Arsenal fell to city rivals, Tottenham 1-0 in the first ever North London derby outside of Europe. The Gunners were stunned by a goal from Pape Matar Sarr late on as the first was almost ending.
Softfootball caught all the actions as Arsenal dominated but could not take any of created chances in front of goal. The Gunners fielded a strong side and later called on new striker, Viktor Gyokeres but he could influence the game much when he came on.
The result was Arsenal’s only loss in the preseason tour of Asia as they defeated AC Milan and Newcastle in Singapore. Speaking after the game, midfielder Mikel Merino was not pleased with the result. The Spanish international who was brought on in the second half shared his thoughts about the game with the Arsenal media via the club’s official website.
He explained that:
“It’s not the result we wanted.”
Arteta added:
“Obviously, winning is a priority for us, but in pre-season, there are other things that have a lot of value, like getting fit, keeping that connection with the fans here in this amazing city.
“We adapted quickly to the pitch, to the opponent, I think we dominated most of the game. The result is obviously the worst part, but we have to take the positives.
“Obviously, this feeling is going to be the gasoline for the season to keep growing, keep learning and hopefully go upwards.
“The game brought the curtain down on our two-week Asia Tour, following two wins in Singapore. Merino said he was blown away by the reception the players received.
“The support has been amazing throughout the whole tour. Thank you very much to the whole fan base, because I know it’s hard for them to support us during the season, sometimes with times that are not ideal for them. But thank you very much because it was lovely.
I”t was an amazing two weeks. I think always when you come to these kind of tours, you have a lot of excitement about it.
“Time to discover new places, new parts of the world for us. And at the same time, show what Arsenal is, the culture, the family we are in a different country. So overall an amazing experience and hopefully we’ll come back soon.”
The North London derby makes the end of the Asian tour for the Arsenal as they return to London for the upcoming Emirates Cup and the 25/26 season.
