Arsenal vs Tottenham Match Report | English Premier League: Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick as Arsenal outclassed Tottenham Hotspur on their way to inflicting a 4-1 humiliation on their noisy neighbours, extending the Gunners’ sublime record at North London derbies in recent years.
Arsenal started in their usual 4-2-3-1 line up with Piero Hincapie replacing injured Gabriel in the central defence with Rice & Zubimendi in the central midfield supporting the attackers Trossard, Eze, Saka and Merino. Meanwhile, players like Romero, Palhinha, Kudus, Richarlison all were in the starting line up for the visitors.
Eberechi Eze created the game’s first clear chance within just three minutes, lifting a clever flick into the path of Declan Rice. Rice connected cleanly with his volley, but it went straight at Guglielmo Vicario, deflecting off Kevin Danso and rolling behind for a corner.
The home side kept up their bright opening, with Cristian Romero having to step in to block Mikel Merino’s effort. Bukayo Saka also troubled Destiny Udogie throughout, but after the wing-back brought him down, Saka’s resulting free-kick sailed over the bar.
The tension inside the Emirates began to rise as Spurs slowed the tempo, frustrating the crowd while Arsenal continued to push for a breakthrough. Jurriën Timber’s weak effort and another saved free-kick from Bukayo Saka only added to the impatience.
Arsenal finally made the pressure count in the 36th minute when Mikel Merino slipped a brilliant pass to Leandro Trossard, who controlled it well and fired on the turn, with Micky van de Ven’s deflection sending the ball beyond Vicario. Once the deadlock was broken, Arsenal wasted little time doubling their lead. Just five minutes later, Eberechi Eze created space inside the Spurs box and struck a shot that again clipped Van de Ven before beating Vicario at full stretch.
Eze wasn’t done yet. Just 40 seconds into the second half, he latched onto Timber’s pass and drilled a precise shot into the bottom corner.
However, Spurs briefly flickered back to life when João Palhinha stripped Martín Zubimendi of the ball and Richarlison unleashed a stunning long-range effort past David Raya — their first attempt of the entire game. Their frustration soon returned, however, as Cristian Romero was booked for dissent, ruling him out of the upcoming Fulham clash. Eze then crushed any remaining resistance, completing a dream hat-trick by taking Trossard’s pass in the 76th minute, sending Udogie the wrong way with ease, and finishing calmly.
Eze forced another save shortly after, but his skill continued to draw loud appreciation from the Emirates crowd. Arsenal’s dominant display extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches in all competitions and moved them six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Spurs, meanwhile, have now won only once in their last five games, suffering three defeats in that spell and slipping to ninth place for the moment.
