Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal: The Gunners scored two second-half goals as Ebelesi Eze continued his form against their rivals to earn north London bragging rights.
Arsenal regain victory in the north London derby with a goal from Victor Gokeres
Arsenal continued to be troubled by the team Eberechi Eze had hoped to sign in the summer, beating rivals Tottenham to end a difficult week in the heights of north London.
The Englishman picked up two points of his own as the Gunners regained a five-point lead at the top of the table, albeit with more games to play, as the battle with Manchester City continues to simmer.
Eze, who scored three goals in the match between the two at the beginning of the season, opened the scoring. Bukayo Saka overtook Pape Matar Sarr and found his teammate who finished from close range.
It was an ideal start for Arsenal, with mental doubts mounting, but within 24 seconds of the restart their lead was gone. Declan Rice made a rare error in his own third, giving the ball to Randall Kolo Muani. The Tottenham forward didn’t have to travel very far to fire a shot under David Raya to secure an equal win in the derby.
Victor Gokeres hasn’t scored since returning to England, but he did score a timely second goal. His first stunning goal gave the visitors the lead early in the second half, and when Saka was cleared but was denied, Eze came to pick up the rest and score his fifth goal of the season against Tottenham.
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Arsenal put up a fine fight in the final period to keep their rivals at arm’s length and secure the three points, with Gokeres adding more sparkle to the scoreline with strength, power and a superb finish.
They had to be up for it again next weekend against City, and the fixture was thus decided, but they silenced the doubters for another week. Here are five stories from the capital.
perfect response
There has been a lot of noise since the Gunners blew a two-goal lead over Wolves on Wednesday night. With talk of winning the title once again in full focus, Mikel Arteta saw his former manager Josep Guardiola come within two points on Saturday night. Arsenal may not have been able to afford another loss after a series of away draws, but reality faced them at half-time.
Igor Tudor suffers defeat in his first game as Tottenham manager
The second half belonged to the visiting team, who briefly regained a five-point lead. Eze’s second goal with an hour left gave the team two goals and loosened the pressure valve somewhat. But with City playing next weekend, they may find themselves needing to respond again. Their path to a potential title party is never easy, especially for a group that still needs to get over the line, but this was a timely performance.
Gökeres’ biggest moment yet
He has been heavily criticized since his move to the Premier League, and many would argue that given his wages and subsequent goal return, the criticism is justified. Even if he looks like a shadow of the player who regularly scored goals for Sporting Lisbon, the Swede continues to have the confidence of those around him.
But Arsenal needed someone to help them on their big summer stage, and just two touches were enough to put the game back in the hands of the visitors. His impressive finish from 20 yards out, with the away fans close by, saw him slot past Guglielmo Vicario and could prove to be one of the defining moments of Arsenal’s career.
His third one was the icing on the cake, displaying all the qualities that made him so sought after during his time in Portugal.
Eze’s derby love
His favorite stage is the North London derby. He enjoyed his new club’s breakthrough in a come-from-behind game, scoring a hat-trick in a big win against the Emirates. Since then, he has picked the ideal matches to make an impact, although he is not guaranteed as a starter.
Eberechi Eze scored the first goal of the afternoon.
The former Crystal Palace ace scored an early volley to calm the home crowd, if only temporarily. Incredibly, this was his first shot on target since his third goal against Tottenham last year. Arsenal will need more wingers in the coming months.
Stadium announcer raises the stakes
Most stadium announcers around the country welcome fans, give the due, and sometimes read out the lineup with a little passion when it comes to the home team. But the man behind the microphone at Tottenham wasn’t afraid to liven up the atmosphere.
Arsenal’s need to get back on track dominated much of the build-up, especially after City’s win on Saturday night. Tudor is leading the way in Tottenham’s latest era and the stadium announcer made it clear that the visitors needed a performance from their team as they headed to their rivals.
Randall Kolo Muani stood by and Tottenham quickly equalized.
He said: “Sometimes the fire gets lit. They’re nervous as hell. We’re calm. We’re ready…” If Arsenal were nervous, it didn’t show.
“Incredible delay”
Sunday’s North London derby was called off due to issues with officials’ skills and care needed to ensure equipment was fully functional. The match was suspended by referee Peter Banks after just seven minutes, but the stadium fell silent as Gary Neville hurled profanity on commentary.
He said: “This is ridiculous. You can’t stop the whole game just because of an IT problem. This is complete nonsense, it’s one of the most important games of the season and all the players have to reset.”
“This is complete nonsense. It’s one of the most important games of the season, a great start, really quick. And we’ve stopped for a couple of minutes now and the players have to warm up again and reset and stuff. It’s an absolute shambles.”
Neville and the 62,000 people in the stadium were less than impressed when the same thing was repeated before the start of the second half.
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