Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta celebrates thumping north London derby win over Tottenham, praises 'magic' hat-trick hero Eberechi Eze

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Eberechi Eze was thrilled to grab a hat-trick in Arsenal's 4-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the north London derby. His manager, Mikel Arteta, was full of praise for the "magic" England international, recognising how important the victory was in the context of the rivalry between the two north London sides and the Premier League title race.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrated a "beautiful day" after a 4-1 win over Tottenham was inspired by a "magic" performance from Eberechi Eze.

Eze scored a hat-trick on Sunday evening at the Emirates to increase the pressure on Spurs boss Thomas Frank, and move The Gunners six points clear of second-placed Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring before two of Eze's goals, while Richarlison made it 3-1 before the Player of the Match completed his hat-trick. The result leaves Tottenham ninth in the league after 12 games, but they could drop to 10th depending on the result of Manchester United v Everton on Monday night.

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Speaking to BBC Sport after the win, Arteta celebrated the win given its importance to the local rivalry in north London.

He said: "It's a very special day for us. We knew the importance of the match and what it means to our fans. To be able to give them that joy, it's a beautiful day."

Eze’s hat-trick in the fixture was only the fourth in its history, and the Spaniard praised the England international for his performance.

Arteta said: "That tells you about the difficulty and what he's done today. To be fair, he could have scored four or five. He's a big player who can create magic moments which unbalance a team.

"We dominated every part of the game. We created massive chances and had a lot of actions that we were very close to scoring. We stayed patient.

"Whoever we put in there, they do the jobs for us. This squad has the belief and quality to deliver consistently.

"We have really good momentum, but you can see how difficult every game in the Premier League is. It's a long run; let's go game by game. Let's enjoy tonight, then we have Bayern [Munich] here and Chelsea away. We have a tough week."

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Eze 'prayed' for hat-trick

Hat-trick hero Eze spoke to Sky Sports after his team’s win, and he was thrilled with the three points and his three-goal haul.

He said: "That's a good one, man. Enjoyable day. Happy to help the team and to win today was special.

"It's special. I am grateful. I prayed for it. This is what I pray for. I prayed for a hat-trick, so I am grateful to God.

"That was the prayer today. God gave it to me and that is faith, man. All my family is here and that makes it even more special for me."

Asked about his favourite goal of the three, he replied: "They are all good. Maybe the second one; that was my favourite. All of them are good for me because I have been working on the process to get in that position, so that's good again.

"It is special. Words can't explain this one today."

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