Pape Sarr’s stunning halfway line goal gave Tottenham a 1-0 pre-season friendly win over north London rivals Arsenal in Hong Kong. Sarr robbed Myles Lewis-Skelly – who Arsenal felt had been fouled by Richarlison in midfield – before firing an outrageous long-range lob just inside Arsenals half over a stranded David Raya to score with Spurs only shot on target of the game in the 45th minute.
Before Sarrs screamer, the Arsenal goalkeeper had a couple of shaky moments at corners as Spurs hit the post twice directly from deliveries, as Richarlison missed a glorious close-range chance from the second corner.
Teams | Stats | As it happenedThe rise of Max Dowman – Arsenals most exciting wonderkid yet?Premier League pre-season: Fixtures and resultsSky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next seasonTottenham winger Wilson Odobert also hit the post with a low shot in a feisty and physical first half, which saw Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur booked for a late tackle on Bukayo Saka.
There was more north London derby needle in the second half as Pedro Porro pushed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta before taking a throw-in, with the Spurs defender feeling Arteta was in his way. Arteta brought new signing Viktor Gyokeres on in the 77th minute for his debut as Saka came off after receiving treatment.
Gyokeres, who joined on Saturday in a £63.5m deal, did not have enough time to make an impact as he had just two touches, with Arsenal having one shot on target in the defeat. Spurs, who won the Europa League last season, were presented with a trophy for winning the first-ever north London derby overseas, leading the club to tweet: another one for the trophy cabinet.
Arsenals loss brings an end to their pre-season tour in Asia as they face Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, while Spurs face Newcastle on Sunday in South Korea. Arteta: Gyokeres next game will be differentArsenal boss Mikel Arteta speaking at his post-match press conference about debutants Viktor Gyokeres and Cristhian Mosquera, as quoted by football.
london: Im really happy to have them here. 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 one, but at least that one is over now, and when they play against Villareal now, Im sure it will be different.
On whether he got what he wanted from the pre-season tour of Asia: Yes, for the three of them and today in particular. Again, it threw different demands and different understanding of things that we have to do.
I am very pleased with what Ive seen in most of the things that weve done, but we miss something in certain moments. That preciseness, that moment that unlocks the result, the moment to turn the result our way and with the match.
But in terms of attitude, they desire, level of organisation in the team, it was great and we have to continue to elevate a little bit all the individual aspects. Frank praises Kudus as he gives Solanke return dateTottenham head coach Thomas Frank speaking at his post-match press conference about the performance of Mohammed Kudus, as quoted by football.
london: I think he was really good today. 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 hes working extremely hard, and there was was recovery run from a set-piece when he was straining all the way back and he won the ball back.
Thats 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. On Dominic Solankes return after he was left out against Arsenal: Hes close, if not for Sunday (vs Newcastle), then he should be fit to play against Bayern (on August 7).
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from next season From next season, Sky Sports Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live. And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
