Eberechi Eze scored a stunning hat-trick as Arsenal beat north London rivals Spurs 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Playing against the team he almost joined before his move to Arsenal in August, Eze showed what Spurs have been missing as he produced three outstanding finishes after a superb performance in his first north London derby since Leandro Trossard’s opener.
Spurs briefly threatened an improbable comeback when Richarlison beat David Raya with an audacious lob from 35 yards out, but Arsenal were already third up at that point and Eze’s hat-trick goal killed the game when it curled brilliantly past Guglielmo Vicario.
Richarlison’s goal was one of only three shots on target for Spurs, who switched to a back five but were unable to resist Arsenal’s dominance, with Eze directing his first goal into the bottom corner following some clever footwork after Mikel Merino had picked out Trossard for the opener.
Thomas Frank returned to the back four at half-time, bringing on Xabi Simmons for Kevin Danso, but Eze scored his second goal 35 seconds after the restart, again picking out a corner in sublime style.
His hat-trick goal was one of three for Richarlison after his stunning strike for Spurs made him the fourth player in history to achieve a treble against Spurs and a fourth successive win in the game for the Gunners.
With Manchester City and Liverpool losing to Newcastle and Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Mikel Arteta’s side moved six points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who they face live. sky sports Next Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
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Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for Arsenal.
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Eze shows off some great footwork before scoring Arsenal’s second goal.
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Eze scores his second goal in spectacular style
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Richarlison’s incredible lob beat David Raya.
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Eze scored the third goal and Arsenal scored the fourth.
