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It has been another huge weekend for Arsenal.

A fortnight after the Gunners' surprise draw at Sunderland gave their Premier League title rivals new hope, Sunday's resounding win over Tottenham has put them firmly back in the hot seat.

Eberechi Eze, a Spurs summer target, was the hero, scoring his first hat-trick in senior football and the first in a north London derby since 1978 as Arsenal thrashed Tottenham 4-1 in an ominous display for the rest of the league.

A day after defending champions Liverpool fell to a sixth loss in seven matches and Manchester City were beaten at Newcastle, Mikel Arteta's men had no such problems to move six points clear of second-placed Chelsea.

This felt like a statement win for Arsenal against their bitter rivals - who went into the game unbeaten away from home all season - given Gabriel, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokores are on the hosts' injury list.

Taking away Richarlison's stunning chip from distance to earn the visitors a consolation goal, there was only ever one winner in as one-sided a north London derby as you can get.

Arsenal had 17 shots compared to Tottenham's three, with the visitors ending with an expected goals (xG) of just 0.07.

"That is crazy. Special day, man. Special day for me, my family," Eze told BBC Match of the Day.

"I don't think I could have ever dreamed of it. This is more special than that. I can only thank God.

"We were prepared for whatever set-up they were coming with because of the diligence of our staff. Huge credit to them, and of course the players in our team - the ability, the talent. From whatever angle, we're threatening to score goals.

"I probably should have scored four. I'm always trying to score, always trying to take my chances. It's important to be relentless."

What a day it turned out to be for boyhood Arsenal fan Eze.

Released by the Gunners as a 13-year-old, Eze also suffered rejection at Fulham, Reading and Millwall, before finally getting his chance with QPR.

A tweet he posted in April 2015 has re emerged on social media, saying: "I swear imma make it and when I do, they're gonna show this tweet".

The England international has certainly made it now.

Before the match Tottenham manager Thomas Frank joked "who?" when questioned about how close Eze was to becoming a Spurs player in the summer. Those words came back to haunt him.

A first senior hat-trick is a landmark in itself, let alone the first in a north London derby in Premier League history.

Eze signed for Arsenal in a deal worth £67m and is starting to cement himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet for manager Mikel Arteta.

When he signed for the Gunners there were questions about where he would fit into the side but, after an injury to captain Odegaard, Eze has taken his opportunity with both hands.

The 27-year-old has taken time to settle as he got used to a different role in this Arsenal team than the one he was used to at Crystal Palace, but he has already started to deliver big moments.

He provided an excellent pass for Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time equaliser against City, scored the winner against Palace and now has a first senior hat-trick against the Gunners' biggest rivals.

His unpredictability adds another edge to Arsenal's forward line.

The Gunners have another two big games coming up, with matches against Bayern Munich and Chelsea, but Eze will relish the challenge given the form he is now in.

"That's him. He had two days off after the England camp and after day one he wanted to train," Arteta said.

"He wanted to come back and improve and ask questions. When you have such a talent and such intelligence and then you add that willingness to be better and practise, these things happen.

"When I spoke to Thomas Tuchel [about Eze] I said 'how good is he?' He said to me 'one of the best I have seen'. I rate him one of the best in terms of talent. If we add in now his work-rate, willingness to play for this team and the joy I sense when he is in the building we have a special player."

No English player has been involved in more goals that Eze in 2025 in the Premier League. Only Erling Haaland (25), Mohamed Salah (23), Bryan Mbeumo (21) and Antoine Semenyo (18) have been involved in more top-flight goals than the Arsenal number 10 (18 - 10 goals, eight assists).

"I know how much this move from Crystal Palace meant to him and what a performance from him. Best player on the pitch," former Crystal Palace forward Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"This is where his Arsenal career takes off."

Arsenal fans would have been worried going into the north London derby without arguably their best centre-back, Gabriel.

The Brazilian had been an ever-present in Arsenal's incredibly strong defensive start to the season, leading the way in aerial duals and clearances and making the joint second highest number of blocks in the league.

Last season Arsenal won only four of their 12 league matches when Gabriel and William Saliba did not start together.

But this appears to be a different Arsenal after a summer when they spent £250m and brought in eight players to add quality and depth to their squad.

increase their squad depth with quality players.

The defender has joined on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, with a £52m option to make the deal permanent, and is a favourite of Arteta who called him a "warrior".

Hincapie is a Bundesliga winner and can also play at left-back, giving Arteta options while ensuring there is no drop-off in quality if Saliba or Gabriel are unavailable.

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario apologised to fans following Sunday's hapless performance against Arsenal in the north London derby.

Spurs were beaten 4-1 at Emirates Stadium - their joint-heaviest Premier League defeat by the Gunners - with Eberechi Eze scoring a hat-trick against the club he almost joined in the summer.

Richarlison replied with a sensational 40-yard effort, but that was scant consolation for the visitors, whose expected-goals (xG) rating of 0.07 was the lowest in the top flight this season.

"It's extremely painful - I won't walk away from that," Frank, whose side have now lost three of their last five league games, told Sky Sports. "We can only apologise to the fans for that performance.

"It was a bad performance. I've seen a lot of character and fight in this team, but we didn't win enough duels."

Frank switched to a back three against the leaders, but the move failed to pay off as Arsenal cut through Spurs time and time again in the first half and deservedly led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Eze.

The Dane changed the system at the break, but former Crystal Palace man Eze scored the third 35 seconds into the second half before completing the scoring 14 minutes from time.

"I will always take responsibility for my choice," Frank continued. "My view on it is that no matter what formation we played, we didn't have enough duels or intensity in the decisive moments, [which makes it] very difficult to win a football match."

Vicario echoed his manager's sentiments as he told Sky Sports: "We have to apologise to the people that support us every day. They expected us to fight and today we didn't fight. That's not negotiable at this level.

"We were too passive. The gameplan we prepared was different. The emotions are high, but we need cool heads."

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to BBC Match of the Day: "It's a very special day for us. We knew the importance of the match and what it means to our fans. To be able to give them that joy, it's a beautiful day."

On Eberechi Eze becoming only the fourth ever player to score a hat-tick in the North London derby: "That tells you about the difficulty and what he's done today. To be fair he could have scored four or five. He's a big player who can create magic moments which unbalance a team.

"We dominated every part of the game. We created massive chances and had a lot of actions that we were very close to scoring. We stayed patient.

"Whoever we put in there they do the jobs for us. This squad has the belief and quality to deliver consistently.

"We have really good momentum but you can see how difficult every game in the Premier League is. It's a long run, let's go game by game. Let's enjoy tonight, then we have Bayern here and Chelsea away. We have a tough week."

Midfielder Eberechi Eze to BBC Match of the Day: "That is crazy. Special day, man. Special day for me, my family.

"I don't think I could've ever dreamt of it. This is more special than that. I can only thank God. Special day, man.

"We were prepared for whatever set-up they were coming with because of the diligence of our staff. Huge credit to them. And of course, the players in our team, the ability, the talent, from whatever angle we're threatening to score goals.

"Good performance, good three points and a special day.

"I probably should've scored four, to be honest. I'm always trying to score, always trying to take my chances. It's important to be relentless.

"We're focused on ourselves, we're focused on putting in our work every day. It's not by chance that we perform like this."

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Very difficult afternoon. Bad performance. It's extremely painful to stand here after that game. We can only apologise to the fans for not performing better. I was very confident we could be competitive today. We weren't. That we need to look at with a cool and calm head and work out what we need to change.

"We didn't succeed to be aggressive enough, and we didn't win the duels.

"One thing for sure is that in hindsight, everything is much easier. I take always the full responsibility for the performances. That I need to look back to. We changed things at half-time, it was a tiny bit better, but the game was already over at 3-0. It doesn't matter what system we play if we don't win our duals.

"No matter how painful it is, and of course, this is the most painful defeat of the season, there are things we can take out of this game."

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to Sky Sports: "A very bad night for us. First of all, we have to apologise to the people that support us every day. They expected us to fight, and today we didn't fight. That's not negotiable to do in football in this level.

"It's a tough night, a very bad defeat, but we have to stick together. We have a big night on Wednesday but we need to stick together. Tonight we didn't show the things we are normally capable of.

"The emotions are high, but we need cool heads and apologise to the people that support us and have travelled today.

"I think we waited too much to get into the game. We were too passive. The game plan we prepared was different. Today we didn't fight. We have to apologise first of all for this. But we have to stick together and move on because on Wednesday we have a big night."

On Arsenal's second goal: "I think the way the game went it wouldn't have changed anything. There were three people in front of me so of course they impacted me. But we didn't lose the game for that."

It has been a mixed start for Thomas Frank at Tottenham whose conservative style of play since taking over means he has a fight on his hands to win over fans - and this result will have damaged that relationship further.

His team came into this game unbeaten from home in the league, but never looked like getting a positive result against their rivals.

Tottenham have not clicked in attack this season and average fewer than 10 shots per match, the third-lowest figure in the top flight.

That trend continued into this match with Spurs not having a shot in the first half, the second time that has happened this season (after their 1-0 home loss to Bournemouth in August).

Frank appeared to accept he had got his initial tactical plan wrong by making a half-time change to his team's shape - but Eberechi Eze's goal seconds after the restart effectively sealed Spurs' fate.

Tottenham are ninth in the league, but they are only three points below the Champions League places.

However, the Spurs manager is going to have to turn things around quickly before supporters decide they no longer want to watch his team put defensive solidity before creativity.

Arsenal beat Tottenham 4-1 to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

How did the players perform?

David Raya: 5.5/10

A virtual spectator until Richarlison produced one of the goals of the season.

Jurrien Timber: 7.5

Shook off a midweek injury scare to add to his growing repertoire of excellent performances.

William Saliba: 7

Did not miss his central defensive partner Gabriel a jot. Cruised through the game.

Piero Hincapie: 7

Excellent on his first Premier League start. Will be key for Arsenal in injured Gabriel's absence.

Ricardo Calafiori: 7

Some doubt over his inclusion but manager Mikel Arteta will be happy his left-back was available.

Martin Zubimendi: 8

His reputation grows with every game. Knits it all together for Arsenal.

Declan Rice: 8

Built for occasions like these. Energy in abundance, with the temperament to boot.

Bukayo Saka: 7

The captain petrified Tottenham's left-hand side with his pace and power. A constant threat.

Eberechi Eze: 9.5

The stuff dreams are made of. A magical hat-trick in his first north London derby.

Mikel Merino: 7.5

Unlocked Tottenham with an excellent pass to set up Trossard's opener. Tireless work.

Leandro Trossard: 8

Continues to be Arsenal's Mr Reliable. Deserved his goal. Proving to be an important player for Arteta.

Noni Madueke (Trossard 78): 6

Ethan Nwaneri (Merino 88), Cristhian Mosquera (Hincapie 88), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Calafiori 90)

Mikel Arteta names Piero Hincapie at centre back in place of the injured Gabriel Magalhaes. Mikel Merino continues upfront in place of Viktor Gyokeres who is also out injured.

There is positive news as Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli are back on the bench after injury.

Arsenal starting XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Hincapie, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Merino

Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Mosquera, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman

Thomas Frank reverts to a back three for the match with Arsenal. Kevin Danso comes in at centre back while Mohammed Kudus starts.

Tottenham starting XI: Vicario, Spence, Romero, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie, Palhinha, Bentancur, Richarlison, Odobert, Kudus

Tottenham have got the best away record in the Premier League, with four wins and one draw so far, but this is their biggest test yet.

While Spurs have picked up some good results, I have still been disappointed with their frontline, and their attacking players have not really connected.

That is going to be the issue for them at Emirates Stadium, and the big difference with Arsenal is that you always feel like they are going to score. They are going to give a few teams a walloping, and Spurs could be one of them.

I started off thinking that this game was going to be reasonably close but, the more I think about it, the more I feel like Arsenal will win comfortably.

The Gunners have some issues too, with Gabriel out injured. He has been such a colossal player for them but Cristhian Mosquera can come into their defence, and I don't see it affecting them too much.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0