Sarr scores from half-way to win historic derby

Pape Matar Sarr scored a magical goal to give us victory in the first-ever north London derby to be played on international soil as we kicked off our Asia Tour in style on Thursday.

The midfielder struck from close to the half-way line with a superb drilled shot just before half-time at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, which proved to be the only goal of the game as Thomas Frank’s first game against Arsenal as our Head Coach ended in a fine win and continued our unbeaten pre-season campaign.

While the Gunners had more of the possession, they were unable to break down our solid defensive unit with Guglielmo Vicario barely having a save to make, while we hit the woodwork twice in the first half from dangerous corners. The win gave us another piece of silverware as we lifted the Herbalgy Trophy, while the match set an attendance record for the new stadium with 49,975 fans present, beating the total for Liverpool’s clash with Milan last week.

The first real chance of note came in the 10th minute as Pedro Porro's in-swinging corner evaded everyone in a congested six-yard box and hit the inside of the post. Richarlison reacted to the rebound to head at goal, only to see his effort cleared off the line by William Saliba.

Arsenal were having good spells of possession in the final third but our defending was very good and Vicario wasn’t really tested. Instead, the chances were falling our way and on 28 minutes, the impressive Mohammed Kudus’ shot was blocked by Saliba, the ball rebounded out to Wilson Odobert whose right-foot shot just flicked off Ben White before clipping the outside of David Raya’s far post. From the corner, Kudus whipped in a lovely delivery which again beat everyone but Richarlison was unable to turn it in at the back post.

The opening goal came just before half-time and it was a marvellous strike. Raya played a pass into midfield to Myles Lewis-Skelly, he lost possession claiming to be clipped by Richarlison but the referee waved play on as the ball went straight to Sarr. The Senegalese midfielder knew exactly what he was going to do and produced a magnificent, controlled shot from just outside the centre circle, some 45 yards out, which drifted over Raya and landed in the back of the net.

Arsenal went close to levelling in first-half stoppage time with a succession of corners but we held out to lead at the interval. Neither side made any changes at the break and it was the Gunners with the first sight of goal in the second period, Martin Odegaard’s shot deflected over the bar by Cristian Romero after the skipper had initially lost possession inside the area. Moments later, Lewis-Skelly and Kai Havertz combined to set up Gabriel Martinelli however he fired over from 15 yards out.

It was so nearly 2-0 in the 66th minute when Mathys Tel, one of three substitutes to come on a few minutes earlier, sent over a wonderful cross to the back post, only for Micky van de Ven to head just wide. At the other end, Martin Zubimendi’s half volley flicked off Brennan Johnson on its way just over the crossbar before Vicario comfortably gathered a Havertz shot.

A raft of changes were made approaching the final 10 minutes and one of them, Arsenal’s 15-year-old Max Dowman, went close in the 79th minute with a drive that was blocked by Djed Spence. One significant substitution saw James Maddison enter the game with a few minutes remaining, his first action since coming off injured against Bodo/Glimt on 1 May – adding to the feelgood factor on the evening. Now we head to South Korea, where we take on Newcastle United on Sunday before heading home.

Match data

Goal: Spurs – Sarr 45.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Bentancur, Johnson; Arsenal – Merino.

Referee: Lau Fong Hei.

Venue: Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong.

Weather: Thundery showers, moderate breeze, 26 degrees (roof closed on stadium).

Attendance: 49,975.