ARSENAL 4-1 TOTTENHAM: Eberechi Eze scores a stunning hat-trick for the Gunners as he dominates the North London Derby, just months after snubbing a move to Spurs
Eberechi Eze scored a stunning hat-trick as Arsenal re-established their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a comfortable North London Derby win over Tottenham. The Gunners continued their recent dominance over Spurs in the most painful way imaginable.
Mikel Arteta's side have now won four in a row against Tottenham, while Eze - who rejected Spurs to join Arsenal in a £67.5million summer move - now has six goals in his last four games against them.
Arsenal nearly took the lead after three minutes when Declan Rice smashed a volley straight at Guglielmo Vicario from Eze's scooped pass. Bukayo Saka tested Vicario with a curling free-kick before the Gunners' made their dominance tell.
Mikel Merino played a lovely clipped ball over the top for Leandro Trossard, who benefited from a deflection off Micky van der Ven to find the bottom corner on the spin. It was 2-0 five minutes later as Eze showed great composure to skip around a tackle and blast a shot past Vicario.
It got even worse for Spurs straight after the break when Eze picked out the bottom corner with a lovely finish on his left foot for 3-0. Out of nowhere, Richarlison got a goal back, lobbing David Raya from distance after Declan Rice was robbed by Joao Palhinha.
But it was to prove a false dawn, as Trossard found Eze on the edge of the box and he curled confidently into the corner. There could have been a fourth for the playmaker, but Vicario denied him. Here are the talking points from a one-sided affair at the Emirates Stadium.
Trossard has continually had to justify himself in an Arsenal shirt. The Belgian has been a utility player under Arteta, frequently used off the bench as an impact player, but also in big games because he can be trusted to carry out instructions. He's not the flashiest, yet he often delivers when it matters.
This season Trossard has come off the bench to completely change a game against Athletic Club, in which he scored once and assisted the other goal. He netted the winner against Fulham. And now he's got another goal against Spurs on his CV - to go with the winner in the 2-1 victory over Arsenal's rivals back in January.
He's not the quickest, but his instincts around the box, timing of a run and finishing ability were all on show as he brought down Merino's pass and made it 1-0. Noni Madueke has been injured and Gabriel Martinelli is back on the bench after a knock, but they may struggle to displace Trossard from Arteta's first-choice XI.
This was a stage set for Eze. We all know the story: the England star had been courted by Tottenham all summer, only to end up joining Arsenal in a £67.5million move. In his pre-match press conference, Thomas Frank joked "who is Eze?" when asked about him. He then added: "Very good player. He plays for Arsenal - a team we want to beat on Sunday."
Before kick-off, Les Ferdinand - who knows Eze from his time at QPR - said he felt he had been playing with "the handbrake on". His hat-rick was proof that this simply isn't the case. He showed wonderful composure with all three goals, skipping around Rodrigo Bentancur before slamming a shot past Vicario to make it 2-0.
His next two finishes were similarly dispatched. Spurs must be sick of the sight of him: he now has six goals and one assist against them in the Premier League, more than he has against any other club.
Frank was insistent that he wasn't just going to the Emirates for a 0-0 draw. He said his team wanted to win. There was no sign of that ambition, with Arsenal completely untested at the back.
Spurs went into half-time having failed to attempt a single shot. They had completed 90 passes to Arsenal's 233 and their game plan was not evident, barring the odd long throw from Kevin Danso - who had been shoe-horned into the starting line-up via a change in formation to a back three.
There was a clear admission of his mistake at half-time as Frank withdrew the centre-back for Xavi Simmons - the player he signed after missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White and Eze in the summer - but it was already too late. This was their first away league defeat under Frank, but he bears responsibility for the manner of it.
To say Tottenham's goal was unexpected would be a massive understatement. Arsenal were 3-0 up and cruising. Their fans were rejoicing in their complete and utter dominance. And then, Tottenham had their first shot of the entire game. It had an xG of 0.02, but was executed perfectly.
Palhinha deserves a lot of credit, having pressed high and robbed Rice with a sliding tackle. But having the confidence and audaciousness to even contemplate shooting was something else from Richarlison. To perfectly pick out the top corner as Raya retreated was stunning.
North London truly is red right now.
Arsenal did the double over Spurs in the league last season, winning 2-1 at home and 1-0 away. They have now won four derbies in a row and six of the last seven in the Premier League. The Gunners have a fantastic home record in north London derbies, with just one defeat in the last 33 league games – and that Spurs win came way back in November 2010.