure why Raya playing as a centre back though."
SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN
A second wrote: "This might be the year I call for a new keeper if Raya keeps this up."
A third commented: "It beats me why David Raya is always up way above his line. A very silly thing he does always. Awful sight."
Arsenal CONFIRM £63.5million Viktor Gyokeres transfer as striker takes iconic No14 made famous by Thierry Henry
A fourth said: "Raya should not be that far out in that situation. He's done this too much recently."
Another added: "David Raya you can't be doing that next season. You did that last season numerous times. Let this be the last one in pre-season. Don't leave your post empty."
Sarr's wonder strike capped an excellent first-half display from Spurs, who hit the woodwork three times.
Two of them came direct from corners, showing the hard work new boss Thomas Frank has done already on set-pieces appears to be paying off already.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tottenham have £36m bid for Nico Paz rejected
Tottenham have £36m bid for Nico Paz rejected

Metro

time17 minutes ago

  • Metro

Tottenham have £36m bid for Nico Paz rejected

Tottenham have seen their €40 million (£34.6m) bid for Nico Paz rejected by Como, according to reports in Italy. The 20-year-old, who was born in Tenerife but represents Argentina at international level, joined Como in a €6m (£5m) deal from Real Madrid last year. Paz impressed in his first season in Serie A with six goals and eight assists and has already been linked with a return to Madrid. Spurs, meanwhile, remain in the market for a new attacking midfielder after failing to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest. Tottenham's need for further midfield reinforcements has also been heightened this week as James Maddison is expected to miss the majority of the upcoming season with an ACL injury. In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – click here and sign up before Friday to make sure you don't miss the first edition. According to Sky Sport Italy's Gianluca Di Marzio, Spurs have begun talks with Como to sign Paz but their opening bid of €40m (£34.6m) has been turned down by the Serie A side. The report claims that Como value Paz at €70m (£60.7m) and Spurs would need to offer at least €60m (£52m) for a deal to be considered. Real Madrid are also a factor as they included clause as part of their deal to sell Paz to Como last year which allows them to match Spurs' offer, or receive 50 per cent of midfielder's sell-on fee. Speaking at the end of last season, Como's head coach, Cesc Fabregas, made it clear to Paz that he will need regular playing time if he wants to secure a place in Argentina's World Cup squad next summer. More Trending 'We don't know anything, he's our player and for now he's staying with us,' Fabregas said. 'It's important for him to play next season, which will lead to the World Cup. 'I don't know if he's ready for Real Madrid yet , we have an excellent relationship with them because we're very interested in other players from their squad, and they know we play young players. 'If they need us, we're here, but for now they haven't told us anything.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Man Utd make Rasmus Hojlund transfer decision as Benjamin Sesko deal looms MORE: Liverpool targeting £87m star as back-up transfer option to Alexander Isak MORE: Enzo Maresca issues warning over Estevao 'mistake' ahead of Chelsea debut

Ballon d'Or: England's Michelle Agyemang nominated for Women's Kopa Trophy
Ballon d'Or: England's Michelle Agyemang nominated for Women's Kopa Trophy

North Wales Chronicle

time17 minutes ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

Ballon d'Or: England's Michelle Agyemang nominated for Women's Kopa Trophy

The 19-year-old Arsenal striker spent last season on loan at fellow Women's Super League side Brighton, where she scored five goals in 22 appearances. Here are our 2025 Women's Kopa Trophy nominees! ⤵️ Michelle AgyemangLinda CaicedoWieke KapteinVicky LopezClaudia Martinez Ovando#ballondor — Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) August 7, 2025 However, she became a household name at this summer's Euro 2025 after scoring equalisers against Sweden and Italy in the knockout stages of the competition and was named Young Player of the Tournament. Agyemang's stellar summer continued on Thursday, when she was named as one of five players in contention for the Women's Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best under-21 female footballer. Her England team-mate Hannah Hampton has been nominated for the Yachine Trophy, given to the best women's goalkeeper. The 24-year-old was ever-present for Chelsea last season and was a key cog in the Lionesses' Euros victory, where she made two brilliant saves in England's penalty shoot-out win against Spain in the final. Myles Lewis-Skelly was also among the nominees for the men's Kopa Trophy after enjoying a breakout season with Arsenal. The remaining Ballon d'Or nominees are set to be announced later on Thursday.

Arsenal have spent over £200million on Gyokeres and Co but still look like one-trick ponies — the pressure is on Arteta
Arsenal have spent over £200million on Gyokeres and Co but still look like one-trick ponies — the pressure is on Arteta

Scottish Sun

time18 minutes ago

  • Scottish Sun

Arsenal have spent over £200million on Gyokeres and Co but still look like one-trick ponies — the pressure is on Arteta

There are precious few signs of Arteta ditching his methodical style of attacking play that has frustrated plans ART OF WAR Arsenal have spent over £200million on Gyokeres and Co but still look like one-trick ponies — the pressure is on Arteta Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BEING pessimistic comes with the territory at Arsenal - more than 20 years without a Premier League trophy has cemented that. When Mikel Arteta arrived in the managerial hotseat in 2019, he was left with the task of turning around a team going nowhere. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Mikel Arteta has completed a host of summer signings and expectations are high Credit: Alamy 6 Arsenal finally have a natural centre-forward in Viktor Gyokeres Credit: Getty 6 But the signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea has proved less than popular with supporters Credit: Getty 6 There are fears that signings like Christian Norgaard will simply plug gaps in midfield Credit: Alamy Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Following the instant FA Cup win, just two Community Shields have followed in the six-years at the Emirates since. Two consecutive seasons in a row finishing second came before this year, as the agonising wait for that first league trophy in two decades rumbles on. Arteta has been handed £200 million to spend already this summer, splashing out the third most behind champions Liverpool and Chelsea. So far, it's been a mixed pre-season for the Gunners, winning twice and losing twice as they prepare for the big kick-off. However, concern is creeping in already amongst a large portion of the Arsenal fanbase over what 2025-26 will bring. The North Londoners were devastated by injury in the second half of last season, being forced to play midfielder Mikel Merino as a striker for months. After that, the owning Kroenke family decided to back their manager, giving him depth from the bench his squad has never had before. But the major concern from pre-season has been the style of play, again, and is it good enough to topple their title-chasing rivals? BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK The squad is clearly talented, the manager is as well, but has the ceiling been reached for what can be achieved between the two? Their summer business seems to have been more reactive to the injury issues than proactive to what they might need to go that one step further and win the league. Viktor Gyokeres is announced at the Emirates for the first time ahead of Villarreal friendly Six players have come in, including a much-needed striker in the form of Viktor Gyokeres for nearly £60m from Sporting Lisbon. Martin Zubimendi also came in alongside Christian Norgaard in the midfield, totally £60m-odd, and Kepa in goal from Chelsea for just £5m. Youngster Cristhian Mosquera was also bought in defence and Noni Madueke was a shock near £50m purchase from rivals Chelsea. Some clever purchases, but is Arteta filling squad gaps rather than diversifying the way Arsenal play for the upcoming season? 6 There are high hopes for Euro 2024 winner Martin Zubimendi Credit: Getty 6 Arsenal were accused of being over-reliant on set pieces last season Credit: PA The notion that Arsenal are a set-piece team is just plain wrong, but there is a fear they have become very one-trick outside of that. They are very methodical in their build-up, creating space through their inverting midfield full-backs and trying to get Bukayo Saka the ball as much as possible. There's not much X-factor though, partly the reason Madueke was purchased in the first place. That was evident in their pre-season home defeat to Villarreal earlier in the week, a disappointing return to the Emirates. You should never take away too much before the season starts, but it was clear Arteta plans to play a very similar way to years gone by. And that has proven they aren't quite good enough to win the Premier League, what makes them think this year is different? The Arsenal boss is under huge pressure to deliver a trophy this year, and it may have to be a major one at that. If the Gunners start the campaign poorly, serious questions are going to be asked by the club's fanbase, and who can blame them? ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest rumours from the Emirates

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store