Arsenal 0-1 Tottenham - 3 takeaways as Arsenal beaten in Hong Kong

Arsenal ended their pre-season tour of Asia with a disappointingly tame 1-0 defeat to North London rivals, Tottenham, at the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong. Here are three takeaways from a match that presented more questions than answers.

Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to their North London rivals will do very little to influence the way the coming season unfolds. However, what we did witness in this most unfamiliar of all North London derbies was an interesting first-half tactical experiment.

Arteta decided to play long and direct against a Spurs side who wanted to maintain a high defensive line and press aggressively in central areas. To some extent it paid off as David Raya launched long ball after long ball high towards a beefed up Kai Havertz.

When Havertz found Declan Rice with a headed flick, Arsenal looked more like 1980's Wimbledon than the pattern weaving intricate team that fans have become accustomed to under Arteta. Rice was unable to convert the chance but this evidence that Arteta is prepared to bypass congested areas with direct football can only be encouraging.

Ironically, it was a short pass into a congested area that ultimately cost Arsenal their unbeaten pre-season record. When Myles Lewis-Skelly was dispossessed by Pape Sarr inside the centre circle – unfairly so, some might say – and then proceeded to lob Raya from 45 yards, it only served to highlight the method behind Arteta's madness.

3 takeaways from Arsenal's 1-0 win over Newcastle

1. Martinelli did not offer enough width on the left

The spotlight on Martinelli will be growing more intense as the season approaches. On yesterday's showing, Noni Madueke must be licking his lips at the prospect of getting started.

Martinelli played far to narrowly in the first-half making it far too difficut for his teammates to pass the ball to him. Tottenham easily blocked the passing lanes, meaning that time and time again Arsenal were forced out to the right hand side.

Unlike Martinelli, Madueke likes to hug the touchline and beat his marker. If Arsenal are going to adopt a direct approach, it is vital that the wide players keep the passing lanes open and create 1 v 1 situations with defenders.

The way that both Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson took advantage of the spaces on the left only served to highlight Martinelli's poor performance.

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