Arsenal wrap-up their Asia preseason tour with a match against Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong. As with playing Newcastle, there’s room for discussion about playing a rival in preseason, although Spurs don’t have a thoroughly deserved reputation as hatchet-men. The contest will certainly have more intensity and bite than playing some random insert-club-here, so if that is what Mikel Arteta is after, he’ll get his wish.
It’ll be cool for the supporters in Hong Kong to see the rivals face off, and it’s
neat to play a North London Derby abroad. But is it still a North London Derby if it isn’t being played in North London?
All eyes will be on new signing Viktor Gyøkeres, who IS on the bench for Mikel Arteta after the Arsenal manager was his usual, non-committal self in his press conference. Everyone will be eager to see the striker take the pitch in a red shirt for the first time.
Plenty of focus will be on Max Dowman when he comes off the bench and rightfully so. The 15-year-old was incredibly impressive against Newcastle, driving forward on the ball several times and winning the game-deciding penalty. He looks ready for the first team.
I’m eager to see more of Ethan Nwaneri, whose solid preseason has flown under the radar a bit. The 18-year-old seems to be making the shift from winger to more of an inside, central player, and understudy for Martin Ødegaard. Nwaneri’s game is different from the captain’s, which is good. The youngster is more direct and a much better shooter from distance. He looks to dribble first rather than pass first. Being able to change things up and give opponents a different look will make Arsenal tougher to defend this season.
Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel both miss out. The Italian’s knee issue seems to be a minor one — Mikel Arteta said it’s “a bit too early for him” to return. That’s reassuring given his injury-marred campaign. Gabriel “felt something” in training in Singapore and has had his load scaled-back out of precaution. Arteta initially said it would set the Brazilian defender back about a week.
The match is streaming on Arsenal.com for £6.99 and purportedly on Paramount+. I know that some people have reported issues finding the preseason matches on CBS’ platform.
Arsenal - Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Nørgaard, Rice, Ødegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz
Tottenham - Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Spence, Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall, Kudus, Odobert, Richarlison
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