Arsenal’s unbeaten start to pre-season came to an end against north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong. The Gunners are just over two weeks out from their season opener at Old Trafford, but the Premier League hopefuls still have plenty of room for improvement.
Tottenham opened the scoring in spectacular fashion midway through the first half, when Pape Matar Sarr picked the pocket of Myles Lewis-Skelly and managed to lob David Raya from the halfway line. It was a deserved half-time lead for Spurs, who had rattled the woodwork on three separate occasions.
While Arsenal saw more of the ball in the second half, they struggled to create any real openings and were left fretting after talisman Bukayo Saka went down clutching his thigh. The winger was replaced by Mikel Arteta, with Arsenal failing to mount a comeback thereafter. Express Sport hands out Arsenal player ratings from the pre-season friendly.
David Raya – 3
Fired a risky pass into the path of Myles Lewis-Skelly and was subsequently caught way off his line for the opening goal. Raya had flapped at a corner twice earlier in the half, with both efforts cannoning off the woodwork. An uncharacteristically poor performance from Arsenal’s No.1.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 4
While Raya’s pass wasn’t great, Myles Lewis-Skelly did look feeble when put under pressure by Saar. Also switched off at the back-post when it looked like Richarlison was going to tap into an empty net. Continued to struggle in the second half and was out-muscled at the backpost by Micky van de Ven, who should’ve scored with a header.
Jakub Kiwior – 5
Didn’t particularly do anything of note to send a message to Arteta, especially amid talk of a move away from the club.
William Saliba – 5
Also caught napping for the Richarlison chance in the first half, but recovered well in the second and was on hand to sweep up balls in behind the Gunners’ backline.
Ben White – 5
Made a couple of lung-busting runs up the right-hand side and combined well with team-mate Bukayo Saka. Ben White did have a couple of chances to deliver crosses into the box, but his execution was poor.
Christian Norgaard – 6
Provided a stable base to Arsenal’s midfield, allowing Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice to play with a touch more freedom.
Martin Odegaard – 6
Changed the game when he came on vs Newcastle, but was unusually quiet at times against Spurs. Odegaard was presented with a golden chance to level things up, but scuffed his shot when the moment came.
Declan Rice – 6
The Englishman was his usual Energiser Bunny self when getting up and down the pitch, but wasn’t able to deliver the required quality when in the final third.
Gabriel Martinelli – 6
The winger was unable to keep an effort from just inside the penalty area down, with Gabriel Martinelli having ought to do better with the shot.
Kai Havertz – 5
Could only deliver an air kick when presented with an opportunity to get a shot away, detailing exactly why Arsenal spent big on Viktor Gyokeres. He was also left with egg on his face in the first half when Christian Romero shimmied past him in Spurs’ own penalty area.
Bukayo Saka – 6
After a quiet first half, Bukayo Saka sprinkled some stardust in the second and started to come alive a bit more. His match was cut short after an injury forced him off the pitch midway through the second period.
Substitutes:
Viktor Gyokeres – 7
While he might’ve only had one training session so far, Viktor Gyokeres linked up well with his new team-mates and probably should’ve had an assist when a knockback fell invitingly in the Spurs penalty area.
Martin Zubimendi – 6
Classy in possesion and will likely prove a useful addition to the Arsenal squad.
Leandro Trossard – N/A
Lasted just over 15 minutes before being taken off again with what looked to be a suspected injury.
Max Dowman – 7
Has proved a real bright spark during Arsenal’s pre-season tour and once again dazzled on the left-hand side of Arsenal’s attack.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6
Provided a bit of industry on the left-hand side after coming on as a sub.
Cristhian Mosquera – 6
Looks a commanding figure at the back and should provide some much-needed depth in defence for Arteta.
Mikel Merino – 6
Another decent cameo for the Spanish midfielder.
Reiss Nelson – N/A