Arsenal, Tottenham To Face Off In North London Derby In Hong Kong

Arsenal will face Tottenham in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong, marking the first North London derby to be played outside the United Kingdom, the clubs announced on Monday. Meanwhile, Liverpool will take on AC Milan.

The London rivals will play at the southern Chinese city’s new 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium on July 31.

“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,” said Arsenal’s managing director, Richard Garlick.

Liverpool will play Serie A giants Milan on July 26 at the same stadium.

It will be a replay of the classic 2005 Champions League final, which the Reds won on penalties after being 3-0 down at half-time.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool are likely to head to Hong Kong as Premier League champions — they are currently 12 points clear with nine games left.

Liverpool will also travel to Japan for the first time during pre-season, the club said, without giving dates.

Hong Kong officially opened a major $3.85 billion sports park this month, with the futuristic Kai Tak Stadium at its center.

The stadium saw its first major event at the weekend when it hosted the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, with more than 110,000 spectators attending over three days.

It is all part of efforts to restore the city’s image, which took a battering after political protests and a Beijing-imposed national security law.

Visitor numbers to Hong Kong also plummeted during almost three years of strict Covid curbs and have only recently begun to recover.