Eze hits hat-trick as Arsenal thrash Spurs to extend lead

It was an unguarded comment from an Arsenal official and it came shortly after Eberechi Eze's mural outside the Emirates Stadium had been defaced with white paint - presumably by a Tottenham fan. It summed up the snark between the clubs and Arsenal's delight at pipping their rivals to Eze's signature at the end of August. "We sign a top-class forward for £60m. They throw paint at walls.

- David Hytner

Eze's mural has since been redone; it now has a caption to reinforce the storyline about the boyhood Arsenal fan coming back to his club after being released as a youngster. “All roads lead home.” So it did not need a joke from Thomas Frank on Friday to set up Eze v Spurs. “Who’s Eze?” the Spurs manager had said; a classic of the fate-tempting genre.

It felt as though the former Crystal Palace player was always going to have a say in this derby. It turned out that he shouted to every corner of the stadium. He was in the mood from the first whistle and he conjured a quite sensational hat-trick to ensure that Arsenal made the most of Manchester City’s defeat at Newcastle on Saturday to extend their lead at the top to six points. In the heat of the moment, it seemed as if all roads led to the title.

Eze’s first followed a Leandro Trossard goal and it was a moment to showcase his twinkle-toed brilliance. There did not seem to be any space on the fringes of the Spurs area when he picked up a half clearance but he found it, tricking this way and that before thrashing home. The second and third were similar, Eze accepting passes in dangerous areas and picking out each corner with easy, never-in-doubt curlers and it added up to an ordeal for Frank and Spurs.