Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham: Eze scores dream hat-trick in first North London derby

Eberechi Eze scored the first hat-trick in a Premier League North London derby as Arsenal crushed Tottenham 4-1 to move six points clear at the top of the table.

Eze has admitted to rejecting interest from Spurs prior to swapping Crystal Palace for the Emirates Stadium in August, and he left his former suitors reeling after a sensational individual showing.

It was Leandro Trossard that scored Arsenal's opener in the 36th minute, though, after they penned Spurs back in the early stages.

Makeshift centre-forward Mikel Merino found Trossard with an excellent chipped pass, and after a fine first touch, the Belgian saw his shot trickle in off Micky van de Ven.

Eze then took centre-stage, doubling Arsenal's lead five minutes later with the aid of another slight deflection off Van de Ven, having squirmed between Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur on the edge of the area.

Eze got his second goal just 35 seconds into the second half, finding the far corner on his left foot, with Spurs not attempting a shot of any description until the 55th minute.

Their first attempt, from Richarlison, sailed into the net from 40 yards out to give the away fans something to cheer, but Eze had the final say.

He completed his first Premier League hat-trick with a confident finish 14 minutes from time, having taken in Trossard's cutback from the left, and he could have had a fourth goal late on if not for a strong save from Guglielmo Vicario.

The result leaves Arsenal six points clear of Chelsea ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge next week, while Manchester City are another point back in third.

Data Debrief: Eze's derby day

Eze was released by Arsenal, his boyhood club, as a 13-year-old. But the England international never hesitated when given the opportunity to return in August.

Spurs were the team he rejected to join Mikel Arteta's side, and he tore them apart on Sunday, scoring just the fourth hat-trick in North London derby history.

The previous three all occurred before the Premier League era, scored by Ted Drake (for Arsenal, October 1934), Terry Dyson (for Spurs, August 1961) and Alan Sunderland (for Arsenal, December 1978).

Eze's treble was also the 400th hat-trick in Premier League history, while he is the 23rd player to net a treble for Arsenal – no team has had more different hat-trick scorers.

Spurs could have few complaints about the result, having only recorded 0.07 expected goals (xG). That is the lowest figure by any Premier League team this season, with the second-worst mark also coming from Thomas Frank's men, against Chelsea earlier in November.