Tottenham Vs Arsenal: Eze and Gyökeres each score twice as Gunners move five points clear in derby
The North London derby — Tottenham Vs Arsenal — ended with Arsenal emphatically on top as Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres each scored twice, a result that moved the visitors five points clear at the summit and deepened Tottenham’s relegation worries.
Match: Tottenham Vs Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Arsenal converted four goals from open play to complete a 4-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Eze opened the scoring with an acrobatic close-range finish, only for a rare Declan Rice mistake to allow Randal Kolo Muani to restore parity for Spurs. Gyökeres lashed home from outside the box early in the second half to put Arsenal back in front, and Eze struck again near the hour mark — his fifth goal of the season against Spurs. Gyökeres added a late, well-taken finish in added time to complete his brace.
Players: Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyökeres and Randal Kolo Muani
Eze and Gyökeres were central to Arsenal’s win. Eze said his work ethic and goals create dangerous situations for team-mates, and Gyökeres reflected that the side work on those moves in training and that he had tried to put Eze into similar positions earlier in the season. Gyökeres later conceded he was satisfied with aspects of his performance while acknowledging room for improvement. Spurs’ goal came from Randal Kolo Muani after a defensive error by Declan Rice; Kolo Muani also saw a separate strike disallowed for offside during the match.
Managers and context: Igor Tudor, Thomas Frank and the relegation picture
Igor Tudor’s appointment at Tottenham was framed as a move to avoid relegation; his chequered managerial CV includes Hajduk Split, Galatasaray, Udinese, Marseille, Lazio and Juventus, and he has a reputation for fast starts and a powerful personality that can alter atmospheres at clubs. The result leaves Spurs in a precarious league position: they have not won a game in 2026 and sit fifth bottom, two points above Nottingham Forest and four above West Ham, with observers warning the situation is grave. Some fans and commentators have said they can’t see a way out of the drop, invoking past declines as a warning sign.
Arsenal: title pressure, cup commitments and recent wobble
Arsenal remain top of the Premier League and now lead by five points, having played one more game than Manchester City. The club also finished top of their Champions League group with eight wins from eight and face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final while holding an FA Cup fifth-round tie at League One Mansfield Town — a fixture described as eminently winnable. Yet the Gunners carry obvious strain: they have won only two of their last seven Premier League matches and suffered a chaotic collapse at Wolves where a 2-0 lead was surrendered in stoppage time. That late equaliser, a 94th-minute strike by Tom Edozie that eventually went in off Riccardo Calafiori after a collision involving goalkeeper David Raya and defender Gabriel, provoked on-field arguments and wider questions about Arsenal’s nerve.
Statistics and incidents: set-piece delays, chants, and tactical notes
Several concrete measures underline the story. Opta data shows Arsenal have taken a league-high 117 minutes in total to restart games from corners this campaign and have the longest average restart delay at 44 seconds. At the derby, commentators noted all four Arsenal goals were from open play and suggested coaching work remains for Mikel Arteta and assistant Nicolas Jover on training ground details. Spurs mustered four shots in the match — one more than they managed in the earlier fixture between the sides, when they managed three. Pitchside reaction included taunting chants from the away end, while some observers questioned the presence of military imagery in coverage of football.
On a personal level, the match produced small moments that caught the eye: Declan Rice briefly pulled his shirt over his face while speaking with Bukayo Saka, Gary Neville awarded Gyökeres the match’s player of the match, and several pundits suggested the victory could be a turning point for Arsenal with Eze now effectively established in the first XI and Gyökeres growing in confidence. The timing matters because the result not only extends Arsenal’s lead but also intensifies the examination of Tottenham’s prospects under Tudor and of Arsenal’s capacity to manage the mounting pressure of a genuine title bid.
