Arsenal Win 4th Consecutive North London Derby

Arsenal have consolidated their lead atop the Premier League table with a statement 4-1 victory over Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

The emphatic win was powered by a brilliant hat trick from a player that was close to joining Spurs themselves, Eberechi Eze and one from Leandro Trossard, while Spurs got consolation from a sublime Richarlison effort from way out.

Arteta’s men lined up in a 4231 with Mikel Merino up top, flanked by Trossard on the left and Bukayo Saka on the right, hat trick hero Eze played just behind Merino. In typical Thomas Frank fashion against the top teams, he lined Spurs up with a back 3 in a 343, with Richarlison up top, Wilson Odobert on the left and Kudus on the right.

The North London Derby was dominated from start to finish by Arsenal, a high-octane start saw an immediate impact from Arsenal’s midfield and attack. In the third minute, a deft flick from Eberechi Eze set up Declan Rice for a volley, but Guglielmo Vicario made a brilliant, close-range save.

Arsenal maintained overwhelming possession in the opening phase, although they struggled to create clear-cut chances following Rice’s near-miss. Leandro Trossard required a brief pause for treatment in the 13th minute after receiving a knock to his ankle from João Palhinha but was able to continue. In the 19th minute, Bukayo Saka whipped a free-kick from a tight angle that just brushed the outside of the net.

In contrast, Tottenham adopted a conservative strategy early on, relying on long balls into the box from set-pieces, seemingly aiming to slow the game’s tempo. Their defensive approach was highlighted in the 30th minute when Micky van de Ven demonstrated good positioning and pace to nullify a potential Jurrien Timber through-ball, shepherding it back to Vicario.

The match’s flow changed permanently in the 34th minute. Rodrigo Bentancur was shown the first Yellow Card of the match for fouling Saka near the edge of the box. From the resulting free-kick, Vicario was forced into another save, parrying away Saka’s attempt that was dipping towards the top corner.

The pressure finally broke Spurs’ resistance two minutes later. In the 36th minute, Mikel Merino’s chipped pass was expertly brought down by Leandro Trossard, who turned and finished low, with the shot taking a slight deflection off Van de Ven to open the scoring.

Arsenal quickly capitalized on the momentum and five minutes later, Declan Rice found Eberechi Eze, who took a touch to shift the ball onto his right foot at the edge of the area and fired a shot that found the bottom corner to double Arsenal’s lead. The first half concluded with a staggering statistic with Tottenham ended the half having registered zero shots and zero touches in the Arsenal box.

Tottenham attempted to correct their course at halftime by making an immediate substitution, with Xavi replacing Kevin Danso, signalling a tactical switch from a three-man defence to a flat back-four. However, this adjustment had no immediate effect on the scoreline, at least not in favour of the Lilywhites.

Just 35 seconds into the second half, Arsenal extended their lead to three. Jurrien Timber advanced and found Eberechi Eze, who composed himself to score his second goal by finishing coolly into the far corner with his left foot.

Spurs finally registered their first shot of the game in the 55th minute and that first shot turned out to be their first goal. Richarlison scored a spectacular goal for Spurs, lobbing David Raya from about 40 yards out after Martin Zubimendi lost possession.

This moment injected some life into the visitors, and in the 64th minute, David Raya was called into action again, saving a low shot from Simons as Spurs started to create more attacking threat.

Tottenham made further substitutions in the 66th minute, with Pape Sarr and Randal Kolo Muani replacing Bentancur and Odobert. The frustration began to show for Spurs in the 70th minute when Cristian Romero was shown a Yellow Card for dissent following a tussle involving Merino and Van de Ven.

Arsenal then resumed their offensive pressure. In the 72nd minute, Vicario was forced to make another save, tipping Saka’s low curler from 25 yards behind for a corner.

The hat-trick moment arrived in the 76th minute as Trossard squared the ball after a quick break, and Eze curled another clinical finish into the bottom corner.

Both teams made late substitutions as the game wound down. Noni Madueke replaced Trossard for Arsenal in the 78th minute. For Spurs, Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson replaced Spence and Kudus. Eze nearly scored a fourth goal a minute later, but Vicario was well-placed to shove his rising shot away.

In the 87th minute, Declan Rice and Pedro Porro both received a Yellow Card for argument, and right after Ethan Nwaneri and Christhian Mosquera came on, replacing Mikel Merino and Pierro Hincapie. Four minutes of added time were announced , and in the 92nd minute, Myles Lewis-Skelly replaced Riccardo Calafiori. The match soon after ended with a commanding 4-1 victory for Arsenal, putting them 6 points above Chelsea in second and 7 above Man City in 3rd.