A statement arrival as an Arsenal player.
Eberechi Eze emphatically announced himself with his hat-trick against Tottenham – a moment that could redefine his Gunners career.
Eze’s talent was already well-documented from his Crystal Palace days, and he’d shown flashes of brilliance since joining Arsenal.
However, at a club of Arsenal’s stature, the true test lies in performing during major fixtures. Sunday’s 4-1 north London derby victory provided the perfect stage for Eze to deliver his finest performance in an Arsenal shirt.
The fact that Eze is an Arsenal fan only amplified the significance of the occasion. He became the first player since 1978 to score a hat-trick in this fixture, and he made it look effortless.
As I mentioned on Match of the Day, Eze was a joy to watch, possessing a remarkable ability to make the game appear deceptively simple.
His finishing for all three goals was exceptional, complemented by his skill, movement, and spatial awareness. Comfortable with both feet, he exhibits elegance and a beautiful command of the ball.
Eze’s role is to unlock deep-lying defenses like Tottenham’s, and he showcased every facet of his game in doing so.
Following such a performance, he’ll undoubtedly feel a surge of confidence. Yet, the sheer magnitude of achieving this in the North London Derby signifies a turning point for him.
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Eze fires hat-trick as Arsenal thrash Tottenham
From personal experience, I know there are certain games where making the decisive impact resonates with fans forever.
Having been at Liverpool for over three years, scoring my first winner against Manchester United in 2000 marked a turning point. While I was accustomed to fan interactions, that goal against our biggest rivals elevated everything.
Suddenly, I was the player who scored *that* goal against *them*. It was as if people regarded me differently – more favorably – for delivering joy in such a meaningful fixture.
The same will hold true for Eze. The immediate impact is a surge of confidence, making him feel invincible.
Whether it’s against Bayern Munich in the Champions League or Chelsea in the Premier League, Eze will know he has the fans whole-heartedly behind him. He’s earned their adoration.
That feeling of fan support translates directly to your game. You think, “Give me the ball, what brilliance can I conjure next?” It’s an amazing feeling, driving you to express yourself and showcase your abilities.
That feeling applies to any player scoring a hat-trick in a game of this magnitude, but it means even more as a fan of the team.
There is a certain connection with supporters that is hard to replicate if you haven’t experienced it yourself.
Having been at Old Trafford as a Liverpool fan, I understood what beating United meant to our supporters, just as Eze will know what beating Spurs means to Arsenal fans.
His performance on Sunday will be etched in his memory forever, and the supporters will recognize his understanding of the rivalry.
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How Eze shone for Arsenal in derby debut
He is going to have an incredible few weeks. The only slight danger when something like this happens is you get carried away and start to think you really are amazing and things will just happen for you in games – it doesn’t work like that!
But Eze is such a humble guy he would never think like that anyway. His work ethic shows you what his attitude is like and, against Spurs, he was still chasing players back into his own half from a corner even after he had scored his hat-trick.
There are some players who I watch now and really want to do well, whoever they play for, because they are such likeable characters – and Eze is one of those.
He has done things the hard way to become an Arsenal and England player at the age of 27 and his story, having been released by Arsenal’s academy aged 13, makes it even more incredible.
Eze is the type of player Arteta can rely on. He’s creative, he’s confident and he’s a game-changer. I called him a “wow footballer” on Match of the Day because he excites me so much, and I am looking forward to what comes next for him too.
The only dilemma for Arsenal is they have got Martin Odegaard and Eze who can both play as wonderful number 10s.
Who does Arteta pick? It’s a great problem to have.
Only Erling Haaland (25), Mohamed Salah (23) and Bryan Mbeumo (21) have had more goal involvements in the Premier League in 2025-26 than Eberechi Eze
If things had gone differently in the summer, Eze could have been lining up against Arsenal on Sunday rather than playing for them.
It probably makes the defeat even more painful for Spurs that a player they tried to sign ended up scoring a hat-trick against them.
But Eze’s achievement was just the icing on the cake for Arteta’s side, because there were outstanding performances right through their team.
Mikel Merino was playing out of position again at centre-forward but caused Spurs so many problems. Jurrien Timber’s performance at right-back was as good as I’ve seen from anyone in that position for a long time – he is in the conversation with the likes of Achraf Hakimi now as being among the best in the world.
We’ve already seen Cristhian Mosquera come in for William Saliba and fill in without any problems and now we’ve seen Piero Hincapie come in for Gabriel and look dominant too.
When Arsenal signed Mosquera and Hincapie in the summer, we talked about how they had added to their depth on paper, but we are seeing the strength of their squad on the pitch now too. It has created a competition for places that has enhanced everyone’s performances.
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Arsenal ‘dominated in every part of the game’ in ‘beautiful’ derby – Arteta
Arteta must be delighted to see the levels his players are at, not just in terms of their technical ability but also with their physicality and work-rate.
All of them are willing to give everything because they know if they don’t, they won’t play – and Arteta deserves great credit for that. He has created a mindset where the hard work is as important as their attacking play, if not more so.
They don’t carry anyone and even up front, Viktor Gyokeres, who was missing against Spurs because of injury, has epitomised their attitude to pressing.
You know it doesn’t matter who plays, they will all be at it defensively. That obviously takes discipline mentally, but physically they all look ready too.
Every aspect of their game is exactly where it should be and they look so full of belief in what they are doing.
One of the thing that impresses me the most is you can see that, even if they have an off day with the ball, it doesn’t look like they are going to ever have an off day without it.
They look like a powerhouse, a unit that is focused on winning games and is desperate to put the last few years of finishing second in the Premier League to bed.
The way they are playing at the moment is ominous for everyone else, because it is hard to see how anyone is going to challenge them.
Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
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