South East Asia friendly Tottenham Arsenal Hong Kong
Spurs embark on their considerable marketing campaign in South East Asia today, which essentially means that we play the first North London Derby overseas this afternoon (12:30 UK time) against the mighty Arsenal. The match gets underway at 7:30 pm local time on Thursday, July 31, live at the Kai Tak Stadium. That means the contest will start at 12.30 pm UK time.
Arsenal will be looking to shine
Preseason friendlies are one thing, and lambs sent to the slaughterhouse are another altogether, and today’s game will provide an excellent indication to even the most devout Spurs fan, as to how far the divide is between these two sides.
We have not beaten this lot competitively since the 2021-22 Premier League season in the derby, and the Gunners will be keen to show off their latest talents, who total €224.20m.
Viktor Gyokeres, Martín Zubimendi, and Noni Madueke will be looking to show what they can do against us.
Tottenham have had considerably less to shout about, with Mohammed Kudus having been our only high-profile acquisition this summer.
What can Thomas Frank show us?
Two different Spurs XI’s faced Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town, respectively, last week, and neither managed to record a win, despite the opposition. Presumably, against such a greater opponent, in a considerably bigger game, Thomas Frank will be seeking to make his mark.
Frank has already told the press:
“I have a great feeling, I think it’s going to be a great challenge, we all know that. It’s a north London derby, the first outside the UK, and we’re looking forward to it in front of all our fans here. We’ll be ready for it. I’m quite relaxed about it. The better opponents we can play will help us get up to the level we want to be in three weeks’ time. For me, it’s a fantastic test.”
How, where, when?
To which end, the bookmakers have Arsenal in at 11/20 and Tottenham out at 4/1. Much has been made of our Europa League success, but this one will be a less cheerful affair. Our predicted Spurs starting eleven should look a lot like this: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Maddison, Bentancur, Sarr; Kudus, Solanke, and Son.
The Gunners’ significant squad depth is likely to come to the fore once both managers start ringing the changes, which are inevitable in games such as these.
Fans’ best bet to watch this Thursday lunchtime game live is via SPURSPLAY and (kick-off 12.30 pm UK). Unfortunately, this game has not been selected for broadcast in the UK.
Other games include: