Arsenal could feel the breath of Manchester City on their necks and the questions mounting; the anxiety all around them.
The draw at Wolves on Wednesday been a disaster and, with only two Premier League wins in seven, everybody seemed to want to say the same thing. Mikel Arteta and his players were cracking up in their pursuit of the title.
This was the soothing tonic they craved, a comfortable and confident dismissal of a Tottenham team desperate to feel a new manager bounce under Igor Tudor.
Spurs did show personality to find a Randal Kolo Muani goal for 1-1 in the 34th minute; it was the striker’s first for the club in the league.
There was the moment on 84 minutes when Richarlison, on as a substitute, drew a brilliant save out of David Raya. The stadium was far less toxic after the sacking of Thomas Frank and Tudor’s appointment until the end of the season. There were not really any boos. Yet the pickings remained extremely slim.
It was not a day for Tudor and the injury-ravaged squad he has inherited; one to alleviate the relegation fears that are running wild in this corner of north London. Rather it was one for Arsenal and two of their players, in particular.
Everybody knows the story about Eberechi Eze, how he chose Arsenal over Spurs last summer and scored a hat-trick in the north London derby in November, which Arsenal won 4-1. Equally, everybody knows how Viktor Gyökeres, another expensive new recruit, has laboured at times.
Eze was at it again here, putting his own poor form behind him, while Gyökeres showed up in some style – a threat from start to finish. Both scored twice, Eze’s second for 3‑1 just after the hour being the moment when any glimmer of Spurs hope left the building. Rather abruptly, he is Arsenal’s joint-third highest scorer in this fixture. Only Robert Pires (seven) and Emmanuel Adebayor (six) have more.
When Gyökeres surged through in stoppage time to beat Guglielmo Vicario, it was the prompt for thousands of Spurs fans to stream for the exits. Their misery goes on. It is now just two league wins in 18 and the unthinkable continues to nag. Arsenal, back up to five points above City, albeit having played an extra game, can feel a lot better about their prospects.
Arteta recalled Eze to the starting lineup and there was an inevitability about him being the player to break the deadlock. Arsenal had flickered at the outset, the combination between Jurriën Timber and Bukayo Saka looking dangerous. When the latter played in the former on four minutes, Gyökeres saw a header blocked in front of the line by Radu Dragusin.
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