Hosting the first-ever north London derby outside of the United Kingdom is the ultimate honour, according to Hong Kong Supporters Club member Adam Ng and the die-hard Gooner is confident they will create an atmosphere befitting of the occasion.
We take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong, on Thursday, marking the first abroad NLD and the first match to take place outside of London since our FA Cup semi-final win at Old Trafford in 2001.
Hong Kong is home to one of our oldest international supporters clubs anywhere around the world, founded almost 30 years ago and now boasts over 600 members. Adam knows the meaning of being a true Gunner, having starting following the side in 1994, with even his name being inspired by a true Arsenal great.
He recalls: “I remember that year, 1994/95, was probably one of our worst years. We ranked 12th in that year, so I don’t know why I became a supporter of Arsenal, but it just happened. What made me fall in love with Arsenal was Tony Adams. It’s actually why I have my name. I named myself as Adam, it’s because of him.
“At that time, you know, for Chinese people, we don’t need an English name. So, when I was in the first year of secondary school, the teacher asked me to ask me to pick an English name. So I picked Adams. But my teachers told me, ‘oh, no-one use Adams with S as a name. You just take away the S.’ So I said ok, then I use Adam. So that’s the story.”
The Cosmo Pub in Hong Kong has been the base for the supporters club, with many special memories of watching us in action down the years, including victories over Tottenham.
From clinching the league title in 2004 at White Hart Lane to the FA Cup victory in 2014, Adam’s memories of beating Spurs are well documented and with the match now taking place on home soil, excitement is in overdrive.
“It’s exciting to have the first-ever north London derby outside of London,” he said. “It’s very meaningful, and a privilege, and I believe many supporters would share the same feeling. They will all understand the importance, or the meaning, of a derby to us. We are excited, it’s a very rare chance to have a full line-up like this during the summer game.
“In the past few seasons, we are so close to our goal. We see how strong we are, how good we are and we see the complete team, especially after we have some new signings.
“I’m proud of our club’s history. We have many legendary managers and I truly believe we are the ones who transformed the Premier League, since Arsene Wenger’s arrival. We are the pioneers.”
Adam’s first memories of watching us in his homeland came with us winning the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens, a tournament held to showcase future stars, in 2001. We last visited the region in 2012, playing Kitchee FC in the final match of our Asia tour.
Fast forward 13 years and we are rounding off this tour with a match against Tottenham, and Adam revealed there are plenty of exciting plans for our few days in Hong Kong.
“There has been a lot of interest and new members because Arsenal are in town. We cannot wait for the legends party and the open training session. Personally, I’m most excited to see Declan [Rice] and Myles [Lewis-Skelly].
“For the game itself, we are excited to not only welcome our own supporter club members but also supporter clubs from Japan and 10 other countries. We also have fans coming from 40 different cities in China.
“We are hoping to give the players a big Hong Kong welcome, we have a tifo planned for the match and hopefully make the atmosphere just like the Emirates!”
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