EBERECHI Eze scored his first senior hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank picked a five-man defence as he looked to keep things tight at Emirates Stadium, but his side could not contain the league leaders.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for an utterly dominant Arsenal in the 36th minute, finishing well after a lovely through ball from Mikel Merino.
Then Eze, who almost joined Spurs in the summer from Crystal Palace before a late swoop by Arsenal, doubled the hosts’ advantage before the break – beating two players on the edge of the box before drilling a strike past Guglielmo Vicario.
Frank scrapped his back-five plan at half-time and brought on Xavi Simons as he looked to inject some more attacking intent into his lacklustre side.
But Arsenal extended their advantage just 35 seconds into the second half, when Eze curled a left-footed strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Tottenham were pinned back for large parts of the match, but Richarlison did pull a goal back for the visitors by lifting the ball over the stranded David Raya from about 40 yards out.
However, Eze added gloss to the scoreline – and completed a brilliant hat-trick – with another expert finish past Vicario in the 76th minute.
Arsenal’s six-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the table is their biggest advantage at this stage of any Premier League campaign.
The Gunners are looking to win their first title since 2004 – and after three second-placed finishes in succession.
When Arsenal swooped to beat Tottenham to the signing of Eze, it was one of the key moments of this summer’s transfer window.
The Gunners, who had already spent heavily in the market, moved quickly to hijack their rivals’ move for the England midfielder after an injury to Kai Havertz – and Eze has not looked back since.
It was an easy decision to move to the Gunners for someone who was a boyhood fan of the club and was in Arsenal’s academy before being released.
But then came the questions of where he would fit into Mikel Arteta’s plans.
Arsenal did not see Eze as an outright winger, which meant he would be competing in the congested central area of the pitch with captain Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Ethan Nwaneri.
However, an injury to Odegaard has seen Eze play regularly – and the 27-year-old has continued to improve as he gets used to Arteta’s system.
At Palace Eze played more from the left, but at Arsenal he is closer to the right as Arteta looks to build a connection with Bukayo Saka.
Eze has already produced some standout moments for the Gunners – an assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage-time equaliser against Manchester City, the winning goal against old club Palace and now this classy hat-trick against Tottenham.
He has five goals and three assists in his 15 appearances for Arsenal this term – and the most goal involvements of any English player in the top flight in 2025.
Arsenal are deservedly top of the league – and Eze’s ability to create something from nothing can help keep them there.