London — Eberechi Eze And Victor Gyokres Both scored strongly twice 4-1 North London derby victory armory As the Gunners restored their five-point lead Manchester City on top of Premier League While 10 matches are left.
Eze, who became the first Arsenal player to score a Premier League hat-trick against Spurs in a 4-1 win at the Emirates last November, extended his scoring streak against the side he rejected in favor of visiting his boyhood team. crystal Palace Last summer, set traps twice. Meanwhile, Gyöckeres (two goals in the second half) produced their best performance since arriving Sporting CP Last summer. Although randall kolo muani Spurs were given hope of a positive result when they canceled out AZ’s first-half opener, with new coach Igor Tudor suffering a heavy defeat in his first game in charge, and his team facing a battle against relegation at the wrong end of the table.
City turned up the pressure on Arsenal with a 2-1 home win against Newcastle on Saturday, with Mikel Arteta’s side responding with character to claim victory against their local rival and send a message to City that is prepared to go the distance to win their first league title since 2004. — Mark Ogden
Braces from Victor Gyokres and Eberechi Eze give Arsenal their 5th consecutive North London derby win! pic.twitter.com/8swPaZX0YU
– NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) 22 February 2026
Arsenal respond to increasing pressure
Despite Tottenham’s ongoing struggles, it was presented as a major test of Arsenal’s character after the Gunners dropped four points. brentford And wolves in the last 10 days.
Manchester City turned up the pressure even further with a 2–1 win over Newcastle, reducing the gap to just two points at the kick-off, and equalized when Randall Kolo Muani caught the ball on 34 minutes. Declan Rice capture and finish beyond a narrow angle David RayaThey could easily fold once again. However, the difference in class between these two sides was obvious and, for some time, Arsenal played with the aim of eventually translating that superiority into a scoreline.
They might have been expected to win, as Spurs only had 13 senior fit players available and had won only two home league games all season, but it was still a result that should mitigate – if not silence – talk of Arsenal losing their “bottle” with still three months to go. –James Ollie
Let’s not deny it: Spurs are in a relegation battle
Igor Tudor now has 11 league games to save Tottenham Hotspur From relegation from the Premier League. It sounds incredible, but it is a truth that everyone at the club has to immediately accept.
Sunday’s heavy defeat left Spurs just four points above West Ham, who currently sit in third, but the Hammers, nottingham forest And Leeds have shown signs of being able to climb out of the drop zone in recent weeks. Spurs, meanwhile, have not won a single league game in 2026, and if they continue to play without any type of goal threat, they really look no closer to ending that streak any time soon.
Their next match is a tough trip against in-form London rivals fulham Ahead of a potentially crucial home game against Crystal Palace on 5 March. Palace are the second team in a five-way battle to avoid the drop, along with Spurs, West Ham, Leeds and Forest, and their form is almost as bad as Tottenham’s, with Oliver Glasner’s future as coach remaining a big question.
Spurs have games to dig themselves out of trouble, but when you haven’t won since December and your team lacks top quality and the ability to scrape by, you have a problem. Spurs have that problem, and denial about the position they are in could lead them to a once-unimaginable relegation. –Ogden
Eze excels and Gyökeres accomplishes his most important goal
Of all of Tottenham’s failed transfer moves, their inability to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace last summer may have troubled the club the most. Spurs had agreed a £60 million deal with Palace, with Eze opting to join the Gunners at the last minute.
How was his performance? Well, the 27-year-old has scored seven goals for Arsenal this season, five of which have come against Tottenham. Amazingly, Eze’s 32nd-minute strike on Sunday was his first shot on target in the league since his hat-trick in the November reverse match.
While Eze has struggled for consistent minutes this season, Victor Gyökeres has faltered under the weight of expectations following a summer transfer from Sporting Lisbon. He wasn’t exactly convincing again on Sunday, but his brilliant 47th-minute strike is probably the most important goal he has scored for the Gunners. You may be surprised to learn that this was their 14th match of the season, but many of those have come against weaker opposition or late in the game and the results are already beyond doubt.
Spurs are admittedly 16th in the league, but the match was firmly in the balance when Gyöckeres picked up the ball on the edge of the box and finished powerfully to restore the visitors’ lead. It was a moment that continued a recent upward trend and he took it further in stoppage time – reaching the 15 he scored the kind of goal we have seen too often, pressing across goal and turning the ball in from a narrow angle – as Arsenal swiftly counterattacked. –Oli
Tottenham fans shop at Tudor for now
The game was less than half an hour old when Spurs fans started singing “Igor Tudor’s blue and white army” and that was at least a positive thing for the new Tottenham coach during his first game in charge.
It was the resentment of Spurs fans that led to the downfall of Thomas Frank after half a season in charge, so the supporters’ voice has an impact on decisions made at the top levels of all clubs. And although the Spurs hierarchy was initially resistant to letting Frank go, a combination of poor results and fans’ anger ultimately cost him his job earlier this month.
It’s very early days for Tudor, but Spurs fans never warned former Brentford coach Frank, so the fact he already has buy-in from supporters is something he can build on.
Tudor was a left-field appointment, and most fans were – and may still be – skeptical of the former. Lazio And juventus boss, but the tenacity and desire shown by the Spurs players early in the game was down to Tudor’s management and motivation and impressed the supporters. The result obviously didn’t pan out, and Spurs still have a long way to go, but fans at least have confidence in their new coach. –Ogden
Arsenal’s individual mistakes continue, but not as costly this time
Moments after Eberechi Eze gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead, Declan Rice could be seen on the pitch telling his cheering teammates to stay focused and switch on. It was a message reiterated from interviews he gave in the buildup to Sunday’s derby, citing the need to address individual mistakes which cost Arsenal late on. And yet, just two minutes later, Randall Kolo Muani found Rice in possession deep in his own half, who turned and fired past David Raya to make the score 1–1.
Subsequently, this was the fourth such mistake to lead to a solitary goal in 2026 Gabriel Magalhaes in bournemouth, Martin Zubimendi against Manchester United And a mix between Gabriel and Raya in Wolves. This time they didn’t suffer a three-point deficit, but there was still work to do to stop them from making the game difficult for themselves, as Rice had rightly identified early on. –Oli
