Mikel Arteta lauded Eberechi Eze for his ability to create “magic moments” after the Arsenal playmaker downed Spurs with a hat-trick in the North London Derby.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium before Eze doubled their lead before the interval.
The former Crystal Palace man struck again immediately after the break, slotting a cool finish in to the far corner.
Richarlison got one back with a superb long range lob over David Raya, but Eze shut down any notion of a comeback with his third goal in the 76th minute to complete a 4-1 win.
Arteta beams as ‘magic’ Eze destroys Spurs for Arsenal
“It’s a very special day for us,” Arteta told BBC Match of the Day. “We knew the importance of the match and what it means to our fans. To be able to give them that joy, it’s a beautiful day.”
Eze is now only the fourth ever player to score a hat-trick in the North London Derby the first to do so since 1978.
“That tells you about the difficulty and what he’s done today,” Arteta continued. “To be fair he could have scored four or five. He’s a big player who can create magic moments which unbalance a team.
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“We dominated every part of the game. We created massive chances and had a lot of actions that we were very close to scoring. We stayed patient.
“Whoever we put in there they do the jobs for us. This squad has the belief and quality to deliver consistently.”
Arsenal have now extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to six points following Manchester City’s defeat to Newcastle on Saturday. Chelsea leapfrogged City into second with a 2-0 win over Burnley.
“We have really good momentum but you can see how difficult every game in the Premier League is,” he added. “It’s a long run, let’s go game by game. Let’s enjoy tonight, then we have Bayern here and Chelsea away. We have a tough week.”
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