Arsenal delivered a championship-statement victory, thrashing Tottenham 4-1 in a dominant North London derby performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 22. Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres bagged braces to relaunch Arsenal's title hopes with a 4-1 win over rivals Spurs, silencing any doubts about the Gunners' title credentials after recent draws.
Eberechi Eze produced a timely brace to haunt Tottenham again and restore Arsenal's five-point lead at the Premier League summit. The playmaker, who caused nightmares for Spurs all season, opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before adding a second in the 61st. Viktor Gyökeres produced a wonderful curled strike after 47 minutes before Eze punished more slack home defending to grab his fifth goal of the campaign against a club that were at one stage favourites to sign the ex-Crystal Palace playmaker last summer. Gyokeres completed his brace with a Haaland-esque goal, holding off Archie Gray's challenge on his left to lash past Vicario with his right.
The loss marked a difficult debut for new Tottenham manager Igor Tudor. Randal Kolo Muani replied 123 seconds after Eze's opener for the first goal of Igor Tudor's spell as interim Spurs head coach, but Arsenal exerted their dominance after the break. Gyökeres added a second himself in stoppage-time to give Arsenal thoroughly deserved bragging rights over rivals Tottenham, who stay 16th in the table and are only four points off the relegation zone after a sobering start for new boss Tudor. The result underscores Spurs' severe struggles as they battle for survival in the Premier League.
The Gunners improved their title race advantage to five points over second-place Man City, who have played one fewer game. After Arsenal walked off the field after a convincing 3-0 home win against Sunderland with their lead in the Premier League at nine points on February 7, then things started to go wrong with consecutive draws. This victory firmly reestablishes Arsenal as title contenders heading into the closing weeks of the season.