Arsenal answered growing questions in the Premier League with a dominant north London derby victory away at Tottenham.
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Arsenal reinforced their grip on the title race with a commanding 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, producing a derby performance that answered recent critics in the clearest possible fashion.
Arriving in north London after successive league draws and renewed scrutiny over their style and mentality, Mikel Arteta’s side delivered a controlled and ruthless response. All four goals arrived from open play, directly embarrassing pundits who were once again filling the Sunday papers with their tedious claims that Arsenal rely primarily on set pieces.
The home side’s only real moments came from Arsenal mistakes rather than anything they were able to create themselves. Two errors from Declan Rice offered their encouragement, one leading to Tottenham’s goal and another requiring an outstanding cat-like save from David Raya, whose reflex save preserved Arsenal’s two-goal advantage.
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From the start of the match, Arsenal’s superiority was clear. Eberechi Eze again proved decisive in this fixture, adding two goals to his earlier hat-trick against Spurs this season and repeatedly finding space between the lines.
Ahead of him, Viktor Gyokeres delivered arguably his most complete display for the club, scoring twice and leading the line relentlessly despite persistent fouling throughout the match, fouls that were never given. He received one foul – in the 85th minute.
The second half in particular exposed the growing gap between the sides, Arsenal controlling possession, territory and tempo while Spurs struggled to do anything. The victory stands as Arsenal’s biggest away win against Tottenham in the Premier League era and moves them onto 61 points from 28 matches, five clear at the summit despite having played a game more than Manchester City.
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Speaking after the match, Eze told Sky Sports: “Today it’s worked out, we thank God for it. We put in a good performance. We did what we needed to do today, which was the main thing.”
On whether the performance was a response to dropped points, he added: “Yeah, for sure that’s the main thing. We know what we’re capable of. We have to play games to dominate and to win and we’ve got the players in the team to do it. Important win for us and we keep going.”
Reflecting on his goals, he said: “I’m always trying to get in those positions to be ready and to find the space and to work hard to get those opportunities. It takes a lot to get there and it’s worked out today.”
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He also praised his Gyokeres, saying: “Vik was hoping that all game. You can see how much he helps the team. Not just with his goals, with the effort he puts in and he puts players like me in good positions and it helps a lot, and he’s got his two goals today which he deserves for sure.”
Asked if it was his best performance for Arsenal, Gyokeres said, “Yeah in some aspects, I think, and in some others I could have done a bit better. It was a tough game but we showed much better things on the pitch today.
“It was a very good performance. We started really well, created some good chances from the beginning. We took the lead and it was disappointing to concede straight away, but we kept going and created chances in the second half. We took them as well.
“We felt we were in the game in a good way. We wanted to start again and create more chances. We went that way and performed really well in the second half.”
After the game, Mikel Arteta, told BBC Sport, “Really happy, really proud about how we approached the game. The initiative and the quality we showed to come here and win the game in the way that we did.
“That is the beauty of football. When you look back at the game against Wolves, how did we draw that game from there? I was out with them every day and I know how much they want it.
“He was outstanding today, I thought,” he said about Gyokeres. “There have been glimmers of it every week but today, I thought he was fantastic.”
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On Eze, he added, “He had that belief and I’m really happy with him. He’s really trying to mould and adapt into what we want from him.
“This is the Premier League, it will go all the way for sure. 10 games in the Premier League is a long way.”
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven, speaking to Sky Sports, said “Arsenal were the better team. We were still in the game at 1-1 but after the second half, they scored straight away and then it was really difficult.
“We could do the press a bit better. We pressed high but Arsenal came out of it. It’s something we need to work on. They were the better team today.
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“It’s a risk when you go man for man and if one man is late then you’re going to be open but when you win the ball high, there are so many options for us. But on the opposite, when they come out, it’s a big risk.”
After questions over their mentality and nerve, Arsenal’s response could hardly have been clearer. It was the reaction expected of genuine title contenders.