Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur: Kick-off time, how to watch on TV

Hong Kong will have the privilege of hosting the first ever north London derby outside the UK when Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur face each other at the newly-minted Kai Tak Sports Park in Kowloon on Thursday.

The Premier League rivals may have to face a bit of inclement weather. While the forecast hurricanes and thunderstorms haven’t materialised, it is set to be a windy, rainy evening.

It’s a far cry from the heat of Singapore, where Arsenal racked up preseason wins against Newcastle United and AC Milan, with latest superstar signing Viktor Gyokeres being unveiled to scores of adoring fans ahead of the game against Newcastle.

With Mikel Arteta being keen on integrating Gyokeres quickly, he could see some minutes against Spurs, although he’s had only one training session with the club so far.

Gyokeres was Arsenal’s sixth signing of the summer, although only three — Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga — have featured in preseason so far. Noni Madueke hasn’t travelled to Asia but is set to feature in Arsenal’s preseason program back home in London at the Emirates Cup.

However, fans in Asia have been witness to the exciting talents of 15-year-old Max Dowman, who has grabbed headlines with his cameos, the last of which inspired Arsenal’s win over Newcastle in front of the watching Gyokeres.

Tottenham meanwhile, have had one win from three in preseason, following up their 2-0 win over Reading with the unique feat of draws against League One opposition Wycombe Wanderers (2-2) and Luton Town (0-0) on the same day, four hours apart. New coach Thomas Frank wanted 22 players with playing time before they began their Asia tour against Arsenal, with Spurs also facing Newcastle in South Korea.

Curiously, Tottenham could be without Son Heung-Min for that game, with MLS side LAFC keen on acquiring his services. However, Frank’s has insisted he wants Son, who has a year left on his contract, to stay, albeit in a different role. Son has travelled for the Asia tour and is likely to feature against Arsenal.

In contrast to their rivals, Spurs have only had one major signing in Mohammed Kudus and missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White so far this summer, although they have sealed deals for young defenders Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai, in addition to making the loan deals for Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso permanent.

On the injury front, Spurs will be without long-term injured players Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski and Bryan Gil, while Destiny Udogie, Takai and Manor Solomon have also not flown to Asia as they recover from injuried picked up in pre-season. Frank has also opted to leave Mikey Moore, Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett at home as they explore loan deals.