Sarr screamer gives Tottenham victory over Arsenal in Hong Kong

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.

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 $67 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.” Meanwhile, Gyokeres said he wants to carve out his own place in the club’s history and has played down comparisons with Thierry Henry after taking the number 14 jersey.

The 27-year-old Sweden international, who bagged 54 goals in all competitions last season, completed his 63.5 million euros ($72.56 million) switch from Sporting on Saturday.

Gyokeres took Arsenal’s vacant number 14 shirt, which former captain Henry famously wore on the way to becoming the club’s record scorer.

“Of course I know about the history,” Gyokeres told British media on Wednesday. “To be honest, there weren’t so many numbers available. There weren’t too many to pick from.

“But of course, that one was available. So when I knew that, it was an easy choice to take it.

“It’s not really my intention to be compared with what he’s achieved in his career. Especially here. I just want to do my own thing and show my qualities. Of course he was an amazing player, but different from me.”

Agencies