Eberechi Eze scored his first senior hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank picked a five-man defence as he looked to keep things tight at Emirates Stadium, but his side could not contain the league leaders.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for an utterly dominant Arsenal in the 36th minute, finishing well after a lovely through ball from Mikel Merino.
Then Eze, who almost joined Spurs in the summer from Crystal Palace before a late swoop by Arsenal, doubled the hosts’ advantage before the break – beating two players on the edge of the box before drilling a strike past Gugliemo Vicario.
Frank scrapped his back-five plan at half-time and brought on Xavi Simons as he looked to inject some more attacking intent into his lacklustre side.
But Arsenal extended their advantage just 23 seconds into the second half, when Eze curled a left-footed strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Tottenham were pinned back for large parts of the match, but Richarlison did pull a goal back for the visitors by lifting the ball over the stranded David Raya from about 40 yards out.
However, Eze added gloss to the scoreline – and completed a brilliant hat-trick – with another expert finish past Vicario in the 76th minute.
Arsenal’s six-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the table is their biggest advantage at this stage of any Premier League campaign.
The Gunners are looking to win their first title since 2004 – and after three second-place finishes in succession.
