Biggest win in 48 years 

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Not for at least a decade had a North London derby held such importance for Arsenal beyond just bragging rights. The Premier League leaders had witnessed their advantage at the top crumble from seven to two points in a matter of weeks, and failing to beat Tottenham in their state-of-the-art home would give Manchester City all the motivation necessary to climb above them. Mikel Arteta knew what was at stake for his side – anything but a win could only be classified as a disaster.

But if it appeared to be a difficult game on paper, it certainly wasn’t in reality. Spurs are in disarray, having moved onto their third head coach in the space of nine months. A team with the worst form in the Premier League over the past seven games looked every bit as hopeless as their recent results suggest. That being said, Arsenal still needed to find the net – and their two big summer signings, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres, stepped up when the Gunners needed them most.

It was a mismatch before the first whistle had even been blown. Arsenal’s bench was comprised of nine players with a combined market value of €331 million, while Spurs had four teenagers on theirs with a value of €90.2 million. It’s true that the hosts were unfortunate to be plagued by injury for this game, with 11 senior players sidelined. But when looking at the difference in recruitment over the past five years, it’s easy to identify why the gap between the two clubs are widening.

Spurs spent €65 million on Xavi Simons and €63.8 million on Mohammed Kudus in the summer respectively, a combined €128.8 million. Arsenal bought Eze and Gyökeres for just €7.5 million more. One club prioritised long-term planning by taking a punt on two players with potential, the other opted to for proven talent looking to make the next step up to the highest echelon in football. There are no prizes for guessing which strategy has yielded more effective results, with Simons and Kudus both struggling to produce game-winning moments like Eze and Gyökeres did on Sunday.

Arsenal dominated possession and the chances, with Eze playing a central role in the No. 10 after watching Bukayo Saka take his place of late. It was a big show of faith in the €69 million signing from Crystal Palace, with captain Martin Ødegaard only on the bench. But he needed only 32 minutes to make his mark, volleying home from Saka’s low cross after a delightful touch inside the 18-yard box. With 90 seconds, Spurs levelled from a rare Declan Rice mistake, with Randal Kolo Muani aptly scoring the first goal under new head coach Igor Tudor.

But Arsenal raced out of the blocks in the second half, with another marquee signing who has struggled getting a much-needed goal. This time it was Gyökeres, who found himself with space on the edge of the box and produced a clinical finish into the bottom corner past Guglielmo Vicario. Then Eze made it five goals in two against the opposition this season after some sloppy defending from Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin. It’s hard to believe Eze went 18 games without a goal when he looked this confident.

Arsenal put the icing on the cake in stoppage time, with Gyökeres displaying the kind of strength and sublime finish that the Swede hasn’t produced enough since his arrival in London. But with this game, maybe he has finally announced himself in Arsenal colours. The scoreboard read 4-1, with fans leaving a long time before the end after witnessing Tottenham’s heaviest home defeat in this fixture since a 5-0 loss at White Hart Lane in 1978. Arsenal were accused of being ‘bottlers’ in the title race against Wolves, but with this convincing victory, few can deny they have the look of likely champions.