Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham: Eze and Gyökeres Fire Gunners Five Points Clear in North London Derby

Arsenal reclaimed their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table after braces from both Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres silenced relegation-threatened Spurs in the North London Derby. Derby day proved all too easy for Eze and Gyökeres as Arsenal sank Tottenham 4-1.

Going into the match, the stakes could not have been much higher. Glory on one horizon, relegation on the other and in between, a derby built on spite. Tottenham were as focused on stopping Arsenal as they were on survival, while Arsenal chased a statement win to maintain their grip on the Premier League summit.

Unsurprisingly, it was Arsenal who arrived with intensity and intent.

Gyökeres began brightly, immediately testing Tottenham’s back line. Guglielmo Vicario was forced into early action, charging from his area to meet a long ball with a Manuel Neuer-style flying header, before Radu Drăgușin scrambled clear Leandro Trossard’s long-range effort with the net exposed. Gyökeres soon threatened again, shaping a Thierry Henry-esque curler toward the far corner, only to see it drift fractionally wide.

Arsenal’s strong start was briefly halted not by Spurs, but by a technical failure of the referee’s communication devices. Play was paused for around five minutes, yet another frustrating moment for officiating in the Premier League.

Once play resumed, Arsenal’s efforts were rewarded. Eze volleyed home from close range after Bukayo Saka’s tenacity down the right wing created the opening.

Eze, brought into the side for Martin Ødegaard, looked liberated. This was his first Premier League shot on target since his hat-trick against Spurs in November and he made it count.

After scoring, the Arsenal players formed a team huddle, pointing to their heads a symbolic gesture of mentality and focus rather than extravagant celebration.

Yet, Arsenal briefly faltered. Kolo Muani equalised just 24 seconds after the restart.

The French forward Igor Tudor’s only change from the Newcastle defeat dispossessed Declan Rice, who attempted to dribble out from his own box. Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium reignited.

However, Spurs’ equaliser proved a moment, not momentum.

A huge second half awaited delayed again by further referee communication issues. Frustration grew around the stadium.

When play resumed, Arsenal struck swiftly. In the 47th minute, Gyökeres produced his finest moment yet in an Arsenal shirt, rifling a strike from the edge of the box beyond Vicario. Spurs briefly thought they had found another equaliser, but Muani’s effort was ruled out for a foul on Gabriel.

Arsenal did not retreat. Lessons from recent setbacks were clear. Instead, they pressed forward. Calamitous defending from Spurs gifted Eze his second his sixth league goal of the season, five of which have now come against Tottenham.

From there, Arsenal showed maturity. They controlled possession, dictated tempo, and silenced the once-hostile stadium. By the 80th minute, Spurs supporters were already heading for the exits.

David Raya produced a superb goal-line intervention to deny Richarlison, scrambling the Brazilian’s flick away at full stretch. His defenders mobbed him in celebration a moment symbolic of Arsenal’s collective belief.

The final blow came through Gyökeres. Muscling past the back line, he bent a composed finish inside the post to add a fourth and put an exclamation mark on Arsenal’s statement.

For Arsenal, after recent stumbles, this was assurance in the title race. For Spurs, it felt like another low in a spiralling, injury-hit season now winless in nine Premier League matches, with just four points from a possible 27.

The two axes the clubs occupy in the Premier League continue to stretch further apart. Silverware looms increasingly tangible on one side. Relegation anxiety intensifies on the other.

North London has rarely felt so divided.