Eberechi
Eze scored a historic hat-trick in his first north London derby
on Sunday, continuing his fine start to life at
Arsenal.
If there was one concern Arsenal might have had heading into the
weekend’s north London derby, it would have been the absence of key
centre-back Gabriel Magalhães – and not just for his
defensive capabilities.
He is a big part of why Mikel Arteta’s side have one of the best
defences in Premier
League history, on course to concede just 19 goals across the
whole season at their current rate. But he is also a major part of
their goal threat, too, as one of the game’s most dangerous players
at attacking set-pieces.
Without him, there might have been some reason to worry that
Arsenal
could struggle to break Tottenham
down. Spurs set up at the Emirates with a five-man defence for the
first time in 18 games, last doing so in the UEFA Super Cup against
PSG in August. Their game plan was, first and foremost, about
shutting Arsenal down.
Arsenal haven’t exactly been poor in open play this season, but
a few questions have been asked as to whether they rely too heavily
on dead balls. After all, it was only through set-piece goals that
they secured single-goal victories over Newcastle, Fulham and
Crystal Palace in the past couple of months. Against an obdurate
Tottenham, who came into the weekend with the third-best defensive
record in the Premier League this season, and with no fit
recognised centre-forward and key creator Martin Ødegaard also out
injured, Arsenal were facing a tough test.
As it turns out, there was no need to worry, and the main reason
for that was Eberechi Eze.
The midfielder, who came close to joining Tottenham in the
summer but ended up choosing his boyhood club, starred in
a resounding and one-sided 4-1 victory – Arsenal’s
joint-biggest margin of victory over their rivals in a Premier
League game, and their biggest since November 2012 (a 5-2 win).
All four Arsenal goals came in open play, with Eze scoring the
first hat-trick in a north London derby in Premier League
history.
Having only joined in the summer, Eze has already ensured his
place as an Arsenal legend, but more importantly in the context of
his new side’s hopes for winning a first Premier League title in
two decades, he is making significant contributions on the pitch.
On Sunday, he proved he can play a big role in solving any issues
Arsenal have in open play.
Eze had twice as many shots (six) as any other player in the
game, and twice as many as all of Spurs’ players managed between
them, with his 0.66 xG almost 10 times the amount Tottenham
accumulated (0.07 xG). He also created one chance, and it very
nearly, and probably should have, resulted in a goal when he
slipped Declan Rice in behind the Tottenham defence with a
delightfully weighted scoop with the game goalless.
He’s a man in sensational form. In 2025, only Erling Haaland
(25), Mohamed Salah (23) and Bryan Mbeumo (21) have been involved
in more Premier League goals than him (18 – 10 goals, 8 assists), a
record that spans the end of his time at Crystal
Palace and the start of his Arsenal career.
The fact he is playing in a new team makes his impact even more
impressive. He was already up to speed with the Premier League –
and as the previous stat shows, he was clearly already playing very
well – but the challenges that come with adapting to a new
environment and being tasked with playing for a team in the title
race should not be underestimated. Nor should the increased
workload with playing the first European campaign of his
career.
He started only one of Arsenal’s first five Premier League
matches of the season but has quickly become a key member of the
team. In their fifth match, he was called upon from the bench at
half-time with his side trailing 1-0 to Manchester City, before
coming up with the assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s late
equaliser.
Despite playing 797 of a possible 1,080 minutes in the Premier
League this season, Eze has had more shots (25) than any other
Arsenal player. He ranks sixth in the whole Premier League for
non-pen goal involvements, both overall (six) and on a per-90 basis
(0.68) of players to play at least 500 minutes.
As was the case on Sunday and for that assist against City, many
of his best, biggest and most important contributions have come in
open play. Enzo Fernández (4.0) and Morgan Gibbs-White (2.3) are
the only non-forwards/wingers ahead of Eze for open-play xG this
season (1.9), but Eze has played at least 175 minutes less than
either of them. And, as mentioned, he has done it while settling
into a new team – and one who have had some issues with open-play
chance creation.
He is also among the top 25 in the league for expected assists
from open play (1.3 xA), too. Combine them, and only Enzo (5.4) is
ahead of him (3.2) among the same group of
non-forwards/wingers.
Sunday’s game could not have gone any better for Eze. An Arsenal
fan growing up, he was playing in his first north London derby and
he was the best player on the pitch as he scored an unprecedented
hat-trick.
But for Arsenal, this was more than just a hugely enjoyable
derby-day victory. This was a display that dispelled any lingering
worries about one potential, yet ever-so-slight, perceived
weakness.
And Eze was the key to it all.
Subscribe
to our football
newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should
also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
