A brace apiece from Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze gave us a memorable north London derby win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
We had controlled most of the first half, and took the lead when Eze controlled Saka’s cross before swivelling to smash home, two minutes later we surrendered the lead when Randal Kolo Muani fired beyond David Raya.
We came out fired up for the second half, and Gyokeres blasted home a beauty from the edge of the box to put us back ahead, before Eze’s second of the afternoon gave us breathing space. The Swede then capped a superb performance with our fourth in injury-time to replicate our score from the home derby in November.
Early dominance
We began the game full of intent, dominating the ball in the early exchanges and creating all the early chances. Gyokeres had a header blocked before Leandro Trossard tried his luck from distance when Guglielmo Vicario was caught outside of his area to deal with a David Raya long pass. The Belgian’s attempt from fully 30 yards was cleared away to safety by a back-peddling Radu Dragusin.
Gyokeres then burst into the area before shooting just wide as we hemmed the hosts back into their own half in the opening 10 minutes, bur momentum was somewhat killed though by a tech issue for the officials, which held up play for at least five minutes.
After play eventually resumed, William Saliba headed wide from our first corner, and Trossard blazed well over after latching onto a loose pass.
Goal for each team
Just past the half hour we finally got the goal we deserved. Bukayo Saka did well to beat Pape Matar Sarr on the byline and put his ball into the danger zone. Eze controlled it, then got his foot up high to the bouncing ball to angle his shot beyond Vicario and break the deadlock. It was his fourth goal against our local rivals this season, following his hat-trick at Emirates Stadium in November.
But our lead was short-lived. Two minutes later Rice had his pocket picked by Kolo Muani outside the area, and the Frenchman drove on before beating Raya low down.
The game had opened up. Saka raced onto an excellent Piero Hincapie searching pass through the middle, but was denied by Vicario when one-on-one, and Trossard was next to go close, squeezing his shot just wide through a crowded penalty area. Replays showed it just clipped Yves Bissouma’s heel for a corner on the way through.
LEAD STRETCHED
The second half was once again delayed by communication problems for the officials, but one it did get underway Gyokores wasted no time in firing back into the lead.
Jurrien Timber rolled the ball from the right onto the feet of the Swede just outside the area, he took a touch before thumping his finish beyond the flailing Vicario inside the area. It was a superb finish for his 14th of the season.
It was almost deja vu when Kolo Muani had the ball in the net again soon after, but was adjudged to have pushed Gabriel to get onto the end of a cross.
On the hour we increased our advantage. Good play between Gyokeres, Eze and Saka resulted in a chance for the latter as he burst into the box. He was crowded out, but the loose ball squirmed free for Eze to dispatch his second of the afternoon.
He became the first Arsenal player to score five goals against Spurs in the same season, and it also made it five goals at this stadium in his last three appearances, including for previous side Crystal Palace.
Gyokeres seals it
Relegation-threatened Tottenham – with new head coach Igor Tudor in charge for the first time – were in danger of being overrun. But after Trossard and Saka both shot wide, they nearly pulled one back through Richarlison. His flicked shot went through Raya’s legs, only for our Spaniard to superbly reach back and claw it off the line.
We had the final say though. Gyokeres – a tireless performer all day up front – grabbed our fourth in injury time, easily holding off Archie Gray before tucking past Vicario.
It’s the first time we have won four consecutive away matches against Tottenham since 1955, and the first time we have won five in a row home and away since 1989. More importantly the result put us five points clear at the top of the table.
FACTS AND STATS
We have completed a league double over Tottenham Hotspur in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1987/88 and 1988/89.
Only Wolves (10) have lost more home games in Europe’s big-five leagues this season than Tottenham Hotspur (8), with Spurs remaining the only winless team home and away in the Premier League in 2026.
We recorded our biggest away win against Tottenham in the league since a 5-0 victory in December 1978 – it is the second season in which we have won both league meetings with Spurs by 3+ goals, after the 1934/35 campaign (5-1 home, 6-0 away).
Igor Tudor is the first Tottenham manager to lose their first Premier League game in charge since Andre Villas-Boas in August 2012, with each of the previous nine going unbeaten.
We are the second team to win four consecutive away games against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, after Manchester United (6, September 2001-February 2007). Spurs, meanwhile, have only won four of their last 28 league matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham have recorded just nine shots against us in the Premier League this season (6 at home, 3 away); only against Manchester City in 2019/20 (6) have they had fewer in a campaign on record against an opponent (since 2003/04).
Only Robert Pires (7 in 11 apps) and Emmanuel Adebayor (6 in 7 apps) have scored more Premier League goals for us in north London derbies than Eberechi Eze (5 in 2 apps).
Eze is the first player to score five or more goals against an opponent in the same Premier League season for us since Emmanuel Adebayor vs Derby in 2007/08 (6).
Viktor Gyokeres has scored more goals in 2026 across all competitions than any other Premier League player, with eight of his 15 total goals for us coming this calendar year.
What’s next
It’s a very rare midweek without a game for us – the first time in 2026 – and we’ll return with a home game against Chelsea in the Premier League next Sunday. That will be followed by a midweek trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the league before the FA Cup fifth round clash away to Mansfield Town.