North London Derby First Outside England: Pepe Sarr's Single Goal Brings Spurs To Beat Arsenal

JAKARTA - Pape Matar Sarr's incredible shot from 45 yards (41 meters) gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win over Arsenal in the first north London derby ever played outside England.

The match on Thursday, July 31, 2025, WIB night, at Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong, attracted a record 49,975 spectators - even though the arena worth US$3.9 billion was only opened in March 2025. They are treated to competitive matches plus controversial spices.

Arsenal looked angry that Sarr's goal was approved because they believed Richarlison had violated the process.

After dominating the second half, the Gunners were unable to respond with equalizer goals even though Viktor Gyokeres - the new 73 million euro player - was added in the last 13 minutes.

This result made the Gunners end their pre-season tour in Asia with defeat.

Meanwhile, Spurs coach Thomas Frank won an important victory to help start his term as Ange Postecoglou's successor.

Jalannya Pertandingan

Arsenal started the match brilliantly. William Saliba's header went wide in the fourth minute.

The action of the dead ball quickly became the main theme of the match. Coach Andreas Georgson is now back to training under the direction of Thomas Frank at Tottenham specifically for set pieces.

This ability made Spurs have weapons through set pieces that made it difficult for the Gunners.

Spurs had three golden chances that hit the post in the first half. First, Pedro Porro's pass in the 10th minute hit the post before Wilson Odobert's low shot hit Ben White and headed into the post.

The effort only resulted in a corner kick. However, from that situation Tottenham again had a good chance which again hit the post. Richarlison, who used the ball to throw up, failed to pass the ball from close range.

Tottenham's lead just arrived just before the break. Raya passes from behind to Myles Lewis-Skelly and under Richarlison's pressure.

The England defender lost the ball which Sarr finally controlled. He immediately fired hard past Raya and went into the net remotely.

Arsenal are furious to respond to this because they believe Richarlison has committed a foul. Lewis-Skelly and Martin Odegaard also protested against the fourth referee when both teams left the field for the break in the first half.

Entering the second half, Arsenal and Tottenham did not make substitutions during the break.

Arteta's men who tried to find the equalizer had a chance through Gabriel Martinelli. He teamed up with Kai Havertz before the 60th minute, but the Brazilian's shot was still off the mark.

The substitution started right after the 60th minute. Spurs included Kevin Danso, Mathhys Tel, and cap Johnson, before Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi were played by Arteta.

However, viewers were forced to wait for the two players they might most want to see -- Gyokeres and Tottenham legend Son Heung-min -- until a series of substitutions was made in the 77th minute.

Arsenal are haunted by fears of injury shortly after Trossard was forced off the pitch due to injury. Despite pressure on Spurs for a long time, they ran out of ideas to penetrate the Tottenham defense which appeared solid. The 1-0 score for the Spurs lasted until the end.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will fly back to London on Friday, August 1, 2025, while Spurs will continue to South Korea to face Newcastle United.