The north London derby again went in Arsenal’s favour, this time with a 4-1 drubbing for Spurs at the Emirates Stadium today (November 23).

This summer, Spurs were looking to sign Eberechi Eze but were indecisive. Instead, he left Crystal Palace and signed for Arsenal at the last minute.

Looking back, he may very well feel he made the right decision. Today he scored a hat trick and the Spurs’ defence couldn’t live with him all afternoon.

In the first half of the game, Arsenal pressed hard and didn’t allow Spurs to make any meaningful impression. The Gunners enjoyed the vast majority of possession, Saka and Rice being particularly impressive.

 Trossard broke the deadlock, swivelling to shoot and place the ball in the far corner, only for it to take a deflection from Van de Den desperately attempting to block Trossard’s superb shot.

Into the last few minutes of the first half, it looked like Spurs were heading into the tunnel, 1-0 down with plenty of work to do in the second half.

Truth be told, Spurs were thoroughly outplayed and had no answers.

Five minutes after Trossard’s goal, Eve made it 2-0, rifling a shot from just outside the box beyond Vicario’s reach. This further sank Spurs’ hopes , their shoulders dropped in resignation.

Come the first minute of the second half, came further misery for Spurs, with Eze again shooting to see Vicario once again picking up the ball from the back of his net.

At 3-0, it was game over; resistance was futile.

In the 55th minute, the Brazilian Richarlison scored a sublime goal, chipping a backpeddling David Raya from 35 yards out. It was a brilliant piece of skill,  not enough to get Spurs out of the stranglehold Arsenal had them in.

Today, the gulf in class between the two north London sides was plain to see. A comeback was unlikely.

At around the 75th minute of this one-sided game, Eze got his hat trick, beating Destiny Udogie, forcing him on his backside before curling into the net. It was the third time Eze had the better of Vicario.

Spurs looked flat again, and questions now must be asked of Thomas Frank. Will Spurs end up finishing the season at best mid-table? Frank can’t seem to get this team to perform on a consistent basis, and they lack firepower up front.

Arsenal look like the real deal this season, and with Liverpool now out of it, they must continue their momentum to get to the finish line and pick up the EPL trophy. 

Mikel Arteta has done well in recent seasons, coming up just that bit short, and now has an opportunity to see to it that Arsenal wins the league and are crowned champions.