Thomas Frank won his first north London derby after Tottenham defeated Arsenal 1-0 in a pre-season friendly in Singapore.

Pape Sarr scored from close to the halfway line right before the break to separate the two sides in their first fixture outside the United Kingdom.

Spurs struck the post three times in the first half before Sarr broke the deadlock, winning the ball off Myles Lewis-Skelly and launching it over the head of David Raya.

Despite having more chances, Arsenal struggled to trouble Spurs’ defence, with Kai Havertz having their only shot on target in the 70th minute.

Viktor Gyokeres made his debut late in the second half, but could not make much of an impact as Spurs saw the game through despite only accumulating 0.34 expected goals (xG) to Arsenal’s 1.03.

Mikel Arteta’s side will now return to England, where they will face Villarreal in their next friendly, while Spurs play Newcastle in the next leg of their Asia tour.

Outrageous from Pape Sarr

Don’t miss the action – watch the second half live on SPURSPLAY

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 31, 2025

Data Debrief: Sarr wins the midfield battle

Sarr scored with his only shot in the match, and Spurs’ only effort on target, but the Senegal international was also very strong in midfield.

He won 100% of his tackles (five), more than any other player on the pitch, and also won the most duels (nine of 12).

He drew two fouls and completed 95.5% of his passes – only Lucas Bergvall (96%) bettered that out of Spurs’ starters – as he looks to cement his place in Frank’s side for the upcoming season.