Chelsea, the Gunners’ next opponent, is now six points behind the leaders
Eberechi Eze gets his hands on the match ball, as is tradition after a hat-trick. Thanks to him, Arsenal gets their hands on the Premier League, extending to 6 points their lead over second in the league, Chelsea, their opponent next Sunday, with the peremptory 4-1 with which Arteta’s team tore Tottenham to pieces. The hero is himself, the Gunners’ number 10 who could have chosen Spurs in the summer but instead took Arsenal into a new dimension. This hat-trick in the North London derby, for which the Emirates performed choreographies worthy of the Milan derby, catapulted Eze among the Arsenal cult heroes. And it causes Tottenham to sink, for which Guglielmo Vicario’s saves were not enough: as had already happened against Chelsea, Spurs at the Emirates played not to lose rather than to win. An attitude that raises doubts as to whether Thomas Frank, signed in the summer from Brentford, is the right manager to chase victories with Tottenham.
the keys
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Arsenal’s success has never been in question. Eze, who became the first Gunners player since 1978 to score a hat-trick against Tottenham, only turned it into a triumph. The number 10 who rejoices proclaiming his love for Jesus has shattered the certainties of the Spurs with three photocopy goals, three pool shots from a central position just inside the air with Frank’s defense forgetting about him, both in the 5-man setup in the first half and in the 4-man setup in the second half. Since replacing the injured Martin Ødegaard in a central position, Eze has given the Gunners more unpredictability, a player capable of inventing the winning shot at any moment. He is one of the reasons why Arsenal are deeper than last year, why they can afford to tolerate heavy absences such as those of Ødegaard, the new tenant of the infirmary Gabriel (Hincapie excellent in his place) or the slew of knocked out centre-forwards (Mikel Merino still positive as number 9) without suffering too much. The league table says that things are going great, the fact that Arsenal haven’t lost since August 31st and that the win against Tottenham was victory number 11 in the last 12 games says it, an unsustainable pace for anyone. How unsustainable, for the Spurs, is this new slap against a great team, this defeatist attitude from the start which turned into a first half spent exclusively defending, without shooting even once and with Vicario to thank if only two goals were conceded. Frank only realized at 2-0 down that things weren’t working, but now Spurs have lost three of their last 5 games in the Premier League and these slaps taken by Arsenal have made it clear what a gulf there is with the best that English football has to offer. Something to think about.
the match
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After a miracle from Vicario in the 2nd minute, the match fell asleep until Arsenal, immediately in control of the pitch, took the lead in the 36th minute with Trossard, put in front of Vicario by a splendid idea from Merino. Then the Eze Show begins: the first gem in the 41st minute when Vicario scores after avoiding three opponents; the second after less than a minute of the second half, when Spurs forgot him free on the edge of the area and he punished them. At the interval Frank had left Danso in the second half by introducing Simons and switching to 4-2-3-1: Tottenham’s hope, however, was rekindled by Richarlison, who in the 55th minute saw Raya outside the posts and hit him with a sensational lob from 32 metres. Tottenham takes courage and, unlike the first half, they now play to win rather than not to lose, but Arsenal do not lose their composure and close the score with the last chapter of the Eze show, another right-footed shot from inside the area which finally closes the score with 4-1 in the 76th minute.
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