A brace apiece from Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze gave us a memorable north London derby win.
We had controlled most of the first half, racking up 12 shots, and took the lead when Eze controlled Saka’s cross, before swivelling to smash home.
Just two minutes later though we surrendered the lead when Declan Rice was dispossessed just outside our own box, and Randal Kolo Muani drove on to fire beyond David Raya.
We came out fired up for the second half, and Gyokeres blasted home a beauty from the edge of the box to put us back ahead, before Eze’s second of the afternoon gave us breathing space.
Gyokeres capped a superb performance with our fourth in injury-time to replicate our score from the home derby in November.
**Early dominance**
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We began the game full of intent, dominating the ball in the early exchanges and creating all the early chances.
Viktor Gyokeres had a header blocked before Leandro Trossard tried his luck from distance when Guglielmo Vicario was caught outside of his area to deal with a David Raya long pass.
The Belgian’s attempt from fully 30 yards was cleared away to safety by a back-peddling Radu Dragusin.
Gyokeres then burst into the area before shooting just wide as we hemmed the hosts back into their own half in the opening 10 minutes.
Our momentum was somewhat killed though by a tech issue for the officials, which held up play for at least five minutes.
After play eventually resumed William Saliba headed wide from our first corner, and Trossard blazed well over after latching onto a loose pass.
But we had nothing to show for our dominance in the first 20 minutes, and indeed Raya had to be alert to race out of his box and get to the ball ahead of the advancing Conor Gallagher.
**Goal for each team**
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Just past the half hour we finally got the goal we deserved. Bukayo Saka did well to beat Pape Matar Sarr on the byline and put his ball into the danger zone. Eze controlled it then got his foot up high to the bouncing ball to angle his shot beyond Vicario and break the deadlock.
It was his fourth goal against our local rivals this season, following his hat-trick at Emirates Stadium in November.
But our lead was short-lived. Two minutes later Rice had his pocket picked by Kolo Muani outside the area, and the Frenchman drove on before beating Raya low down.
The game had opened up. Saka raced onto an excellent Piero Hincapie searching pass through the middle, but was denied by Vicario when one-on-one.
Trossard was next to go close, squeezing his shot just wide through a crowded penalty area. Replays showed it just clipped Bissouma’s heel for a corner on the way through.
**Gyokeres and Eze give us room**
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The second half was once again delayed by communication problems for the officials, but one it did get underway Gyokores wasted no time in firing back into the lead.
Jurrien Timber rolled the ball from the right onto the feet of the Swede just outside the area, he took a touch before thumping his finish beyond the flailing Vicario inside the area. It was a superb finish for his 14th of the season.
Kolo Muani had the ball in the net again soon after, but was adjudged to have pushed Gabriel to get to the cross.
On the hour we increased our advantage. Good play between Gyokeres, Eze and Saka resulted in a chance for the latter as he burst into the box. He was crowded out, but the loose ball squirmed free for Eze to dispatch his second of the afternoon.
He became the first Arsenal player to score five goals against Spurs in the same season, and it also made it five goals at this stadium in his last three appearances, including for previous side Crystal Palace.
**Gyokeres seals it**
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Relegation-threatened Tottenham – with new head coach Igor Tudor in charge for the first time – were in danger of being overrun. But after Trossard and Saka both shot wide, they nearly pulled one back through Richarlison. His flicked shot went through Raya’s legs, only for our Spaniard to superbly reach back and claw it off the line.
We had the final say though. Gyokeres – a tireless performer all day up front – grabbed our fourth in jury time, easily holding off Archie Gray before tucking past Vicario.
It’s the first time we have won four consecutive away matches against Tottenham since 1955, and the first time we have won five in a row home and away since 1989.
More importantly the result put us five points clear at the top of the table.
**What’s next**
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It’s a very rare midweek without a game for us – the first time in 2026 – and we’ll return with a home game against Chelsea in the Premier League next Sunday. That will be followed by a midweek trip to Brighton in the league before the FA Cup fifth round clash away to Mansfield.
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