Arsenal vs Tottenham live: Eze stars as Spurs slammed for lack of ‘courage’ in north London derby
Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham: Eze scored the first north London derby hat-trick since 1978 to send Arsenal six points clear at the top of the Premier League
Eberechi Eze scored the first north London derby hat-trick since 1978 as Arsenal thumped rivals Tottenham 4-1 to move six points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League ahead of next week’s trip to Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal dominated from the outset as Thomas Frank’s side arrived at the Emirates in a back-five, and the breakthrough finally came in the 37th minute as Leandro Trossard finished off a delightful chip from Mikel Merino.
Eze, who could have joined Tottenham in the summer before he chose to move to Arsenal, then found space in the box to thump in a deserved second before half time - although Tottenham were aggrieved that it was allowed to stand.
Tottenham did not have a shot in the first half and Gary Neville was scathing in his criticism on Sky Sports, accusing the visitors of a lack of “courage” because of their defensive approach. “They've showed nothing, it's been basic,” Neville said. "To me, that's game over unless Thomas Frank does something remarkable."
After Eze scored his second immediately after the restart, Richarlison did produce some magic - scoring from 40 yards with Tottenham’s first shot on target. But Eze then wrapped up the win by completing his hat-trick and sending Arsenal six points clear ahead of a blockbuster trip to second-placed Chelsea next Sunday.
Tottenham boss Frank, meanwhile, apologised for his side’s toothless display as Arsenal seized the bragging rights in style.
Follow reaction from Arsenal’s win over Tottenham, below
Inside Eberechi Eze and Mikel Arteta’s plan that allowed Arsenal to finally click
In the week before Eberechi Eze took charge of the north London derby, and electrified the fixture, he was actually supposed to be taking it a bit easier. The 27-year-old had been given two days off after international duty with England, but insisted on getting back to Arsenal’s London Colney training ground after just one. “He wants to learn,” Mikel Arteta beamed.
The Arsenal staff have been hugely excited about Eze’s evolution, but the description from the training ground over the past few months has been that he’s been a bit “tight” in his play. In other words, that he hasn’t yet felt fully relaxed in his role.
They started to see the impact on Sunday. The excited belief in the camp throughout the game and afterwards was that this was when it clicked for Eze.
How Eberechi Eze made a mockery of Tottenham and changed Arsenal’s Premier League fate
The stuff of club history, and maybe future champions. If it’s still far too early to say this will be seen as the day when Mikel Arteta’s side won the 2025-26 title, it is undeniably the afternoon that Eberechi Eze launched himself as an Arsenal player. Scoring a hat-trick in a north London derby will do that, especially when it was just the fourth in the history of the fixture and the first since 1978. There was of course the added edge that he was so close to signing for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
They could barely get near him in this 4-1 defeat. Even some within the club were rolling their eyes that this is the essence of Tottenham, but it’s bigger than that. Eze took charge, and took off. The supreme third goal was some way to crown it all.
How Eze made a mockery of Tottenham and changed Arsenal’s Premier League fate
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank apologises for ‘extremely painful’ defeat to Arsenal
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario apologised to Spurs supporters for the lack of “fight” the team showed in the 4-1 defeat at Arsenal in the north London derby.
Frank called the performance “extremely painful” as Eberechi Eze scored a stunning hat-trick in a one-sided derby where the visitors barely landed a punch, aside from Richarlison’s speculative shot from 40 yards that beat David Raya.
Goalkeeper Vicario did not blame Tottenham’s performance on tactics, with Spurs boss Frank changing his formation to a defensive back-five against the Premier League leaders, but accepted that the players did not compete.
Under Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in the summer, Tottenham have fallen to defeats against rivals Arsenal and Chelsea where they have hardly threatened the opposition goal and struggled to create big chances.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank apologises for ‘extremely painful’ defeat to Arsenal
Thomas Frank takes responsibility for heavy Tottenham defeat
It was a chastening way for Tottenham to lose their unbeaten away record this season, despite Thomas Frank picking a notably defensive starting line-up.
“Where do you want me to start,” Frank shrugged afterwards. “I’m a very big believer that no matter what system you play, you can be successful. So the full responsibility will always be on me.
“Today, when we had the ball I picked a team that played 5-4-1. I changed it at half-time, and they scored. Very, very clever. And then the rest is history.”
Why was Eberechi Eze’s first goal against Tottenham allowed to stand?
Eberechi Eze’s first goal against Tottenham in the north London derby has reignited the debate around the offside rule in the Premier League.
The Arsenal forward found space inside the Tottenham box to slam the Gunners into a deserved two-goal lead before half-time at the Emirates.
But Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario appealed that he could not see the ball because there were offside Arsenal players blocking his view.
Why was Eberechi Eze’s first goal against Tottenham allowed to stand?
Mikel Arteta praises Eberechi Eze's 'talent and desire'
“He wanted to improve, and he wanted to do extra practice and 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. And he fully deserves it.
“I’m so happy for him, because since the day that he came, he brought something else to the team.
“So it’s a joy, it’s an aura that this team needed and hopefully it will give him a lot of confidence, to him and the team, that at any moment he can win us a game.”
Eberechi Eze asked for extra training before destroying Tottenham in derby
Mikel Arteta revealed Eberechi Eze was determined to make his mark in his first north London derby after his sparkling hat-trick sunk Tottenham 4-1.
Eze, who was on the verge of joining Spurs from Crystal Palace this summer until Arsenal hijacked the £67.5m move at the 11th hour, twisted the knife with a stunning treble.
He became only the third Arsenal player, after Ted Drake in 1934 and Alan Sunderland in 1978, to score three times against their fierce rivals.
Eberechi Eze asked for extra training before destroying Tottenham in derby
Jamie Carragher pinpoints the only thing that will stop Arsenal winning the Premier League
Jamie Carragher claimed that “the only team that can stop Arsenal winning the Premier League is Arsenal” after the Gunners ran rampant in a 4-1 win over local rivals Tottenham to open up a six-point lead at the top of the table.
A hat-trick from Eberechi Eze – the first in the north London derby since 1978 – helped Mikel Arteta’s side to thumping win at the Emirates, with the dominant nature of the performance further underlining the Gunners’ title credentials.
And Carragher was quick to highlight that Arsenal are the clear favourites for the title, after Manchester City’s defeat at Newcastle and amid champions Liverpool’s dismal run of results under Arne Slot, explaining that the Gunners are the best team in the league.
Jamie Carragher pinpoints the thing that will stop Arsenal winning the Premier League
'They looked like tiddlywinks': Les Ferdinand in disbelief at Tottenham
Les Ferdinand was still almost in disbelief at the end of Sky’s coverage.
"We just didn't compete. Whatever derby you turn up to, you know it's going to be hostile, you know it's going to be fierce. It just didn't look like that today,” he explained.
"They looked like tiddlywinks. They just didn't compete the whole game.
"If you're a Spurs fan now, you're frustrated as anything. We've spoken about how they've gone to the best team in the league at this moment in time.
"So what do you want to do? You want to have a go. We laid down today and got absolutely rolled over,” the former Spurs striker added.
Premier League results as Arsenal go six points clear
Here are the results from the weekend then, with Manchester United facing Everton tomorrow night at Old Trafford. What a weekend it was for Arsenal.
Burnley 0-2 Chelsea
Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Wolves 0-2 Crystal Palace
Fulham 1-0 Sunderland
Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham
Brighton 2-1 Brentford
Newcastle 2-1 Man City
Leeds 1-2 Aston Villa
Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham
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