Tottenham won the first North London derby staged outside the United Kingdom 1-0 thanks to Pape Matar Sarr’s goal from the halfway line, beating Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya’s shaky performance.
Raya was again at fault in the 45th minute on Thursday when Sarr robbed Myles Lewis-Skelly just inside the Arsenal half after previously being caught twice in no-man’s land when in-swinging corners hit the post.
The Spurs midfielder looked up, saw Raya stranded far outside of his penalty area, and flew off in a bizarre manner from 50 yards out.
No love lost on the pitch between the bitter rivals, which was nominally a preseason “friendly”.
In Hong Kong’s air-conditioned Kai Tak Stadium, Tackles flew in and tempers erupted in a fiercely contested fight in front of a 49, 975 sellout crowd.
Tottenham hit the woodwork three times in a frantic opening period, and Arsenal deserved to take the lead at the break. Arsenal started stronger, but Tottenham did so in a hurry.
At the start of the second half, Arsenal were under heavy siege for the Tottenham goal, but Thomas Frank, the new manager, did well to strengthen his defense and force the Gunners to overcome.
Gabriel Martinelli did have a chance to open the scoring after 58 minutes, but his shot went horribly over the bar from 14 yards.
Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi, both of whom signed for Arsenal, almost scored with their first touch when their cross was deflected over the bar.
Tottenham introduced Son Heung-min in the 75th minute, which caused a lot of cheer.
With 13 minutes left, Viktor Gyokeres, who made his Arsenal debut, also came off the bench to receive an even bigger ovation.
Swedish international Thierry Henry, who wore the number 14 shirt in famous fashion at Arsenal, signed for $67 million six days ago.
He ran some darting runs for a late equalizer for Arsenal, but he will need time to adjust to his new team.
Tottenham travels to Newcastle United on Sunday, while Arsenal travels home after three games in Singapore and Hong Kong.
For the third time in a row, the Gunners finished second in the Premier League, leading Liverpool by ten points.
Outrageous from Pape Sarr
Watch the second half live on SPURSPLAY to avoid missing out on the action.
Source: Aljazeera
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