Latest news with #NorthLondonDerby
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Malay Mail
Sarr wondergoal stuns Arsenal as Spurs win Hong Kong derby
HONG KONG, Aug 1 — Pape Matar Sarr scored from the halfway line as Tottenham punished a shaky performance by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to win the first north London derby staged outside the UK 1-0 on Thursday. Raya, who had already been caught in no-man's land twice as inswinging corners hit the post, was at fault again in the 45th minute when Sarr robbed Myles Lewis-Skelly just inside the Arsenal half. The Spurs midfielder looked up, saw Raya stranded way outside his penalty area and let fly to score in outrageous fashion from 50 yards out. 'It was fantastic, fantastic. Well taken,' said new Tottenham manager Thomas Frank of the goal. 'And all the credit to Papa. He's impressed me, I must admit he's been really good in the last four weeks.' Nominally a pre-season 'friendly', there was no love lost on the pitch between the bitter rivals. Tackles flew in and tempers frayed in a fiercely contested clash in front of a 49,975 sellout crowd under the roof in the air-conditioned Kai Tak Stadium. Sarr's screamer gave Frank the north London bragging rights, at least until the pair clash again in the Premier League on November 22 at the Emirates stadium. 'This was not a friendly,' said Frank. 'It felt like a competitive match. I think if you saw it, it was competitive and if you played it was very competitive.' Arsenal started the stronger but it was Tottenham who hit the woodwork three times in a frantic first half and deserved their lead at the break. Energy and quality Arsenal laid siege to the Tottenham goal at the start of the second half, but Frank had his defence well-drilled and the Gunners found it hard to break through. Gabriel Martinelli did manage to find an opening on 58 minutes but shot wastefully over from 14 yards. Arsenal brought on new signing Martin Zubimendi, who almost scored with his first touch when his shot was deflected over the bar. A huge cheer went up when Son Heung-min was introduced by Tottenham in the 75th minute. It was followed by an even bigger ovation when new striker Viktor Gyokeres also came off the bench for his Arsenal debut with 13 minutes to go. The Swedish striker, sporting the number 14 shirt made famous by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, was signed for US$67 million (RM287 million) six days ago and has trained only twice with his new teammates. He made some darting runs as Arsenal pressed for a late equaliser, but only managed two touches. Defender Cristhian Mosquera also came on late for his first appearance and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was pleased with what he saw from his two newest recruits. 'Really happy, obviously, to have them here,' Arteta told reporters. 'They're going to add a lot of energy and quality.' Tottenham now fly on to South Korea to face Newcastle United on Sunday while Arsenal head home after three Asian tour matches. 'Everything that I've seen in the last 10 days gives me a lot of encouragement,' added Arteta, who took positives from the performance despite losing. 'We are ahead of what I was expecting in many areas.' — AFP
Khaleej Times
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
North London derby makes historic Hong Kong debut as 50,000 live the dream
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur delivered a slice of football history on Thursday by staging the first North London derby outside the United Kingdom as nearly 50,000 fans packed Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium for a pre-season friendly. The mouth-watering clash proved so popular that around 20,000 people turned up just to watch the two teams train, underlining the rarity of Premier League local rivals facing off in pre-season friendlies. Despite tickets costing as much as 2,499 HKD ($318.35), fans considered the historic occasion worth every penny as the North London rivalry finally crossed continents. "I'm extremely excited. Firstly, watching Arsenal, it's my second time. I was excited then, I'm still excited now, but this is the North London Derby," said Khalid Saleh, a 33-year-old Arsenal fan from Perth. "This is the one game where we're very nervous ... It's probably a childhood dream, man, to come watch a North London derby." The match ended 1-0 to Spurs with their Senegal midfielder Pape Matar Sarr scoring the winner late in the first half with a spectacular strike from near the centre circle after he spotted goalkeeper David Raya off his line. For many Arsenal fans, the main attraction was watching their 76 million euros ($86.72 million) Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres making his debut, part of the club's close-season spending spree approaching 200 million pounds ($263.94 million). Wearing the iconic number 14 shirt, Gyokeres came on as a late substitute, welcomed onto the pitch with a huge roar that echoed around the stadium, which had its roof closed. "We just signed a new striker, probably the first (specialist) striker we signed since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang," said Mo Muse, an Arsenal fan from Melbourne. "We're feeling super, super confident, obviously. Probably one of the best transfer windows." Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he was 'amazed' by the support, thanking them for their patience after Arsenal returned to Hong Kong for the first time since 2012. "It just makes you feel how wonderful and big this football club is and how lucky we are to have the support with the level of intensity as well that people love our football club here, so it was great to witness," Arteta said. Spurs supporters, meanwhile, were eager to see their captain Son Heung-min, with many fearing it could be their last chance to watch the 33-year-old South Korea forward in the club's colours amid transfer speculation. "Sonny has stayed for a decade in Tottenham," said Spurs fan Patrick Lau, who held a placard with pictures of the talismanic forward. "No matter whether Sonny decides to stay or maybe move to the next chapter, we are so glad that Son has stayed for Tottenham for a decade. He is our legend forever!" Simba, a Spurs fan from Hangzhou, said he bought tickets for the match mainly to watch Son, who also came on as a substitute. "I came because Son Heung-min might leave the team," he said. "I hope to see him a few more times and watch him one last time, as he's my favourite player."
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Thomas Frank reveals why this Tottenham win over Arsenal was 'particularly pleasing'
Tottenham secured a 1-0 win over Arsenal in pre-season on Thursday thanks to Pape Sarr's wonder strike near the halfway line and new boss Thomas Frank is happy with how his team are shaping up Thomas Frank could not have asked for a better start to life as Tottenham boss after masterminding a 1-0 win over Arsenal in Hong Kong, the first ever north London derby to be staged outside the UK. Played in front of a record-breaking crowd of 49,975 - the biggest football attendance in the country's history - the clash was anything but a pre-season friendly. And it was decided in spectacular fashion by Pape Matar Sarr, who stunned the packed stands with a rocket from the halfway line just before half-time. Spurs boss Frank was delighted with the win and how it sets the tone for his reign, saying it was "very pleasing" to secure his first North London Derby win. 'This was as positive a result as you can get in terms of reinforcing the messages and team building and desire to defend was good,' he said. 'It is very pleasing to win my first north London derby. And you could not call that a friendly. People could see the desire from both teams and our great desire to keep a clean sheet.' Tottenham were impressive in the first half and dug deep after the break to hold onto their lead. And Frank will not have to wait too long until he faces Arsenal for real, at the Emirates in November. A noticeable difference to the Ange Postecoglou era was Tottenham's excellent attacking and defending of corners, masterminded by new set piece coach Andreas Georgson, formerly of Brentford and Arsenal. 'The first half we were good and the second half we defended a bit too much but that was good and our set pieces were good as well in attack and defence,' Frank added. The Dane admitted the tour has already opened his eyes to the scale of his new role after leaving Brentford for the Europa League winners. 'Definitely. I think I had a good idea but you don't really know until you step into it and I think seeing how important it is for the fans. The fans have been waiting every day for us, every morning and evening, and the fans that came to open training and were at the game. You understand more and more, first and foremost how big a club Spurs is and the importance of the club.' Frank, calm and confident in the dugout and in front of the media, was full of praise for matchwinner Sarr. 'The goal was an unbelievable shot. The way he has worked and played he has impressed me in the last four weeks.' There were encouraging signs too from £55m summer signing Mohammed Kudus, who lit up the game with his flair and work ethic. 'Think he was really good from Kudus. His hold-up play, the way he takes hold of the ball in tricky situations. His one-vs-one skills, his creating opportunities for the team was top class. "On top of that I think he's working extremely hard. That's how he can help the team so much. He will make a lot of the fans excited with his offensive actions and he will also help the team defensively.' And West Ham signing Kudus could soon be joined at Spurs by former Fulham man Joao Palhinha. Tottenham have opened talks with Bayern Munich over the potential loan signing of the Portugal midfielder, who missed much of last season through injury. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
New York Times
13 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Tottenham 1-0 Arsenal: Sarr's wondergoal, skills from Kudus and what it all means
Pape Matar Sarr's outrageous lob from just inside Arsenal's half gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 victory in the first north London derby to take place overseas. It was a memorable occasion and the fans, who filled the 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong's Kowloon district long before kick-off, were treated to a ceremonial dragon dance as pre-match entertainment. This was supposed to be the moment where Arsenal's new striker Viktor Gyokeres took centre-stage but Thomas Frank's side produced a resilient and defensively disciplined performance. Winning the Herbalgy Cup might not be the biggest achievement but it will give Spurs confidence that they can close the gap to their arch-rivals. Here, The Athletic breaks down what happened in the first game of their pre-season tour to East Asia. Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya kept trying to catch Spurs off guard by mixing up the length of his passes. In the 45th minute, Raya's decision to play a quick, short pass to Myles Lewis-Skelly backfired. It looked like Richarlison might have clipped Lewis-Skelly, but the referee waved play on, allowing Sarr to collect the ball just outside the centre circle and chip Raya. The Senegal international has a habit of scoring long-range goals but this was his best yet. His celebrations in front of the Arsenal fans made the moment even sweeter. Sarr put in mixed performances last season, giving the chance for Lucas Bergvall to take his spot in the starting XI. It is easy to forget that Sarr does not turn 23 until September and still has much room for growth. With his ability to drive forward on the ball and score from distance, he offers something that Frank's other midfielders do not. Advertisement 'It was an unbelievable goal,' Frank said. 'Fantastic and well taken. All the credit to Pape. He has impressed me, he has been really good in the last four weeks.' Sarr is showing signs he could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the managerial change. It is tempting to call this pre-season game irrelevant — but try telling that to the 50,000 raucous fans inside the Kai Tak Stadium. There were a lot of crunching tackles, and Pedro Porro's touchline clash with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta underlined that there was a genuine edge. The phoney war continued after the game, with Richarlison and Gabriel mocking each other on social media. Spurs have played fewer games in pre-season than Arsenal and against lower-level opposition. They were missing first-choice striker Dominic Solanke, who has an ankle injury, while Gyokeres made his first appearance for Arsenal after signing from Sporting CP. Ange Postecoglou never beat Arsenal during his time in charge of Spurs but Frank has managed it at the first attempt. It will be a far more impressive achievement if he pulls it off in a competitive game but this victory will still give them a psychological boost. 'We have been very clear that this was not a friendly,' Frank told reporters after the game. 'It felt like a competitive match. We have been working hard on defensive organisation — so high pressure, middle, low, then that desire to keep a clean sheet. That gives you a bigger opportunity to win matches. 'For the team we are building together, positive results or performances reinforce the messages we try to get into the players.' Mohammed Kudus is an entertaining player and it will be thrilling seeing how he develops. The Ghana international was superb against Arsenal and gave Lewis-Skelly a difficult evening. Everybody knows that Kudus is an exceptional dribbler in one-v-one situations. He can bamboozle defenders with his trickery, but he also has an underlying strength that catches people by surprise. Several times, he held the ball up under pressure, drew in a couple of opponents and outmuscled them before passing the ball. Wilson Odobert shares some of those qualities with Kudus and can learn from his more experienced team-mate. If those two regularly start games together alongside Solanke or Richarlison, opposition defences will be left feeling dizzy. Advertisement 'Kudus' one-vs-one skills, his creating opportunities for the team, were top class,' Frank said. 'He's working extremely hard — there was a recovery run from a set piece when he was sprinting all the way back and he won the ball. That's how he can help the team so much. He will make a lot of the fans excited with his offensive actions and he will also help the team defensively.' Just before kick-off, The Athletic reported that Spurs were in talks with Bayern Munich over signing Joao Palhinha on loan. They need reinforcements in the deeper 'No 6' midfield position because Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma have never been perfect fits and they both only have a year left on their contracts. Signing Palhinha on a short-term deal is a smart move, giving 19-year-old Archie Gray time to develop as a defensive midfielder. Spurs already look far more solid than they did under Postecoglou. Frank is setting them up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, which offers more protection to the defence as it morphs into a 4-4-2 out of possession, with Lucas Bergvall pushing up alongside Richarlison. Arsenal scored three goals against Spurs in the league last season and two of them came from Gabriel headers after a corner. The Brazilian centre-back was unavailable for this game but Spurs defended set pieces confidently. There was no sense of panic and their new set-piece coach, Andreas Georgson, is making an impact.
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
What we learned as Spurs beat Arsenal in Hong Kong
Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal in the first north London derby outside of the UK thanks to Pape Matar Sarr's excellent long-range match, which was played in front of a stadium-record crowd of 49,975, gave a glimpse into what both sets of supporters can expect from their sides this lobbed the ball over David Raya from near the halfway line in the 45th minute after Spurs won the ball back in Sport looks at what we learned from a rare pre-season meeting of these rivals. Arsenal and Spurs get creative with corners Arsenal are known for their threat from set-pieces, scoring from 15 last season, with coach Nicolas Jover one of the most recognisable members of backroom staff in the Premier Arsenal won their first corner of the match, five players lined up along the 18-yard line - a sign they have been working on some new routines after their goals from corners dropped off towards the end of last the Gunners also conceded from 14 set-pieces last season and Tottenham had opportunities to score from their own Porro and Mohammed Kudus both hit the post directly from corners, with one of the deliveries somehow staying out of the net after Richarlison attempted to put the rebound in from close range but instead helped it over the looked organised defensively when defending set-pieces, and throughout open play, with manager Thomas Frank looking to get his ideas over to his new team before the start of the Premier League season. New style of play for Arsenal There has been a real difference in Arsenal's style and how they have approached games on their pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Gunners scored 17 fewer goals than Liverpool last season and finished 10 points behind the champions in second struggled to break down teams that defended in low blocks, but against Spurs - and throughout pre-season - Mikel Arteta's side have got the ball forward a lot quicker than they did last David Raya is kicking the ball long as much as he is playing it also seem to be shooting more - they registered 23 shots against AC Milan, 15 against Newcastle and, despite losing, had 16 shots against is clearly hoping that getting the ball forward quickly and increasing the number of shots on goal will translate to the extra points they missed last season."I am very pleased with what I've seen in most of the things that we've done," said Arteta. "But we miss something in certain moments."That preciseness, that moment that unlocks the result, the moment to turn the result our way." White, Odegaard and Saka return on the right A key part of how this Arsenal team plays is built around the partnership of right-back Ben White, captain and right-sided number eight Martin Odegaard and right winger Bukayo three had lengthy injuries last season and without them in the side regularly, the Arsenal attack struggled to the open training session held at the Kai Tak Stadium, the three were practising interchanging passes and runs, ending the drills with a cross into the penalty area which was aimed at new striker Viktor continuously ran on the outside of Saka to either give him the option to pass for the overlapping full-back to run on to and cross, or dribble into the box himself. Gyokeres plays first minutes in Arsenal shirt Gyokeres was introduced in the 77th minute as supporters got to see the club's new signing in an Arsenal shirt for the first 27-year-old is a different profile to the other Arsenal forwards - he is an imposing figure and it is hoped inside the club that his goals will fire Arsenal to a plays a lot differently to Kai Havertz, for example - he does not look to get involved with the build-up play as much, instead looking to get into the penalty area or on the end of had a couple of half chances, one being a header from a corner which came at him from a difficult angle, but he did not get a chance to show why Arsenal decided to spend up to £64m on him."I'm really happy to have them here," Arteta said when asked about Gyokeres and defender Cristhian Mosquera, who also made his first appearance."I think they are going to add a lot of value. You see straight away the energy and the quality they are going to bring."It was a short time but at least that one is over now and when they play against Villarreal (on 6 August), I'm sure it will be different." Spurs wingers catch eye Tottenham were under pressure for large parts of the match but when they did attack, their wingers offered a good attacking outlet. Wilson Odobert and Kudus were always looking to take on their full-back and Kudus hit the post directly from a corner in the first half. After the match, Frank was asked about the £55m summer signing from West Ham. "His hold-up play, the way he takes hold of the ball in tricky situations, his one-vs-one skills and his creating opportunities for the team were top class," Frank said. "On top of that I think he's working extremely hard. There was a recovery run from a set-piece when he was straining all the way back and he won the ball back. "That's how he can help the team so much. He will make a lot of the fans excited with his offensive actions and he will also help the team defensively." Raya caught out by Sarr The decisive moment of the match was Sarr's strike, which went sailing over the head of goalkeeper Raya. The Arsenal keeper is tasked with getting involved in the build-up of play by Arteta because of his passing ability. That means that his starting position is often high and leaves him vulnerable if Arsenal lose the ball in conceded a similar goal to Crystal Palace last season, when Jean-Philippe Mateta chipped him when he was off of his line in the Premier League last season.
