Arsenal.com

Our men’s first team will play our north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong on Thursday, July 31 as part of our preparations for the 2025/26 season.

The match, which kicks off at 7.30pm local time (11.30am UK), will be played in the recently opened 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong and will see our men’s first-team squad returning to the region for the first time since 2012.

Managing Director, Richard Garlick said: “Everyone at Arsenal is excited to be visiting Hong Kong in July. It’s great to be back with our men’s first team squad after 13 years, and gives us the opportunity to meet so many of our fantastic supporters in the region again.

“As well as training hard and playing the match, we cannot wait to connect with our Hong Kong supporters in this wonderful part of the world.

“Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.”

Ticket details and information about further matches in our 2025 pre-season will be announced in the coming days.

It was a goal-filled encounter at Tottenham Hotspur Academy on Saturday, as we came out on the wrong side of a 6-4 scoreline in the U18 Premier League South.

We made the perfect start when Andre Harriman-Annous gave us the lead inside three minutes, but Ellis Lehane quickly equalised for the hosts.

Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett then put Spurs ahead, before Dan Casey netted twice to swing the game back in our favour. However, Jun’ai Byfield struck just before the break to make it 3-3 at half-time.

Spurs regained the lead in the 59th minute through Tynan Thompson, and Malachi Hardy made it five with 15 minutes to go.

Casey completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot to bring us back within one, but Williams-Barnett wrapped up the win deep into stoppage time after we had been reduced to 10 men following Samuel Onyekachukwu’s red card.

Watch the highlights by pressing the play button above.

The goals wouldn’t stop going in at Tottenham Hotspur Academy on Saturday as we were beaten 6-4 in the U18 Premier League South.

Andre Harriman-Annous gave us a third-minute lead before Ellis Lehane pulled one back for the hosts.

Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett made it 2-1 to Spurs before Dan Casey netted twice with half-time approaching. Jun’ai Byfield equalised on the brink of the break though to make it 3-3.

Spurs went ahead in the 59th minute courtesy of Tynan Thompson and Malachi Hardy made it five with 15 minutes remaining.

Casey completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot with nine minutes to go to offer some hope, but Williams-Barnett completed his brace deep in stoppage time for 6-4, after we’d been reduced to 10 men following a sending off for Samuel Onyekachukwu.

WHAT HAPPENED

Marcell Washington played the ball into the centre of the box and Harriman-Annous slotted it into the bottom right corner early on before Spurs pulled one back.

Jack Porter gave the ball way to Lehane, who smashed it into the bottom left.

Onyekachukwu had the ball in the back of the net with a header following a lovely Ceadach O'Neill free-kick, but the flag was raised for offside.

Spurs then took the lead as Williams-Barnett hit a strike from 30 yards out into the top right corner.

We responded through Casey, who got his first of the afternoon when he found himself in acres of space and rifled the ball into the bottom right corner for 2-2.

In the 43rd minute, Louis Zecevic-John put it on a plate for Cosey, who poked the ball into the bottom left corner to restore our lead, but it was short lived.

A corner whipped in by Williams-Barnett ricocheted into Byfield’s path and he volleyed home to wrap up an end-to-end first half.

The hosts went ahead again in the 59th minute as Thompson went on a mazy solo run and scored across goal, and four became five as a corner was flicked on by Hardy into the bottom left.

Max Dowman was brought down in the penalty area with nine minutes to go and Casey stepped up to dispatch from the spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and reducing the arrears.

Our task was made more difficult though one minute into added time as Onyekachukwu was sent off for bringing down Reiss Elliot-Parris, who was through on goal.

Williams-Barnett rubbed the salt in the wounds late on as he smashed the resulting free-kick into the top right corner.

WHAT IT MEANS

We’re now ninth in the league with 19 points from 14 games.

WHAT’S NEXT

We head to Chelsea on Tuesday for an 11am kick-off at Cobham Training Ground.

LINE-UPS

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Archer, Hardy, Upson (Furnell-Gill 80), Byfield, Byrne, Bangura (Batty 52), Hall (Moncur 52), Adewole, Williams-Barnett, Thompson, Lehane (Elliott-Parris 49).

Substitutes (not used): Thompson.

Arsenal XI: Porter, Ibrahim, Onyekachukwu, Clarke, Washington (Ismail 65), Casey, Copley, O’Neill (Chapman 67), Dowman, Harriman-Annous, Zecevic-John (Oyetunde 74).

Substitutes (not used): Ranson, Marciniak.

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From the Vault

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We’ve put together the best Access All Areas and Bench Cam footage of Sunday’s 5-0 win in the WSL north London derby.

Watch the team arrive, see the excitement build at Emirates Stadium and enjoy all the goals again from a pitch side angle!

Press play on the video above to enjoy derby day all over again.

We produced a dominant display to win the north London derby 5-0 in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday, and you can watch the best of the action in our highlights package.

In front of over 56,000 supporters at Emirates Stadium, Alessia Russo forced a Clare Hunt own goal to give us an early lead and Mariona Caldentey made it 2-0 before half-time.

Frida Maanum ensured the second half got off to a goalscoring start with our third before Russo got herself on the scoresheet. After Chloe Kelly came on for her debut, Emily Fox provided another memorable moment with a stunning fifth goal from long range.

Press play on the video above to enjoy the best moments of the match all over again.

Renee Slegers was in high spirits as she sat down for her post-Tottenham Hotspur press conference after seeing her side beat our north London rivals 5-0 at Emirates Stadium.

Here’s what she had to say on the following subjects.

on Kyra Cooney-Cross winning the ball high up the pitch:

It’s not specifically with Kyra individually, but it’s as a team. We want to press and all players play different roles on the pitch and often she plays in that role where she is maybe the player that wins the ball for us.

on focusing on Spurs switching players on the wings:

No, we’re very specific at what we do, so we go through all possible scenarios when we get the line-up. The analysts watch the warm-ups, so we have all the tools to see what we think the opposition is going to do and how we want to deal with that. We have a plan for everything basically and what they tried to do is get into those pockets and make it hard for us to defend that left foot on the right side and I think we managed it really well.

on Lotte Wubben-Moy’s omission from the squad:

She had a muscle problem during the week and she’s going to get a scan.

on Chloe Kelly enjoying herself on her debut:

There were a couple of tactical messages and just checking in, ‘are you okay with the role to play’ and set-pieces of course, but my final message was enjoy getting your comeback in an Arsenal shirt. It’s a very special occasion, so enjoy your football. I think she’s been smiling a lot in training and working really hard so I think she’s very passionate as a person. It’s important that you have players that are in a good place, feel good, are motivated because then you’ll get the best out of yourself and hopefully that’s what we can keep building on with Chloe.

on her reception from the fans:

Definitely, I was very impressed, but in general the crowds have been so inspiring for us.

on Mariona’s ability being like ‘an octopus’:

I think it's a real good analogy. The octopus was quite unexpected! No, she is amazing. Everything that football is to me, I think she understands. The best thing about her is that she always works really hard and she sets up really good situations for herself, but everything she does makes it easier for the other players to play as well. She creates a little bit more time and space for everyone. She reads things, she sees things. She is on such a high level, so we're so happy to have her. And don't want to take away from all the rest, because there are so many individuals in our team who play on a very high level similar to her, but I agree with you, she's an outstanding player.

on Spurs and Robert Vilahamn’s project:

I know Robert, we did our training badges in Sweden, so I have huge respect for him and who he is and what he wants to build. And I think, of course, with Tottenham, he's on the journey and I fully support what he's doing. It's always good to hear that from the opposition to understand what it's like to play against us. But I want to give him credit for the way he wants to work and how he's building and how he believes in what he wants to do. And yeah, I wish him all the best.

on whether this was us at our best:

At times, definitely. I think, the whole event, I think with playing at the Emirates. Beautiful pitch, big crowds, and the way the women's game is growing, and how Arsenal is leading in this. I'm just very proud. And then, of course, it's about the football that we play. And I think at times we play brilliant football today on the ball, but also how quickly we counter-press and win the ball back, and we score different types of goals. But then there are still periods in the game where we could have done better. So I think we're on such a high level at times today, and then the next level is to be that consistently over 95 minutes.

on playing for the team, not individuals:

Yeah, and that's the kind of thing we want to build. So, we want to be unpredictable and hard to defend and hard to beat. And I think that's what you create if you have different threats. So, if you only have one type of threat, it's going to be easier for opposition to nullify. But now, when we come with different things, I think it's going to be very hard for opposition. So, that's really what we work towards. And, of course, I'm in the lucky position that we have so many good quality players in this squad.

on the clean sheet:

Aaron D’Antino, he has a big part in that because he's working with the girls on the defensive part of the game. I think the buy-in is big. I think the plans that we have, the game plans that we have, are good and strong. And it's always, we put high value on keeping clean sheets. And we also work with the mindset and how we emphasise things ahead of games and in trainings, how important it is for us to not concede. And I think it's about the details. I think Steph Catley is a great example. She's doing so many things so well today in the game, which you might not even notice. But that helps us so much, getting into the right positions, making the right decisions, and not even getting the opposition coming close to our goal.

on our mindset:

It's about, I think, what we as coaches think is important and how the girls also think it's important now that we want to go for clean sheets every game, that defensive solidity is such a big part of our game. And it's about the trust in the team, that the forwards can trust that the players at the back and the goalkeepers keep it clean. And then the goalkeepers and the players at the back, they can trust that the front players will score a goal, and that trust is in the team at the moment. Not saying that we split the units because we do everything together. So we defend together and we attack together. And that's also a big part of our strength, but I think there's just big trust within the team, within the roles and the collective, that we can score goals and that we can keep clean sheets.

We remained unbeaten at home in the north London derby with a 5-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in front of 56,784 supporters at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Alessia Russo forced a Clare Hunt own goal and Mariona Caldentey doubled our lead in the first half, before Frida Maanum netted our third and Russo picked out the bottom left corner for four after half-time.

Emily Fox rocketed one into the top left corner from long range late on to end the game in style.

What happened

Maite Oroz volleyed over the bar from an early Spurs free-kick, before a dead-ball delivery from Kyra Cooney-Cross at the other end resulted in Katie McCabe toe-poking her effort over from the edge of the area.

We hit the target though just one minute later when Cooney-Cross' first class delivery was flicked towards goal by Russo, hitting Hunt on the way in for 1-0.

Spurs giving the ball away in dangerous areas was a theme of the first half, in doing so allowing Caitlin Foord to shoot straight at Lize Kop from close range moments later.

There was a great turn from Russo in the penalty area midway through the first half and she got a shot away from a narrow angle, but Kop was equal to it.

McCabe’s cross from the left then found Foord and she scooped it on target but again it went neither side of Kop.

The Spurs goalkeeper was kept busy, parrying behind for a corner after Steph Catley’s cross was met by Russo, but there was nothing Kop could do to stop our next effort.

Caldentey cushioned it into the bottom right corner from just inside the 18-yard box for 2-0, and that was followed by a flurry of late first-half opportunities to score our third.

McCabe’s cross was headed over by Maanum on the brink of half-time, then Russo headed wide from Maanum’s delivery, before Caldentey cut back and shot on her right foot with Kop diving to her left to make the save.

We kept up our attacking intent early in the second half as Russo was denied by Kop after Ashleigh Neville gave the ball away to McCabe.

It was 3-0 in the 51st minute, Foord finding Maanum to her left, whose shot was deflected off of Hunt again and into the back of the net.

Three became four as Foord was afford so much time and space on the counter-attack. This time she went right to Russo, who tucked it in off the post.

It sounded like another goal went in when Chloe Kelly came on for her second Arsenal debut with half an hour to go, 2,815 days since her last game for us in 2017.

She replaced Foord as Maanum made way for Stina Blackstenius.

Kelly was involved straight away with a ball over the top to Russo, who cut inside and had a shot deflected over the bar.

Laia Codina and Kim Little came on for Catley and Cooney-Cross with 14 minutes to go, and Jenna Nighswonger was introduced to Emirates Stadium for the first time in the 86th minute for Caldentey.

Martha Thomas' cross was headed over by Olivia Holdt in a rare foray forward for Spurs in the game's dying embers, but arguably the best was yet to come as Fox, in the 90th minute, unleashed a rocket into the top left corner for our fifth of a fantastic afternoon.

Kelly lobbed Kop with a shot onto the crossbar before the full-time whistle was blown to bring about jubilant celebrations in N5.

What it means

We remain third in the Barclays Women's Super League, three points behind Manchester United after their win over Crystal Palace.

What's next

We host West Ham United at Mangata Pay UK Stadium in Borehamwood on Sunday, March 2 (5.30pm kick-off) following the February international break.

Line-ups

Arsenal XI: van Domselaar, Fox, Williamson (C), Catley (Codina 76), Mariona (Nighswonger 86), McCabe, Maanum (Blackstenius 60), Walti, Foord (Kelly 61), Russo, Cooney-Cross (Little 76)

Substitutes (not used): Zinsberger, Ilestedt, Reid, Mead

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Kop, Neville (Morris 73), Hunt, Bartrip, Nilden, Vinberg (Holdt 82), Oroz, Naz (Grant 82), Csiki (Spence 59), Raso (Thomas 60), England

Substitutes (not used): Spencer, Rybrink, Ahtinen, Buhler

It’s going to be another exciting atmosphere at Emirates Stadium for Sunday’s north London derby in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

We’re expecting more than 55,000 supporters in attendance for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur at 12.30pm.

Three points could be enough to see us overtake Manchester United in the table, and close the gap on league leaders Chelsea.

LAST TIME WE MET

There was derby day delight for us at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this season, as we put three past our north London rivals without reply.

Alessia Russo scored in the second minute to get us off to a flying start and Frida Maanum doubled our lead 20 minutes later.

Stina Blackstenius added a third in the 66th minute of a confident display as we tasted north London derby success for the first time under Renee Slegers.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

It’s been a season of mixed fortunes for Robert Vilahamn’s side, who find themselves sixth in the WSL ahead of the weekend.

After taking four points from their opening two games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, Spurs won just one of the following six matches, losing the other five.

However, since suffering a 3-0 defeat to us, Tottenham earned 10 points out of a possible 12 in the league prior to a 1-0 loss at home to Manchester United at the beginning of February.

Conceding goals has been Spurs’ biggest problem. They’ve shipped 26 in 13 games. Only bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace have a worse record with 35 goals conceded.

Bethany England is the club’s top scorer this season with seven goals in 17 matches in all competitions.

renee's preview

Slegers: “On Sunday, playing at Emirates Stadium, we’ll know the pitch will be very nice and we look forward to it because it’s going to help our passing game and our technical game, so we definitely look forward to the game on Sunday because of the pitch, but mostly because it’s the north London derby and I think we have 55,000 tickets sold at the moment. We’re really looking forward to Sunday."

TEAM NEWS

There are no fresh injury concerns for us for this game, but Chloe Kelly could be set to make her second debut at the club. Victoria Pelova continues her recovery after she played for the under-21s this week.

For Spurs, Robert Vilahamn confirmed that Ella Morris and Drew Spence are in contention after coming back from injury. Eveliina Summanen, meanwhile, will miss the encounter, while Kit Graham is a long-term absentee.

FACTS AND STATS

We have won all four of our WSL home games against Tottenham, keeping a clean sheet in each of the last three.

We have won six of our last seven WSL games, scoring three or more goals in five of those victories; only Chelsea (six times) have done so more often than us (five times) overall in the top-flight this term.

In our recent win over Manchester City, we took our earliest two-goal lead in the WSL (07:25) since October 2020 vs Tottenham (06:27); we have scored more goals in the opening 10 minutes of matches than any other team in the WSL so far this season (five).

Only Chelsea (14) have had more different goalscorers than us (10) in the 2024/25 WSL, with Lotte Wubben-Moy taking us into double figures for scorers on match day 13.

Chloe Kelly could make her first appearance in the WSL for us since June 2017 when she scored against Bristol City; should she play this weekend, 2,815 days since that game, it would be the second longest gap between two appearances for the same club by an outfield player in the competition after Toni Duggan for Everton (2,897 days).

MATCH OFFICIALS

Stacey Fullicks has been appointed for Sunday’s derby. It will be the first time she’s involved in one of our games this season.

She did see over one of our matches in 2023/24 when we came from 2-0 down to beat Leicester City 6-2 at the King Power Stadium.

Referee: Stacey Fullicks

Assistants: Ceri Williams and Leoni Harland

Fourth official: Andy Davies

LIVE COVERAGE

For supporters in the UK who aren't in attendance, you can watch the 12.30pm kick-off live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer or the BBC Sport Website.

For non-UK supporters, you can check out which broadcaster is covering the game in your region in the article below.

Renée Slegers has held a press conference ahead of Sunday's north London derby at Emirates Stadium.

Our head coach fielded questions from the media on our local rivals, how Chloe Kelly has settled into the squad and another impressive attendance expected in N5.

Don't miss out - last chance for tickets now!

Here is everything she had to say:

on team news…

The same players are available. We might have some players coming back, depending on the session tomorrow and how they come through.

on the potential for Chloe Kelly’s second debut at the weekend…

Yeah, she's settled very well. And obviously she knows what Arsenal is. She comes from the club, so we're happy she's back. I think what she brings to us is her quality as an attacking player, but what she's also shown is her willingness to defend and be aggressive and work hard. I think she lifts our training environment as well, so we're very happy with Chloe.

on what she expects from Spurs…

Yeah, it's the North London Derby and it’s a rivalry and we'll both feel it. I think they will feel it and hopefully, we can make them very uncomfortable at the Emirates. But yeah, they've been performing well. They've been recruiting a couple of players, so I think we'll have to respect their strengths, of course, but as with every opposition, there are always areas to exploit, and that's what we're going after on Sunday.

on raising awareness for cervical cancer screenings…

It's very important. I'm proud to represent Arsenal, who take responsibility for questions in society. And I think take-up rates are low in North London, so I think it's important that we raise awareness around it. I'm happy Arsenal is taking responsibility.

on Tottenham’s players to watch…

We'll see if Summanen is available for Sunday and if they’ll have another midfield, but I think they will still play their game. She is obviously a physical presence in midfield, but she also had other qualities, like smart positioning and shots from distance, and they'll definitely try to replace that with other qualities. But I think every player comes in with their own strengths, and we'll see what they ask from their midfielders on Sunday.

on scoring quickly against City and starting fast…

We just think it's important that we set ourselves up really well in games, and it already starts in the warm-up. So that's definitely something we've been talking about. And sometimes you have to be lucky as well that actually you get the rewards straight away, because I think we always try to do really hard work at the start of the game, and then sometimes the rewards come and sometimes they won’t. You'll have to be patient and break it down another way. So we'll see what happens on Sunday and what our game plan is.

on what Chloe Kelly can bring to the squad …

We hope she’s available for Sunday and we know what she can do for us. I look forward to her first minutes for Arsenal and we’ll see when that is.

on the timeline of Victoria Pelova’s return…

Vic’s made really good progress, she’s been working really hard coming back and she made her first minutes in the Under-21s game against Manchester United last Wednesday. That’s very positive and a really big step for her.

on managing Pelova’s loading…

That’s all the planning in the background. Obviously, we’ve got a game on Sunday and an international break, so we just try to plan it the best way for Vic.

on the team’s understanding of in-game rhythm…

I think in both games [against Manchester City], the momentum shifts in the away game and the home game. I think we had a bit better control of what direction it shifts in the away game and we got ourselves back, I think we found the right tools in that game and don’t think we’re as successful in the home game when the momentum was on the City side to then change it back to us. I think that’s a big part of our game, so that’s definitely one of our reflections.

on Chloe Kelly’s absence from the Lionesses’ squad may be a positive…

We want the best for Chloe and I’ve spoken to Chloe, and she’s also said that she accepts the situations as they are. She’s just really happy that she’s with us at the moment – she wants to take every opportunity wherever it is in training or a match environment to try and push herself and find the next level and get a rhythm and play minutes again.

on how the surface at Emirates Stadium will aid our football on Sunday…

Of course, we don’t want to look at factors that are outside of our control so we want to look at what we can do better, what’s inside our control so the pitch is not our control at the moment. On Sunday, playing at Emirates Stadium, we’ll know the pitch will be very nice and we look forward to it because it’s going to help our passing game and our technical game, so we definitely look forward to the game on Sunday because of the pitch, but mostly because it’s the north London derby and I think we have 55,000 tickets sold at the moment. We’re really looking forward to Sunday.

on how the team supported Victoria and Amanda playing in the U21s game…

I'm very happy, I think most of the staff and most of the squad were outside watching. Kick-off was 1:15, so it was straight after our training session. So, we went to have lunch, and then we went back out to watch the game. I think this is not necessarily part of what I'm building. I think the girls have been very supportive of each other for a long time already before I came into the role, and they understand what it means for the girls and how much investment and effort it's taken Vic and Amanda to come back, so they were just out there to support her, and I'm very happy with that.

on 55,000 tickets sold at the weekend…

We always feel very supported by the fans, regardless of numbers or home or away games, because we sell out away sections as well and it gives us something more. We really want to connect with them, because they they give us that extra little percentage on the pitch and we're also very aware that people invest a lot of time and effort to come and see us and support us, so we really want to bring something good back to them as well on Sunday.

on the passion felt towards the north London derby…

I think from just a business perspective, everything, every game is important for me, so that doesn't change, and I think we have to find the right balance of we know we're going to play a very important game with rivalry, and a lot of people invested in the stadium as well. But at the same time, we also have to level that with the girls just need to focus on the task and the role they need to play on the pitch to be able to bring the best out of themselves. But like I said before, the connection with the crowd is going to help us lift our game.

on a message to the supporters…

Just gratitude and I think I feel it personally that I feel supported, and I feel that they're really supporting the team, the players. I feel connected to them and hopefully they feel connected to us and what we try to bring who we are as players, who we who we are as people, that they can relate to that and that brings them something in life, and that that can be inspiring, because the other way around, they're inspiring for us as well.

on how the Arsenal v Spurs rivalry has grown as the WSL has grown…

You see it in the attendances. I think it brings a lot of people to the stadium. There's probably a lot of people watching it on TV as well. So it means a lot, and I think especially for the staff and players that have worked for Arsenal for a long time, played for Arsenal for a long time, they understand what it means, and I feel that as well, and I know the history, so it's going to be a big game that I look forward to on Sunday.

on having a full week to prepare for this match...

We love to play games and we had weeks full of games where we only had one, two or three training sessions in between, so we are really happy with the seven day turnaround so we can work on the details, develop our game model, but also part of it was to make really good individual modifications in the week so some players needed to push and get more and other players needed to get less, so I think it’s been a great week and credit to the performance team and tech staff for working together and getting the right load onto the players in the last week.

on having the ability to bring attacking options off the bench...

Yeah, 100 per cent and that’s been a strength of ours, that we know that if things don’t happen early and things are hard in the game at the start, that we always can bring in new qualities, that we can tweak things and make it happen, so I think we’ve been very effective in the last 15 minutes of games before and that’s partially to do with the game changers and fresh legs we can bring on with quality. Of course, very happy that Chloe has joined us and that she’s an extra option in the attacking positions for us.

on Chloe Kelly’s availability...

You’ll know 75 minutes before kick-off but hopefully, she’s available to be in the squad on Sunday.

on whether she expects Chloe to make a return to the Lionesses soon...

Well, that’s something I can’t control. Chloe’s with us and we want to make her time at Arsenal the best so we want to support her and drive her forward. She’s very keen to find the next level, get rhythm of training and playing so I think that’s all we can focus on. That’s what we do at Arsenal with her and of course players have ambitions to play on a high level for their club but also for the national teams, but that’s not something that’s in my control, so I’ll do everything I can to help Chloe at Arsenal.