LONDON — Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres bagged braces to relaunch Arsenal’s title hopes with a 4-1 win over rivals Spurs in a North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
MORE — Mikel Arteta reaction | Arsenal analysis
The Gunners improved their title race advantage to five points over second-place Man City, who have played one fewer game.
WATCH — Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal full match replay
Spurs remain on 29 points, four more than 18th-place West Ham United.
Eze, Gyokeres have (another) day in the Sun; What will Arteta do now?
The new guys in Arsenal’s attack have faced different obstacles during Year One under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners manager just hasn’t been comfortable using Eze for extended runs while Gyokeres has had to deal with some fan and a lot of media unrest largely because of his price tag (We’ve detail the advanced stats on both players not too long ago). Well, both players delivered in a big way today even beyond the goals. There was hunger from both and you can sense that their confidence has not wavered despite some outward projections. Martin Odegaard came into the game and did quite well in setting up a goal, so it remains to be seen whether Arteta will use Odegaard, Eze, Saka, and Gyokeres together soon but it feels like the entire season has been leading to something like that, and that maybe that combo can be what pushes Arsenal over the top to their long-sought title.
What’s next?
Spurs go to Fulham at 9am ET Sunday, two-and-a-half hours before Arsenal host Chelsea.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal final score: 1-4
Kolo Muani 34'; Eze 32', 61' Gyokeres 47', 90+5'
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal live updates! — by Joe Prince-Wright
Viktor Gyokeres goal — Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Arsenal
A Haaland-esque goal from Gyokeres to complete his brace as the Swede holds off Archie Gray’s challenge on his left to lash past Vicario with his right. — Nick Mendola
Bukayo Saka injury
Xavi Simons skips past Martin Zubimendi and Saka fouls the Spurs man from behind.
Simons falls onto Saka’s ankle and Arteta will take no chances with his playmaker, who walks off for Noni Madueke just after 90 minutes on the pitch. — Nick Mendola
Raya keeps the lead at two
Richarlison sweeps the back of his leg through a Djed Spence close-range pass and looks to have made it 3-2, but David Raya reaches all the way back and claws it off the line.
A corner kick for Spurs clears all 22 players. — Nick Mendola
Gunners change two
Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli enter the derby for Eze and Trossard in the 76th minute. — Nick Mendola
Arsenal looking for one more
They dropped a bit deeper after taking the lead but no more.
The Gunners know they have Spurs on the ropes and would love to turn the match into a cake walk with a fourth goal to mirror the score line from the reverse fixture. — Nick Mendola
Subs on the blog and the pitch
Nick Mendola here sliding in for Joe Prince-Wright as Richarlison takes the place of goal scorer Kolo Muani for Spurs in the 68th minute. — Nick Mendola
Eze finishes to extend Arsenal’s lead!
After Eze wins the ball back, Saka is in again. After his shot is saved, the ball bounces straight back to Eze and he finishes for his second of the game. Arsenal cruising and Eze now has five goals against Spurs for Arsenal this season. Remarkable.
Vicario denies Saka
Wave after wave of Arsenal attack now. Saka is the latest to be played in and Vicario saves his shot from close range. Spurs have to gamble now and Arsenal have so much space to attack in.
Mosquera on for Timber
With just over 30 minutes to go Timber is subbed off and Mosquera is on. Timber is on a yellow card and has been working through an injury, so this makes sense.
Kolo Muani scores... but it’s ruled out for a push
Oh wow. Gabriel goes down easily and Kolo Muani finishes but the ref blows for a foul. Kolo Muani has two hands in Gabriel’s back but there’s very little contact there. Once again Spurs have responded well to going behind.
Gyokeres fires home a beauty!
What a moment for Gyokeres. A routine cross to the edge of the box finds him in space and he takes one touch and smashes home. Cue pandemonium in the away end. Arsenal regained the lead right at the start of the second half.
Raya denies Simons!
Inside the first 20 seconds of the second half and Kolo Muani tees up Simons with a lovely flick. The Dutch playmaker cuts inside and smashes a beauty of an effort on target but Raya saves well.
Here’s what I’m looking at in the second half...
As we wait for another technical issue with the assistant referee, here are my thoughts on what will be the keys in the second half.
Half time: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal
What a brilliant first half that was. Full of intensity, momentum changes and lots of big challenges. Spurs hung in there with Arsenal missing some big chances, and then the hosts made the most of a mistake from Rice
Randal Kolo Muani is having himself a game
Tudor has a lot of faith in Kolo Muani after the French forward played a key role for him at Juventus last season, and my word has he justified his surprise selection from the start today.
Eight minutes of stoppage time
Due to that lengthy delay for the problem for the assistant referee, there are eight minutes of stoppage time. Arsenal are pushing but Spurs are digging in.
Trossard’s shot deflects just wide
Now this is what you call a derby. Arsenal get in down their left again and Trossard’s low shot deflect off Bissouma and dribbles just wide.
Kolo Muani equalizes right away!
It has gone absolutely bonkers in here. Declan Rice is caught in possession by Randal Kolo Muani and he charges towards goal and finishes with a low effort. Kolo Muani’s first Premier League goal is a huge one. Spurs respond right away!
Eze with a fine finish!
Saka gets in down the right and it a bit lucky to get the ball back. He clips in a cross and after the ball bounces up, Eze finishes calmly. He scores his fourth goal of the season for Arsenal against Spurs.
This has been a really solid start for Spurs
Yes, Arsenal have had a few chances through Gyokeres and Saliba, but Spurs have settled down now. They are working so hard and snapping into tackles and the home fans are responding really well to the intensity of their display.
Saka goes down under a challenge from Spence
Arsenal win a free kick as Saka goes down easily with Spence nearby, and Spurs are incensed. Especially Igor Tudor. “Same old Arsenal, always cheating!” is the chant.
This is getting very intense now
After a big tackle the loose ball flies forward and Gallagher is almost in, but Raya rushes off his line to clear.
Saliba somehow heads wide from close range! Then Trossard fires over
A corner to the back post finds Gyokeres totally unmarked (how!?) and he nods the ball across goal to Saliba. He’s five yards out but sends his header wide. Simons then inexplicably gives the ball straight to Trossard about 25 yards out but the Belgian smashes way over.
Dragusin with a perfect sliding tackle in the box
Arsenal break quickly after Spence is caught in possession and Gyokeres is played in, but Dragusin times his sliding tackle in the box to perfection. He had to, and it was spot on. Huge roar goes up from the home fans.
Delay in the game due to a technical issue with the assistant ref
On the far side the assistant ref has an issue with his communications equipment. Quite a long delay in play here, but we are now back underway and Spurs have had one small foray forward but that’s it.
Gyokeres fires inches wide
Viktor Gyokeres dribbles into the box and takes on Dragusin and beats him easily. He then curls a shot inches wide of the far post.
Dragusin blocks Gyokeres’ header... then clears off the line!
First big chance of the game as Saka finds the overlapping Timber and his cross finds Gyokeres. He sends his header towards goal but Dragusin is there to block and clear it. Moments later Vicario comes flying off his line and the ball drops to Arsenal. Trossard has a pop from distance and for some reason Van de Ven lets the ball run through. Luckily Dragusin was on the line to hack away. Arsenal are piling on the pressure.
The noise levels are tremendous!
This is what you can na proper derby day atmosphere. Spurs fans are properly up for this as they try for a fresh start under Tudor. Arsenal’s fans in the away end are making themselves heard. We are underway and every single tackle from a Spurs player brings a roar of delight from the home fans.
Intriguing team news
Dominic Solanke is on the bench for Spurs with Kolo Muani up top. Tudor has gone for what looks like a 3-5-1-1 formation with Gallagher, Sarr and Bissouma clogging things up in central midfield and Simons supporting the recalled Kolo Muani. Arsenal have gone with Gyokeres from the start again, despite his poor form and Gabriel Jesus pushing hard to start. Eze starts in midfield with Odegaard on the bench.
Hello and welcome to sunny north London!
The rain which has pretty much hammered down in England since early January (no joke!) has finally parted and the sun is shining on the streets of north London for this massive game. There’s tension in the air from both sets of fans given the stakes for both. Can Spurs get off to a flying start under interim boss Igor Tudor to ease their relegation fears? Or will Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal get back on track as their title bid has suffered an almighty wobble in recent weeks?
Tottenham lineup
Vicario; Palhinha, Dragusin, Van de Ven; Gray, Gallagher, Bissouma, Spence; Simons, Sarr; Kolo Muani
Arsenal lineup
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Rice, Zubimendi, Eze; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
There are so many injuries for new manager Igor Tudor to contend with as James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Kevin Danso, Pedro Porro, Richarlison and Destiny Udogie all remain out. Add in captain and star center back Cristian Romero being suspended and this is an almighty mess. But Spurs have shown signs of getting things back together in recent weeks with Dominic Solanke’s return from injury giving them a focal point up top. If Spurs can dig in and frustrate Arsenal, they’ve shown they can be dangerous from set pieces and hit teams on the counter. Tudor’s tactics are all about pressing high and going man-for-man across the pitch and he prefers a 3-4-2-1 system. Let’s see how quickly Spurs’ players can grasp all of that.
Arsenal team news, focus
Arteta has some big decisions to make in his lineup as Bukayo Saka could go back out to the right wing to start after being deployed in a central role, while Gabriel Jesus could come in up top to start after Viktor Gyokeres had another poor game against Wolves on Wednesday. Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino remain out while captain Martin Odegaard is battling to be fit and Leandro Trossard came off late on at Wolves. Arteta needs Arsenal to stop making silly defensive errors late in games and hold their nerve. That is easier said than done given what is on the line and their recent history.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal preview
But we are, as Spurs are hovering just above the relegation zone as Thomas Frank was fired after a run of just two wins from their last 17 Premier League games. Igor Tudor has come in as interim manager and by the time Spurs kick off on Sunday they could be just two points above the drop zone. With injuries galore, a severe lack of belief and pressure mounting, this derby game could be the making of Spurs. Or, it could be the moment things get even worse in their dreadful domestic season.
On the other side of north London Arsenal are starting to crack under the pressure of the title race as Mikel Arteta’s side have won just two of their last seven Premier League games. They somehow coughed up a 2-0 lead away at bottom club Wolves on Wednesday to draw 2-2. That means their lead atop the table could be cut to one point by the time they kick off on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal prediction
This is going to be a really intense, spicy derby and these games are always tough to call. Given all of Spurs’ injuries issues, go for a narrow Arsenal win as they aim to steady the ship. Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Arsenal.
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11:30am ET Sunday (February 22)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — North London
TV Channel: USA
