February 22, (THEWILL) — Arsenal moved five points clear at the summit of the English Premier League with a 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, a result that also marked a troubled start to Igor Tudor’s tenure in north London.
Eberechi Eze, who came close to joining Tottenham before Arsenal brought him to the club from Crystal Palace last August, broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute with an acrobatic finish from Bukayo Saka’s centre. The former Palace forward repeated the feat of his hat-trick in the earlier 4-1 fixture, extending a remarkable record against his potential former employers.
Tottenham levelled within 30 seconds of the restart when Randal Kolo Muani capitalised on a Declan Rice error to drill the ball home. Arsenal restored their lead almost immediately, however, with Viktor Gyokeres firing a thunderous strike past Guglielmo Vicario in the 47th minute. A Kolo Muani effort was subsequently ruled out for a foul on Gabriel Magalhaes.
Eze swept home a third in the 61st minute after intercepting Radu Dragusin’s header to launch the attack, and David Raya produced a fine recovery save to deny Richarlison late on. Gyokeres then forced the ball into the far corner in stoppage time to complete a comprehensive victory for the home side.
The result puts Arsenal five points clear of Manchester City, who had earlier reduced the deficit to two with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United, though the Citizens hold a game in hand. Tottenham, with Tudor yet to taste a win, sit just four points above the relegation zone.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
