The Hong Kong Football Festival 2025, featuring Arsenal vs. Tottenham, will take place this Thursday (July 31) at the Kai Tak Main Stadium. Both teams have recently announced their squads for the visit to Hong Kong. Arsenal, which previously played a friendly in Singapore, confirmed that newly signed Swedish forward Viktor Gyökeres will join the squad for the Hong Kong trip. Meanwhile, Tottenham, who arrived in Hong Kong yesterday (July 28), will be led by captain Son Heung-min and new signing Mohammed Kudus.
It is expected that this first-ever North London Derby held outside the UK will see both sides field their strongest available lineups.
Arsenal's pre-season preparations this summer primarily revolve around three matches during their Asia tour, with the first two—against AC Milan and Newcastle in Singapore—already completed. Given this context, Arsenal's recently announced Hong Kong squad features little change. Key players across all positions, such as goalkeeper David Raya, center-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, midfielders Martin Ødegaard and Declan Rice, and forwards Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Kai Havertz, are all included.
The only major surprise is the addition of Swedish striker Gyökeres, who was just announced as a signing from Sporting CP. Reports indicate that the 27-year-old star has already joined his new teammates, but when asked whether he would play, manager Mikel Arteta stated that, due to the player's lack of full training recently, the decision would depend on the medical team's assessment.
For Tottenham, Thursday's match against Arsenal will be their first of the Asia tour this summer, which is why the team only departed London on a chartered flight on Sunday (local time). The announced squad shows that Tottenham has brought their strongest possible lineup for the Asia tour, with familiar faces such as defenders Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, and Micky van de Ven, midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, and James Maddison, and forward Richarlison de Andrad, and captain Son Heung-min all included. However, injured left-back Destiny Udogie and winger Dejan Kulusevski did not make the trip.
Tottenham's chartered flight landed at Hong Kong International Airport at 4:15 PM yesterday. The club did not arrange any official welcoming event, and the team exited the airport via a private channel before heading to their hotel. Around 100 fans waited outside the hotel, and at approximately 6:15 PM, the Tottenham players and staff arrived by coach, greeted by cheers and chants from the crowd. The players appeared visibly exhausted, with only Maddison taking a moment to wave at the fans in the designated area.
Fan: Son Heung-min is a role model for everyone
MK has been a fan of Son Heung-min for 10 years and became a Tottenham supporter because of him.
"When I first heard about an Asian player joining the Premier League, I thought it was incredible, so I started searching for information about him. Son led the team to the 2018-2019 Champions League final, and even though they lost, I believe it's already an amazing achievement for an Asian player to reach that level."
In MK's eyes, Son is a figure worthy of everyone's admiration because the Korean striker has earned his success through sheer hard work and sacrifice. "His entire life, from childhood, has revolved around football and relentless training. I believe Son has put in far more effort than his peers to achieve what he has today."
Recent reports suggested Son might leave Tottenham, but his inclusion in the Hong Kong squad has delighted MK, who believes Tottenham can put up a strong fight against Arsenal in Thursday's North London Derby.
"Last season's poor league performance might have been due to the manager's shortcomings, but with a new coach now in charge, we will win!"
(Source: Wen Wei Po; English Editor: Darius)
Related News:
Deepline | Superstars as coaches? Liverpool stars ignite HK football fever ahead of festival kickoff
Deepline | '12th Player' phenomenon: How HK's 'red sea' redefines football fandom
Comment