Eze reawakens Arsenal's spirit of adventure as Tudor debut ends in familiar derby tale for Spurs

Sunny dispositions all round pre kick-off at the TH Stadium : Picture by @YTJourno

Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1 Kolo Muani 34

Arsenal (1) 4 Eze 32, 61 Gyokeres 47, 94

Eberechi Eze just loves the sight of those Spurs shirts. And now, Viktor Gyokeres probably does two.

Both bagged doubles in an emphatic win for the Gunners that made a mockery of their recent wobbles.

Eze bagged a hat-trick against Tottenham at the Emirates in late November and has done precious little since. He has not had as many starts as might have expected and the feeling was that maybe the boss didn't quite fancy him.

But on days like this, he adds an extra dimension to his team and can make the difference with his brilliant eye for goal. He did it for Palace at this same venue too. Could this be the jolt his stalling season needed? It felt like it.

Gyokeres too got the goals he badly needed to revive a personal season in danger of flagging. He now has 10 goals.

Spurs were simply brushed aside and particularly abject during a one-sided second half, having done well to go in all-square at the interval. After so much stodgy play in recent games, here was an Arsenal side playing without the handbrake on for once.

By contrast, a Tottenham side under the charge of Igor Tudor until the end of the season still have plenty to do to secure Premier League status. They are too close to the bottom three for comfort. They lacked an obvious game plan and did not have enough of the ball to make it harder for their bitter foes from down the road.

Having won six of the previous seven encounters - losing none of them - there was, in theory, no reason for Arsenal to feel nervous about this one. But of course we all knew the context was very different.

Draws in their two previous away games and only two wins in seven pointed to a dip in form and confidence - especially as the latest of the setbacks came with a dismal display at rock-bottom Wolves where a two goal lead was surrendered.

Arsenal set off full of intent, mindful that everyone was watching for signs of mental fragility - even the Spurs PA man Paul Coyte alluded to it before the start when rousing home fans into voice.

Gyokeres came within a whisker of giving the Gunners the lead their bright start was threatening - cutting in from the left edge of the penalty area before unleashing a shot across Guglielmo Vicario that whistled inches past the post.

It was a sign that he might have a good afternoon.

Spurs looked very quickly as if they could do with a time out and got one when ref Peter Bankes stopped the game for five minutes to sort out his intra-officials microphone. But the Gunners were soon back probing again and from a corner, William Saliba headed a Gyokeres nod-back wide.

Arsenal finally got in front when Bukayo Saka got around Pape Matar Sarr and pulled back for Eze to control and fire home, but the lead lasted only two minutes.

In Spurs' next attack, Declan Rice - of all people - allowed Randal Kolo Muani to pinch the ball off him inside the area and drill past David Raya for his first goal in the Premier League.

Next, it was the turn of Leandro Trossard to go close with a shot across the face of goal after Saka and Jurrien Timber had combined to create more danger, but Spurs held firm until the interval.

The chance was there for the pressure to really start cranking up on the Gunners but they retook the lead soon after the restart, with Gyokeres lashing in from just outside the area after being picked out by Timber's raking low cross from wide on the right.

Kolo Muani had the ball in the back of the Arsenal net following a push on Gabriel, which was flagged up as a foul and not long after, Eze had bagged his second to put Mikel Arteta's men into the comfort zone they craved - pouncing on a loose ball having created chaos in the home ranks with a deft touch to play in Trossard.

Suddenly the swagger was back, with Eze running the show and Rice imperiously snuffing out any Spurs attacks with his voracious appetite to cover every blade of grass.

Even then, Spurs might have clawed their way back into contention when Richarlison - fresh on as a sub - backheeled a Djed Spence cross, only for Raya to spring back to scoop the ball off the line spectacularly.

But the last word had to go to the dominant visitors and when Martin Odegaard played in Gyokeres, the Swede easily held off Archie Gray before burying it past Vicario in front of the ecstatic away fans.

4-1 at home and now 4-1 away. The aggregate score makes unhappy reading for the Lilywhites.

Spurs: (4-3-3) Vicario - Gray, Dragusin, van de Ven, Spence - Bissouma, Joao Palhinha (Tel 82), Gallagher (Solanke 62) - Pape Matar Sarr, Kolo Muani (Richarlison 68), Simons

Gunners: (4-3-3) Raya - Timber (Mosquera 57), Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie - Eze (Odegaard 76), Zubamendi, Rice - Saka (Madueke 90), Gyokeres, Trossard (Martinelli 76)

Attendance: 61,439