**Mikel Arteta hailed the impact that Eberechi Eze has made at Arsenal after netting a hat-trick in their 4-1 victory in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.**
Arsenal took the lead through Leandro Trossard, who finished smartly from a tight angle after being fed through by a delightful pass from Mikel Merino.
But it was Eze, who snubbed Spurs back in August to rejoin his boyhood club, who grabbed the headlines with [the first hat-trick of his professional career](https://hayters.com/eze-reflects-on-scoring-north-london-derby-hat-trick/).
Returning from a successful international break with England, where he netted a stunning goal in their 2-0 win over Serbia, the 27-year-old picked up where he left off, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in the derby since Alan Sunderland in 1978.
“Things happen for a reason, and after the international duty, he had two days off, and after one day, he wanted to train and he wanted to improve and he went to do extra practice,” Arteta said.
“He was asking me questions about this and that, and when a player has such a talent and his desire is at that level, then these things happen and he fully deserves that.
“I’m so happy for him because since the day that he came, he brought something else to the team. It’s a joy, it’s an aura that this team needed and now hopefully will give him a lot of confidence to him and the team, that in any moment he can win us a game, and that’s the ability that he has, and he needs to fulfil that talent.”
The win means that Arsenal extend their lead at the top of the table to six points, with other results on the weekend going their way.
However, the Gunners’ testing period isn’t over yet, with German giants Bayern Munich visiting on Wednesday, followed by a clash with a high-flying Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.