Eberechi Eze gives Arsenal title-winning ‘aura’ with hat-trick in masterclass performance against Spurs | Football News

Tottenham were close to signing Eberechi Eze over the summer, but they were unable to get near him at the Emirates Stadium. It was a stark demonstration of what they missed, delivered by a man seemingly on a mission to hammer home the message.

Thomas Frank had tried to make fun of him. “Who is Eze?” he joked during his pre-match press conference. But Eze was determined to make his mark and did so in historic fashion, becoming the first Arsenal player since 1978 to score a hat-trick in a north London derby and inspire the Gunners to a thumping 4-1 victory.

“It’s special,” he smiles. Aerial sports After. “This is what I prayed for. I prayed for my triplet and I got it.” But it was more than just divine intervention. Mikel Arteta revealed Eze cut a day off before the game such was his determination to be ready.

“Things happen for a reason,” the Arsenal boss said. “After international duty he had two days off and after one day he wanted to train and he wanted to improve and he wanted to do extra training. He was asking me about this and that.

“When a player has such talent and his desire is at that level, then these things happen.”

His desire to make an impact was clear from the third minute of the game, when he put Declan Rice on goal with a delicious cut pass. Rice wasted the opening, sending his shot too close to Guglielmo Vicario. Eze would not make such a mistake.

His first goal, when he made space in a crowded Spurs box, too quick for Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha, before scoring low through more white-shirted defenders, was a perfect example of the qualities that made him so attractive to Arsenal.

Eze has the technical skills to find space in even the tightest spaces and never misses an opportunity to shoot. “Yeah, and it doesn’t have to be perfect,” Arteta then smiled. “He can be on the right, on the left, the ball on the ground, rebound, the ball at this height and he takes it. He has such quality and ability to finish actions in different ways.”

Eze demonstrated the same qualities for his second and third goals, but the finishing was even better. After finding the corner in merciless style thanks to Jurrien Timber’s square ball, he allowed a desperate Destiny Udogie to slide past him before sending Leandro Trossard’s pass, this time into the other corner of the net.

The goal sent him home with the match ball and capped a masterful individual performance. Eze has looked inhibited at times since arriving at Arsenal from Crystal Palace, but this was not one of them. He plays with a level of directness unusual among his teammates and that’s clearly not all that sets him apart.

“Since the day he arrived, he brought something else to the team, a certain joy, a certain aura that this team needed,” Arteta added in his press conference afterwards. “I hope it gives him and the team a lot of confidence.

“At any time he can win us a game and that’s his ability and he definitely needs to realize that talent.”

He does it now. But it all started with a phone call to Arteta as he was about to join Spurs. “When he picked up the phone last summer, I remember him saying he wanted to play for us and he wanted to be a part of this team. You really feel it.”

He was helped by a role that gave him freedom against Spurs.

With Martin Odegaard still out as he recovers from injury, Eze again started at number 10, although he was encouraged to swap positions with makeshift striker Mikel Merino.

“He finds a way to be in and around the box,” Arsenal legend Thierry Henry said on Aerial sports. “He didn’t have a real number 9 to play and that’s why I think it was easier for him to get into the box, because there’s no number 9 presence. He was sometimes number 9.”

He appreciated this opportunity. As well as scoring three goals, Eze finished the match with more shots and more touches in the opponent’s box than any other player, with six and seven respectively, focusing on doing maximum damage.

It was by far his best performance yet for Arsenal, but it also hinted at how much more is still to come from him.

“When Eze came, I thought, OK, maybe this won’t be a game changer,” said Aerial sports pundit Jamie Carragher after the match.

“But then we saw some of his highlights this season, there were a few more big goals and then he scores a hat-trick. So, apologies. I definitely underestimated the importance of this signing because it looks like he could make the real difference for Arsenal this season and win the title.”

That’s Arsenal’s hope now, six points clear at the top and, thanks in part to the addition of Eze and the ‘aura’ displayed against Spurs, looking every bit like a team capable of winning the prize.