Arsenal hat-trick hero Eze cherishes 'special' North London derby debut

Eberechi Eze said his first taste of the North London derby was beyond his wildest dreams after scoring a historic hat-trick in Arsenal's 4-1 rout of Tottenham.

Arsenal opened a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Sunday as they crushed their rivals at the Emirates Stadium, with Eze helping himself to three goals after Leandro Trossard opened the scoring.

Eze, who rejected interest from Spurs to sign for his boyhood club in August, netted a quickfire double either side of half-time then powered past Guglielmo Vicario to end Spurs' hopes of a comeback with 14 minutes to play, after Richarlison had pulled a goal back from 40 yards out.

He is just the fourth player to score a hat-trick in the history of the North London derby, but the first to do so in a Premier League fixture.

When told he had made history, Eze told BBC Match of the Day: "That is crazy. It's a special day man. A special day for me and for my family. 

"I don't think I could've ever dreamt of it. This is more special than that. I can only thank God. 

"We were prepared for whatever setup they were coming with because of the diligence of our staff.

"That is a huge credit to them, and of course, to the players in our team, the ability, the talent, from whatever angle, we're threatening to score goals. 

"It was a good performance, a good three points and a special day. I probably should've scored four to be honest. I'm always trying to score, always trying to take my chances. 

"It's important to be relentless. We're focused on ourselves; we're focused on putting in our work every day. It's not by chance that we perform like this."

The previous players to net a treble in the history of the fixture are Ted Drake (for Arsenal in October 1934), Terry Dyson (for Spurs in August 1961) and Alan Sunderland (for Arsenal in December 1978). 

Eze's hat-trick was also the 400th in Premier League history, as he became the 23rd different player to score one for Arsenal – no other side has had more different hat-trick scorers in the competition.