Eze and Gyokeres star as Arsenal ease title pressure with a comfortable derby win over Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London – Arsenal answered their critics in emphatic fashion on Sunday night, sweeping aside neighbours Tottenham 4-1 to re-establish a five-point cushion at the Premier League summit and re-ignite their bid for a first championship since 2004.

Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres, summer signings who have shouldered scrutiny during recent weeks, each struck twice to turn a potentially awkward derby into a statement victory. The result leaves Mikel Arteta’s side 1-2 with bookmakers to lift the trophy and shoves Manchester City out to 13-8.

The tone was set inside 32 minutes when Eze arrowed a low finish beyond Guglielmo Vicario to register his fourth league goal against Spurs this term. The hosts levelled almost immediately after Declan Rice was dispossessed, allowing Randal Kolo Muani to roll home his maiden Tottenham goal, but parity lasted barely two minutes of game time.

Gyokeres restored order two minutes after the restart, lashing a rising drive into the roof of the net from 20 yards. The Swede’s strike ignited a one-sided second period in which Arsenal monopolised possession and chances. Eze capitalised on 61 minutes, steering home a cut-back for his second of the evening and fifth against Tottenham across all competitions this season. Gyokeres applied the gloss in the fourth minute of stoppage time, racing clear to slot home and seal a derby double.

The defeat deepens unease in the Spurs camp. Interim head coach Igor Tudor saw his side slip to within four points of 18th-placed West Ham; their relegation odds have been trimmed from 11-2 into 4-1. A late escape act at the City Ground offered brief respite, yet Nottingham Forest’s 97th-minute loss to Liverpool – Alexis Mac Allister striking deep into added time – keeps the survival picture fluid.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Crystal Palace edged Wolves 1-0 through Evann Guessand’s 90th-minute effort after the visitors had been reduced to ten men. Raul Jimenez’s double powered Fulham to a 3-1 win at Sunderland, while in Scotland, Hearts saw their title odds slashed to 6-4 from 11-4 as both Celtic and Rangers faltered. Celtic, down to ten men following Auston Trusty’s red, succumbed 2-1 at home to Hibs, and Rangers could only draw 2-2 with bottom club Livingston despite the visitors playing the entire second half a man short.

Arsenal now turn their attention to a mid-week trip to Brighton, where Gyokeres – nine of whose ten league goals have come against bottom-half opposition – will hope to continue his hot streak against another struggling side. For the Gunners, the pressure has been lifted; for Tottenham, the heat is only just beginning.

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