Ebelesi Eze scored a sensational hat-trick as Arsenal beat north London rivals Spurs 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Eze, who was close to joining Spurs before joining Arsenal in August, showed what Spurs had been missing out on with a dominant performance in his first north London derby, following Leandro Trossard’s opener with three superb finishes.
Spurs momentarily threatened to take a turn when Richarlison beat David Raya with an audacious lob from 35 yards out, but Arsenal were already three points ahead and Eze’s hat-trick of goals past Guglielmo Vicario ended the game.
Richarlison’s goal was one of just three shots taken by Spurs, who had switched to a back five, but they were unable to resist Arsenal’s dominance and Eze’s smart footwork led his first goal into the bottom corner after Mikel Merino picked Trossard to open the scoring.
Eberechi Eze turned down a Spurs move from Crystal Palace to Arsenal in August
Eze celebrates after scoring his first goal
Thomas Frank reverted to a back four at half-time, bringing on Xavi Simmons for Kevin Danso, but Eze scored his second goal just 35 seconds after the restart, once again converting a corner in sublime style.
His hat-trick goal, which followed Richarlison’s extraordinary goal at Spurs, was the pick of the trio, making him the fourth Arsenal player in history to score three goals against Spurs, giving the Gunners their fourth successive win.
Manchester City and Liverpool’s losses to Newcastle and Nottingham Forest on Saturday left Mikel Arteta’s side six points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who will play next Sunday at Stamford Bridge live on Sky Sports.
The result clearly ended Spurs’ unbeaten start to away games in the Premier League under Frank and leaves them in ninth place as the head coach faces further questions over his lack of attacking threat.
Their expected total goals against Arsenal was just 0.07, the lowest of any team in a Premier League game this season.
Look: All the goals!
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Leandro Trossard scores Arsenal’s first goal
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Eze shows some great footwork before scoring Arsenal’s second goal
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Eze scored the second goal in brilliant style.
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Richarlison’s stunning lob defeats David Raya
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Eze gets 3rd goal, Arsenal gets 4th.
Arteta hails ‘special day’ for Arsenal
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports:
“I enjoyed every moment of the preparation, the energy I felt, the hunger for the game, the enthusiasm, the joy after coming back from my international break.
“And if we can play the way we played and win against our rivals with the goals we scored, it’s always a special day.
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Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Spurs as a ‘very special day’
“We want to impose on ourselves in every department, but it starts with intensity, the duels are very precise because the space is limited and there is a lot of aggression. They are a really good team and we have to earn it.”
“From the beginning we had to be really strong, really intense and patient. But we looked dominant and scored two goals in the first half.
“We were consistent in the second half and although there are things we need to improve on, overall it was a great performance.”
Eze: I prayed for a hat trick.
Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze told Sky Sports:
“It was a good day. It was a fun day. I’m happy that I was able to help the team and get the win.”
“It’s special. That’s what I prayed for. I prayed for a hat trick and it happened.
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Eberechi Eze reflects on his hat-trick against Spurs
“My whole family is here, so it makes it even more special to do it in front of them.”
If only the summer had played out differently for his chances of becoming a Tottenham player.
“Let’s not talk about it.”
Frank: We can only apologize to our fans
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Manager Thomas Frank said Spurs’ 4-1 loss to rivals Arsenal was “extremely painful” and apologized to fans for their poor performance at the Emirates.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank told Sky Sports:
“It’s very hurtful. It was a terrible performance and the complete opposite of my intentions before I came here. I can only apologize to the fans for this performance.
“Even when teams tried to play a little shorter, they ran with it and we couldn’t get out.
“We couldn’t get out of that duel because our opponent was stronger in the duel. When we went long on the duel or the second ball, we just couldn’t win it enough. It was a terrible performance that day.”
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Tottenham Hotspur keeper Guglielmo Vicario reflects on the disappointing North London derby defeat to Arsenal.
