Arsenal are scheduled to face Tottenham Hotspur in tomorrow’s pre-season friendly at the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.
It will be the first north London derby outside of the UK, and the fans will anticipate nothing less than a victory over Spurs.
Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes remains on the sidelines following his minor setback recovering from a hamstring injury.
The Gunners tactician added that the game will come too soon for Riccardo Calafiori too. The Italian suffered a knee injury while playing in central defence against Newcastle United.
Arteta said on the duo: “With the rest, everybody’s going to be okay, apart from Big Gabi, who’s still out, and probably Riccy (Riccardo Calafiori), it’s going to be a bit too early for him tomorrow.”
The manager also provided an update on whether Viktor Gyökeres will be fit to make his friendly debut.
The Swede was on a strict individual training plan before joining the Gunners, and has already participated in a couple of training sessions. A decision on his involvement will be made tonight.
Arteta added on the striker: “Yes, I understand, he’s only done today’s session, yesterday very little. We’re going to assess tonight how he is.
“If the medical staff are happy as well with his condition to participate in tomorrow’s match, it’s a possibility. We’re going to discuss that tonight.”
Arsenal have had a bright pre-season with friendly wins over AC Milan and Newcastle. Against the latter, William Saliba suffered a big bump to his head, but seems to have recovered well.
There have been plenty of positives from the opening two pre-season games in Asia. Max Dowman has been a surprise package, and he was exceptional in his cameo against the Magpies.
The club’s faithful will be eager to watch him in action once more. Gyökeres presence would be another big source of attraction, but new signing Cristhian Mosquera could also feature.
The Spaniard is a strong ball-playing centre-back who is superb in winning ground duels. He has the opportunity to make a big impression during tomorrow’s north London derby.
