EPL: Arsenal whip Spurs 4-1 to open five-point lead

On a derby day, Arsenal registered a critical victory in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners were the dominant outfit in the North London derby, and they took the lead through the brilliance of Eberechi Eze. Randal Kolo Muani made the visitors pay for an uncharacteristic error, but the league leaders would not be denied, setting themselves apart at the start of the second half.
Viktor Gyokeres grabbed a smart strike from distance, and then the talismanic ten took the game away from Tottenham. Eze scored his second goal of the game, giving the hosts nightmares in many moments, and his work was enough to ensure that the table toppers reopened their lead to five points.
Igor Tudor took responsibility for his first fixture as the Tottenham head coach. Whether the team used a back four or five would be unanswered until kick off, but the Croatian had selected Radu Dragusin in the defence. Yves Bissouma, Conor Gallagher and Pape Matar Sarr started in an industrious midfield. Xavi Simons sought to add a creative spark to the side while Randal Kolo Muani, with whom Tudor worked at Juventus, started as the striker instead of Dominic Solanke.
Mikel Arteta altered two members of the lineup he picked in a 2-2 draw with Wolves. Eberechi Eze stepped in as the attacking midfielder, hoping to mimic the magic that produced a hat-trick in the reverse fixture in November. Bukayo Saka shifted back into his typical position role as the right winger in place of Noni Madueke, and Leandro Trossard took the place of Gabriel Martinelli.
Tudor had decided to put Joao Palhinha in central defence next to Dragusin and Micky van de Ven as part of a back five, and his men were soon set on the back foot by a team with a point to prove.
Saka strode forward on the right wing, releasing Jurrien Timber on his outside. The fullback found Viktor Gyokeresin the box, and the Swede sent a header goal bound, forcing Dragusin to block.
Not long later, Guglielmo Vicario bolted off his goal line to deal with a downfield punt, and Trossard picked up the pieces. Van de Ven trusted Dragusin to defend the danger just beyond the white paint, scaring Spurs’ supporters. Seven minutes had passed when Gyokeres got into his favoured inside left channel, flashing an effort wide of the target, and the hosts had been pinned back into their formation
The biggest chance of the clash came just after the quarter hour mark. Saka swung a delivery into the penalty area from the right corner flag, and Gyokeres knocked the ball back across the face of the goal. William Saliba stooped to head the ball at the target, and his effort went wide of the target.
Finally, Spurs seemed to spark into life a little more, and Sarr baited Timber into earning a yellow card after the Dutchman gave away the ball. But eventually, a familiar face struck for the Gunners.
Saka slipped away from Sarr down the right flank, and he pulled back the ball in the danger zone. Eze escaped from any pressure, flicked the ball into the air, and neatly volleyed a shot beyond Vicario. It was his first Premier League goal since the hat-trick in the last derby, coming at a timely moment
But Arteta’s men are not the impenetrable force from the autumn. Mistakes have crept into their game, and another one immediately allow their rivals to level the scoreline. Declan Rice recovered the ball deep in his half of the field, and a turnover handed the ball to Kolo Muani. The Frenchman burrowed his way into the penalty area, slapping a shot past David Raya two minutes after Eze’s opening goal.
Arsenal attempted to clap back straightaway. Piero Hincapie curled a devilish deep ball to Saka, who forced Vicario to close him down and smother the danger. Trossard then steered a strike from a tight angle off the heel of Bissouma as Tudor’s team tried successfully to hold onto an improved position.
The start of the second half immediately brought about a sharp shot from Xavi as the hosts hunted a go-ahead goal. But that would go to the Gunners in the 47th minute: Timber fizzed the ball through the lines and Gyokeres had the space to set out a strike on the edge of the danger zone to beat Vicario.
Tottenham went again, and their French forward found the back of the net a second time. Gallagher put in the hard yards to track the ball down the right, and his deflected delivery connected with Kolo Muani. He fired beyond Raya, but a shove on Gabriel Magalhaes meant the goal was disallowed
Cristhian Mosquera might have come on for Timber, but Arteta’s men set about putting the game to bed through their talismanic ten. Eze nearly bagged his brace after dropping the shoulder on his marker from a left sided transition to break into the box, and he set away Saka to try and wrap up the three points not long later. In the end, he took charge of the derby once and for all at the hour mark.
Dragusin was dragged out of position as he met the ball in the air, and as he stepped out from the line, Eze could release Saka to threaten centrally. The winger would have struck if van de Ven did not throw himself at the ball, but his teammate tucked away the ball into the empty net for his brace
The introduction of Dominic Solanke to the field in a front two meant little for Tudor’s players as the Gunners smelt blood. Trossard tried to whip a shot into the far corner from the left, missing the mark, then Eze broke through an open field to set up Saka for a near sided shot with the same outcom
Richarlison had replaced Kolo Muani before Mathys Tel took the place of Palhinha in the 82nd minute. The Brazilian had scored a wondergoal from range in the reverse fixture, and he thought he had scored with a flick from a Djed Spence cross. However, Raya repelled him at the final moment.
Saka was withdrawn in the closing stages of the clash after a knock on his ankle, and Madueke filled in for him on the right wing. The job was done, but there was enough time for Gyokeres to break away and get a brace for himself: the number 14 had wrapped up a 1-4 victory for the Gunners. And a fourth successive away win in this derby has demonstrated North London is well and truly red.