Pape Matar Sarr wins the pre-season clash with rivals Arsenal for Tottenham Hotspur.
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank tasted victory in his first north London derby meeting against Arsenal as the two Premier League rivals battled it out in Hong Kong.
The former Brentford boss has a moment of Pape Matar Sarr inspiration to thank for the win, the midfielder’s goal the difference in the 1-0 win. Sarr pinched the ball off the feet of Myles Lewis-Skelly shortly before half time and rocketed a shot from distance over the head of David Raya in the Gunners’ goal.
There were certainly plenty of positives to take from the Spurs showing. Here’s how the Tottenham Hotspur players rated.
Tottenham Hotspur player ratings
GK: Guglielmo Vicario, 7
Clean sheet in the bag and not having to do too much work. A little rushed at times with the ball at his feet.
LB: Pedro Porro, 8
A busy evening in Hong Kong. Almost saw a corner kick curl past David Raya and looks to have an important role to play in the Thomas Frank transition.
CB: Cristian Romero, 6
Looked a little off the pace today. Some decisive interventions but those came with errors, one of those being a weak header under a long ball that Declan Rice almost capitalised on. Nothing major to worry about nonetheless.
CB: Micky Van de Ven, 5
Also looking slightly rusty at times. Van de Ven had a headed chance in the second half which was arguably an easier one to convert that Richarlison’s miss in the first 45 minutes. In the Premier League, you can’t waste those.
RB: Djed Spence, 9
Really good today. Looked comfortable with whatever Arsenal threw at him and picked out a couple of nice through balls. Spurs’ best player.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur, 7
His usual self, picking the ball up in front of the defence. Solid if not spectacular. Joao Palhinha would likely be an upgrade here.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr, 8
Good stuff. Got an important toe in after 11 minutes to make breaking up a promising Arsenal counter look easy. Pinched the ball well again just before his goal, which he fired over David Raya from an extraordinary distance. That’s not easy to do.
CM: Lucas Bergvall, 7
Too bitty a game for Bergvall’s talent to be in full force. The midfielder does carry the ball forwards well and puts a shift in.
LW: Wilson Odobert, 7
Did cause Ben White problems with his pace and started the match brightly. Could carry more of a goal threat.
Mohammed Kudus impresses again at Spurs
ST: Richarlison, 4
Frustrating. It’s always hard to fault the Brazilian’s passion but he’s not the one to lead the line for Thomas Frank. Richarlison somehow headed over from practically standing on the goal line in the first half, although that miss is perhaps not quite as bad as social media will have you believe given that the ball cannoned onto his noggin from the crossbar. Needs to be finding the back of the net in these types of matches.
RW: Mohammed Kudus, 8
Again, a lot to love from the former West Ham man. Spurs’ best threat on the flanks and can turn defence into attack in seconds. Not able to provide a huge goal threat but always a headache for Myles Lewis-Skelly.
SUB: Mathys Tel, 7
Didn’t have too much time to make an impact but one really good moment as he ran at the Spurs defence and then put a plum of a cross onto the head of Van de Ven, which he should have scored.
SUB: Son Heung-min, 5
There were a couple of moments when the South Korea international led a Spurs break but didn’t have the dynamism he has done over the years. Needs to find his fire again.
SUBS: Kevin Danso, Brennan Johnson, Ben Davies, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Archie Gray - N/A
In other news, Tottenham battle Newcastle United for Marc Guehi alternative who wants move as new contract offer submitted.