(Credit: Imago)

Oliver Walton

Thu 31 July 2025 17:51, UK

Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall has praised teammate Pape Sarr after he produced a moment of magic in their pre-season clash against arch-rivals Arsenal.

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Tottenham’s summer friendlies kicked off with a run of games on home soil against the likes of Reading, Wycombe and Luton, which they emerged from with one win and two draws.

The headlines in the early stages of Thomas Frank’s reign in North London have been dominated by off-field events, with Mohammed Kudus joining from rivals West Ham, while Nottingham Forest threatened Tottenham with legal action amid Morgan Gibbs-White’s release clause saga.

Their first friendly of the summer outside of the UK on Wednesday (31 July) came against Arsenal, no less, with both clubs in Hong Kong for the first North London derby to take place away from British soil.

Frank and Mikel Arteta both went strong in search of bragging rights before the new campaign has even started, and it was Spurs who emerged victorious against the Gunners thanks to an audacious effort from Senegalese international Sarr.

Frank will be pleased with his players after their win against the Gunners (Credit: Imago)

The scoreline was locked at 0-0 in Hong Kong as the half-time whistle beckoned, but Sarr pounced on some sloppy play from Myles Lewis-Skelly before unleashing a long-range shot that caught David Raya off guard and nestled in the back of the net to put Tottenham ahead.

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Sarr’s cheeky strike ended up winning Spurs the clash against their rivals, and the 22-year-old took to Instagram in the aftermath of the game to share a message to the club’s supporters, saying: “The North London derby is special wherever we are!

Thank you Hong Kong” with a tongue-out face emoji to represent the celebration he produced after scoring.

His midfield partner Bergvall responded to the post by simply adding: “Wow” in the comments with a heart-eyes emoji, while Dominic Solanke said: “Golazo!

with a fire emoji and James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Micky van de Ven were among those that liked Sarr’s message.

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Football Insider verdict

Sarr was a relatively unknown player in English football prior to his £14.6million [Sky Sports] move to Spurs from Metz in the summer of 2021, and he actually had to wait 18 months to make his debut for the club in a Premier League clash against Aston Villa in January 2023.

The 21-year-old has quickly grown into one of the most promising young midfielders in the top-flight in the two-and-a-half years since, and his 55 appearances in all competitions last term served as proof of his influence under Ange Postecoglou.

AppearancesGoalsAssists10497Sarr’s Tottenham career stats

After his outstanding finish against Arsenal, Sarr only looks likely to remain a regular in the middle of the park under his new boss, especially after former scout Mick Brown recently revealed to Football Insider that Yves Bissouma is not part of Frank’s plans for the new season amid interest from Juventus.

Tottenham are in talks to sign Joao Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich as it stands, and he is set to be a replacement for Bissouma, with Bergvall then probably the most likely player to drop out of the starting eleven on a regular basis rather than Sarr, who is one of Spurs’ most important players right now.

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