Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates big north London derby win against Tottenham and praises ‘magical’ hat-trick hero Eberechi Eze

Eze scored a hat-trick against the Emirates on Sunday night, increasing the pressure on Spurs manager Thomas Frank to move the Gunners six points clear of second-placed Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

Leandro Trossard took the lead before Eze’s two goals, Richarlison scored to make it 3-1 and the player of the match completed his hat-trick. The result leaves Tottenham in 9th place in the league after 12 games, but they could slip to 10th depending on the result of Monday night’s match between Manchester United and Everton.

After the win, Arteta celebrated the victory in an interview with BBC Sport, given the importance of the local rivalry in north London.

“Today is a very special day for us,” he said. “We knew the importance of the game and what it meant to the fans. It’s a great day to be able to give them that joy.”

Arteta said: “That speaks volumes about the difficulty and what he did today. To be fair, he could have scored four or five points. He’s a big player who can create magical moments to keep the team off balance.”

“We dominated every part of the game. We created big chances and took a lot of actions that came very close to scoring. We continued to be patient.

“Whoever we bring in, they will do the job for us. This team has the belief and quality to consistently deliver.

“We have really good momentum but you can see how difficult every game in the Premier League is. It’s a long game. Let’s take it one game at a time. Let’s enjoy tonight. Then we have Bayern here and Chelsea away. We have a tough week ahead of us.”

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Video credit: SNTV

Eze ‘praised’ for hat-trick

Hat-trick hero Eze spoke to Sky Sports after his team’s victory and said he was thrilled with the three points and his three goals.

He said: “It was a good day. It was a fun day. I was happy to help the team and it was special to win today.

“It’s special. I’m grateful. I prayed for it. This is what I prayed for. I prayed for a hat trick, so I thank God.”

“That was my prayer today. God gave it to me. That’s faith. My whole family is here. That makes it even more special to me.”

When asked about his favorite of the three goals, he replied: “They’re all good. Probably the second goal. That was my favorite. They’ve all been good for me because I’ve been working on the process to get into that position, so it’s also good.”

“It’s special. Words can’t explain today.”