ARTETA PRAISES HARD

WORKING HERO EB AS PREPARATION PAYS OFF

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MIKEL ARTETA revealed Eberechi Eze was determined to make his mark in his first north London derby after his sparkling hat-trick sunk Tottenham 4-1.

Eze, who was on the verge of joining Spurs from Crystal Palace this summer until Arsenal hijacked the £67.5million move at the 11th hour, twisted the knife with a stunning treble after Leandro Trossard had opened the scoring.

He became only the third Arsenal player, after Ted Drake in 1934 and Alan Sunderland in 1978, to score three times against their fierce rivals.

“Things happen for a reason,” said Gunners boss Arteta. “After international duty, he had two days off, and after one day he wanted to train. He wanted to improve, and he wanted to do extra practice and he was asking me questions about this and that.