EPL: Eze shines as Arsenal beat Spurs 4-1, move six points clear

Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze delivered a stunning hat-trick to punish rivals Tottenham in a dominant 4–1 north London derby victory on Sunday, strengthening the Premier League leaders’ title push.

Mikel Arteta’s side overwhelmed a flat Spurs team at the Emirates Stadium, with Leandro Trossard and Eze both scoring in a commanding first half.

Eze, who turned down a move to Tottenham before joining Arsenal in the summer capped his statement performance with another superb finish after the break, sealing a memorable derby triumph.

Richarlison’s incredible long-range goal reduced the deficit, but it was no consolation as Eze completed his superb treble to fire the Gunners six points clear at the top.

It was only the fourth north London derby hat-trick after Ted Drake, Terry Dyson and Alan Sunderland.

Arsenal’s 10-match winning streak was ended by Sunderland’s late equaliser in a 2-2 draw before the international break.

But Eze’s best performance since his £60 million ($78 million) move from Crystal Palace erased that bitter taste as Tottenham were put to the sword at the Emirates yet again.

The Gunners — unbeaten in the last seven north London derbies — have lost just once in 33 home meetings with their bitter rivals from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road.

Arsenal’s biggest win over Tottenham since 2012 was the perfect start to a crucial period featuring a visit from Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before a trip to second-placed Chelsea next weekend.

Arsenal’s unbeaten run in all competitions has reached 15 games, ensuring they took advantage of Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.

With City spluttering and champions Liverpool in turmoil, Arsenal have a golden opportunity to end their wait for a first English title since 2004.

Tottenham arrived with the Premier League’s best away record, but the limp end of their five-game unbeaten run on the road raised fresh questions about boss Thomas Frank’s negative philosophy.

The absence of injured Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes had been highlighted as a potential weakness for Tottenham to exploit.

Yet Tottenham rarely got close enough to the Arsenal penalty area to test that theory.

Frank urged Tottenham to embrace the “controlled chaos” of a “madhouse” derby.

But the Dane has struggled to win over Tottenham supporters with his conservative style and his decision to use five defenders backfired to such an extent that the only chaos was in his overwhelmed rearguard.

– Eze makes his point –

Tottenham were determined to take the sting out of the game, wasting time at throw-ins and goal-kicks.

But Arteta’s men, superior in their passing and movement, deservedly took the lead in the 36th minute.

Mikel Merino was again deployed as a makeshift striker in the absence of the injured Viktor Gyokeres, but the Spain midfielder dropped deep into more familiar terrain to set up Trossard’s goal.

Caressing a sublime pass over the Tottenham rearguard, Merino picked out Trossard, who was played onside by the dozing Kevin Danso.

Trossard smartly twisted and turned to find space for shot that deflected past Guglielmo Vicario from 10 yards.

If Tottenham had their way in the summer, Eze would be turning out for them, but Arsenal hijacked the deal with Palace to sign the England star at the 11th hour.

Frank had joked: “Who’s Eze?” when asked this week about the failed move.

Eze had the perfect riposte in the 41st minute as he took Declan Rice’s pass in stride and weaved through to drill a fine low finish past Vicario.

Frank sent on Xavi Simons for Danso at the interval, but the introduction of the forward Tottenham signed instead of Eze made no difference.

Eze struck again just 35 seconds after half-time, punishing Tottenham’s flat-footed defence with a predatory finish from just inside the area.

Richarlison briefly silenced the crowing Arsenal fans when he lobbed David Raya with a majestic effort from 35 yards in the 55th minute.

But that was Tottenham’s first shot of the game and Eze, picked out by Trossard’s pass, put a fitting seal on his masterclass with a blistering strike from 12 yards in the 76th minute.

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