How Arteta unlocked Eze's best with a clever tactical tweak and punished Spurs

On a pulsating Sunday afternoon at the Emirates, Eberechi Eze lit up the North London Derby — a virtuoso performance that underscored not just his raw talent, but Mikel Arteta’s growing ability to harness it.

The England international’s clinical hat-trick drove Arsenal to a 4–1 thrashing over Tottenham, extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points.

Yet this was the product of positional freedom, and a coach trusting his most mercurial attacker.

A striking element of the match was how Arteta deployed Eze in a more central role. Rather than being tacked to the left flank or confined to wide attacking duties, Eze was given licence to roam and exploit the pockets of space that Tottenham left open. This strategic move was decisive.

His goals all came from around the edge of the box — zones where his creative instincts and finishing combine lethal efficiency.

Spurs, for their part, struggled to track him — on his second goal, he was left unmarked before firing in a left-footed curler.

By positioning Eze centrally, Arteta tapped into the player’s best qualities: his dribbling and ability to make late, unpredictable runs into dangerous zones. It was not just a positional shift — it was a recalibration of how Eze is used in the attacking architecture.

Beyond the goals, Arteta was effusive in his praise for Eze’s presence, saying on Sunday he brought ‘an aura… that this team needed’.

He added: ‘When a player has such a talent, and his desire is at that level, then these things happen. He fully deserves it. I'm so happy for him, because since the day that he came in, he brought something else to the team.

‘Hopefully it will give him a lot of confidence, to him and the team, that at any moment he can win us a game. And that's the ability that he has, and he certainly needs to fulfil that talent.’

It’s not hyperbole. Eze’s movement unsettled Spurs’ defence, and his off-ball intelligence liberated other creative outlets.

And when the defence tightened, Eze’s energy forced Spurs to make compromises, opening up pockets for others like Trossard and Timber.

The timing and quality of the three finishes were also worth noting. His first — just before half-time — came after a precise pass from Declan Rice and a composed, low strike inside the post followed.

The second, almost instantly after the restart, featured a smooth transition and a cool left-footed curler.

And his third, in the 76th minute, saw him drift in from Timber’s pass, shift past a defender, and calmly tuck it home.

These weren’t scrappy goals. They were evidence of a player who has a range of finishes in his locker and is not fazed in pressure moments, or in matches with emotional weight such as a North London Derby.

It’s arguably a turning point. Despite his flair, he’s had moments this season where his impact felt muted. But on Sunday, he delivered when it mattered most. He made those around him better — and he made Spurs pay for coming so close to signing him in the summer.

That said, the visitors were tactically naïve at times, with future opponents likely to be more disciplined, meaning Eze’s central freedom could be harder to exploit.

What is undisputed, though, is that by giving him a central role, and allowing him the freedom to create and finish, Arteta unlocked a new dimension in Arsenal’s attack.

It was a performance that might not just define the game, but go further than that. Eze isn’t just a talent. He can be a match-winner.