It seems as though the gap between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is as wide as it has been in a generation, and the reality is you have to go back nearly 50 years, to Spurs' temporary sojourn in the second tier in 1977-78 for the last time as many positions separated them from their rivals down the Seven Sisters Road.

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham will go to battle in new surroundings in what promises to be a highlight of pre-season in Hong Kong. While billed as a friendly, the first ever pre-season North London derby to take place outside the UK should be anything but as both rivals look to snatch early bragging rights.

The latest meeting in one of soccer’s most heated rivalries will be the first ever to be held overseas, some 6,000 miles from its origin in the United Kingdom.