Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick in his first North London derby to lead Arsenal to a 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium. Leandro Trossard also netted for the Gunners, while Richarlison provided Tottenham's consolation goal. The win extends Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League to six points.
Arsenal dominated the North London derby on November 23, 2025, thrashing Tottenham 4-1 to solidify their position as Premier League leaders. Eberechi Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in the summer after turning down Tottenham, marked his debut in the fixture with a stunning hat-trick—the first in a competitive North London derby since Alan Sunderland in 1978 and the 400th in Premier League history.
The game began with Arsenal asserting early pressure, though Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario denied Bukayo Saka from a free-kick. In the 36th minute, Leandro Trossard opened the scoring, latching onto Mikel Merino's scooped pass inside the box and turning to fire low past Vicario, with the ball deflecting off Micky van de Ven. Five minutes later, Eze danced through static defenders to slot home Arsenal's second from Declan Rice's pass.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank switched from a back five to a back four at halftime, but it made little difference. Eze added his second just a minute into the second half with a clinical left-footed finish. Richarlison briefly sparked hope for Spurs in the 57th minute, lobbing David Raya from 35 yards after intercepting Martín Zubimendi. However, Eze completed his treble in the 78th minute, curling a composed finish inside the near post after a square pass from Trossard.
Arsenal finished with 17 shots to Tottenham's three, boasting an expected goals (xG) advantage that underscored their dominance. Despite missing key players like Gabriel, Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz, and Viktor Gyökeres due to injuries, Mikel Arteta's side extended their winning league streak against Tottenham to four matches.
Eze savored the moment post-match, telling Match of the Day: “That is crazy. Special day man. Special day for me, my family. I don’t think I could’ve ever dreamt of it.” Arteta praised his team's preparation: “I enjoyed every minute. The preparation as soon as they came back from the international break, I felt the hunger for the game.”
For Tottenham, it was a painful defeat—their heaviest against Arsenal since 2012. Frank admitted: “Very difficult afternoon. Bad performance. It’s extremely painful to stand here after that game.” The loss ended Spurs' unbeaten away run and left them ninth, 11 points behind Arsenal.
Arsenal's victory, following Manchester City's loss to Newcastle and Liverpool's defeat to Nottingham Forest, positions them six points clear of Chelsea with a game in hand resolved.
