Eberechi Eze gives Arsenal title-winning 'aura' with hat-trick in masterclass performance against Spurs
Tottenham were close to signing Eberechi Eze during the summer but they could not get near him at the Emirates Stadium. This was a brutal exhibition of what they missed out on, performed by a man seemingly on a mission to hammer home the message.
Thomas Frank had tried to make light of facing him. "Who's Eze?" he joked in his pre-match press conference. But Eze was determined to make his mark and did so in historic style, becoming the first Arsenal player since 1978 to score a hat-trick in a north London derby and inspiring the Gunners to a thumping 4-1 win.
"It's special," he smiled to Sky Sports afterwards. "It's what I prayed for. I prayed for my hat-trick and I got it." But this was more than divine intervention. Mikel Arteta revealed Eze had cut short a day off in the lead-up to the game, such was his determination to be ready.
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"Things happen for a reason," said the Arsenal boss. "After the international duty, he had two days off and, after one day, he wanted to train and he wanted to improve and he wanted to do extra practice. He was asking me questions about this and that.
"When a player has such a talent and his desire is at that level, then these things happen."
His desire to make an impact was clear from as early as the third minute of the game, when he put Declan Rice in on goal with a delightful, clipped pass. Rice wasted the opening, sending his shot too close to Guglielmo Vicario. Eze would make no such mistake.
His first goal, when he made space in a crowded Spurs box, too quick for Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha, before slamming a low finish through more white-shirted defenders, was a perfect example of the qualities that made him so attractive to Arsenal.
Eze has the technical skill to find room even in the tightest spaces and never passes up an opportunity to shoot. "Yeah, and it doesn't have to be perfect," smiled Arteta afterwards. "He can be right, left, ball on the ground, bouncing, ball at this height and he takes it. He has such a quality and capacity to finish actions in different ways."
Eze demonstrated the same qualities for his second and third goals, only the finishes got even better. After finding the corner in ruthless style from Jurrien Timber's square ball, he allowed a desperate Destiny Udogie to slide past him before dispatching Leandro Trossard's pass, this time into the other corner of the net.
That goal sent him home with the matchball and capped a masterful individual performance. Eze has looked inhibited at times since his arrival at Arsenal from Crystal Palace but this was not one of them. He plays with a level of directness untypical among his team-mates and clearly that is not all that sets him apart.
"Since the day that he came, he has brought something else to the team, a certain joy, a certain aura that this team needed," added Arteta in his press conference afterwards. "Hopefully it will give a lot of confidence to him and the team.
"At any moment he can win us a game and that's the ability that he has and he certainly needs to fulfil that talent."
He is doing that now. But it all started with a phone call to Arteta when he was on the verge of joining Spurs. "When he picked up the phone last summer, I remember he said he wanted to play for us and he wanted to be part of this team. You can really sense that."
He was helped by a role which gave him freedom against Spurs.
With Martin Odegaard still absent as he recovers from injury, Eze started, again, in the No 10 position, although encouraged to interchange positions with makeshift striker Mikel Merino.
"He finds a way to be in and around the box," said Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on Sky Sports. "He didn't have a proper No 9 to play and that's why I think it was easier for him to get in the box, because you don't have the presence of a No 9. He was a No 9 at times."
He relished the opportunity. In addition to scoring three goals, Eze finished the game having had more shots and more touches in the opposition box than any other player, with six and seven respectively, his focus on inflicting maximum damage.
It was by far his best performance yet for Arsenal but it also hinted at how much more there is to come from him.
"When Eze came in, I thought, okay, maybe it's not a game-changer," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher after the match.
"But then we saw some of his highlights this season, there were still a few great goals in there, and then he goes and scores a hat-trick. So, apologies. I certainly undervalued the importance of that signing because he looks like he could make the real difference for Arsenal this season and going on to win the title."
That is the hope for Arsenal now, six points clear at the top and, thanks in part to the addition of Eze, and the "aura" shown against Spurs, looking every bit like a side capable of winning the prize.
Neville: Arteta getting the balance right
Sky Sports' Gary Neville on Arsenal:
"Over the last few years, Arsenal have been building towards trying to win a title, they haven't won one yet, but they do a lot of things very well. The narrative going into this game was Gabriel's injury, but no one is interested anymore because they have got a squad that can cope without players being fit.
"We've seen Hincapie slot in really naturally, Mosquera has done it previously, so that narrative won't build.
"Tottenham were a team waiting to get beaten. After what happened with Liverpool and Man City yesterday it was a much-needed victory, and they have sent a message to everyone in the league.
"It's a squad that should win the Premier League and go on to win the Champions League in the next two or three years. It might not be this season, but they are getting to that level of consistency and stability. The squad are pushing each other. Eberechi Eze looked Brazilian, it's beautiful to see that confidence from an English player.
"I've accused Mikel Arteta of being a bit handbrake on, but he's now getting that balance right of flair in the team and confidence, it's the intent - don't pass sideways, you're better than that. Their open-play game was really good, which they've been accused of lacking. A lot to like."
