What a day it turned out to be for Eze, an Arsenal fan since childhood.
Before the match, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank joked “who?” when asked how close Eze was to becoming a Spurs player in the summer. Those words certainly came back to haunt him.
A first hat-trick at senior level is a huge milestone in itself, let alone a first hat-trick in the history of the Premier League’s North London derby.
Eze signed for Arsenal in a deal worth £67m and is beginning to establish himself as one of the first names in manager Mikel Arteta’s squad.
When he signed for the Gunners there were doubts about where he would fit into the team but, following captain Odegaard’s injury, Eze has grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
The 27-year-old has taken some time to adapt as he has become accustomed to a different role in this Arsenal team than the one he was used to at Crystal Palace, but he has already started to deliver big moments.
He provided a superb pass for Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time equalizer against City, scored the winning goal against Palace and now has his first senior hat-trick against rivals Tottenham.
Eze offers something different to the rest of Arsenal’s forwards and his unpredictability adds another advantage to Arsenal’s forward line.
The Gunners have two more important games ahead, with games against Bayern Munich and Chelsea, but Eze will relish the challenge given the form he is in now.
“That’s him. He had two days off after the England camp and after the first day he wanted to train,” Arteta said.
“I wanted to come back and get better and ask questions. When you have such talent and such intelligence and then you add that willingness to be better and practice, these things happen.”
No English player has been involved in more goals than Eze in 2025 in the Premier League. Only Erling Haaland (25), Mohamed Salah (23), Bryan Mbeumo (21) and Antoine Semenyo (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals than Arsenal’s number 10 (18 – 10 goals, eight assists).
“I know how much this move from Crystal Palace meant to him and what a performance by him. The best player on the pitch,” former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“This is where his Arsenal career takes off.”
