Eberechi Eze lit up the derby with a ruthless hat-trick, yet he still insisted someone else stole the show, giving all the flowers to a teammate he felt ran the game from start to finish. His goals might have sliced Tottenham open, but he was adamant that this other Arsenal star was the real force behind their dominance in the 4–1 win.
The storyline itself was poetic: Eze, the same guy Spurs once tried to sign, returned wearing red and turned their afternoon into a painful memory. His three goals pushed Arsenal six points clear at the top, putting the league on notice yet again. But even with the spotlight glued to him, he kept pointing back at the teammate who, in his words, deserved the day.
Arsenal had already set the tempo long before Eze’s finishing touches. Leandro Trossard broke Spurs’ defensive setup first, shaking off their three-at-the-back structure to fire in the opener. Minutes later, Eze doubled the joy, slicing through half-hearted challenges and smashing home a second that basically killed Tottenham’s hopes before halftime.
He wasn’t done, though. Seconds into the second half, he punished Spurs again — another strike curled low past Vicario, courtesy of relentless pressure from Timber. Even Richarlison’s gorgeous long-range reply barely changed the mood; Arsenal were in full control, flowing with confidence and barely giving Spurs room to breathe.
The Gunners were missing Gabriel Magalhães, but they hardly felt it. Piero Hincapié, thrust into his first league start, had an easier afternoon than he expected as Spurs struggled to create anything meaningful. They didn’t even manage a single first-half shot — a shocking stat that summed up their bluntness.
Tottenham tried switching tactics after the break, pushing Xavi Simons into the fray, but it didn’t matter. Arsenal were just too sharp, too hungry, too synced. And every time Eze drifted into space at the edge of the box, you could almost sense another dagger coming.
When his third finally hit the net in the 76th minute, bending beautifully to the opposite corner, the Emirates erupted. Only three other players in history had ever hit a hat-trick in this derby, placing Eze in a rare and iconic club. He nearly added a fourth, too, but Vicario managed to deny him at the last second.
By the time the crowd started chanting ‘ole’ as Arsenal toyed with the ball in stoppage time, the win — and their control of the league — felt undeniable. And still, even after carving his name into derby folklore, Eze kept the praise away from himself and pointed straight toward the teammate he believed truly ruled the pitch.
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