Eberechi Eze was the scourge of Tottenham Hotspur again as his double on Sunday restored Arsenal’s five-point lead at the top of the English Premier League in a 4-1 win, while Liverpool needed Alexis Mac Allister’s 97th-minute goal to beat Nottingham Forest 1-0.
Eze, who nearly joined Spurs prior to moving to Arsenal from Crystal Palace in August last year, scored his first goals since netting a hat-trick in the first north London derby of the season in November.
The pressure was on Arsenal to respond after back-to-back draws at Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers had allowed Manchester City to close in at the top.
Photo: AP
Mikel Arteta’s men rose to the challenge to inflict more pain on their local rivals in Igor Tudor’s first match as interim Tottenham boss.
“I think you have to bring context to the situation, and this is the beauty of football,” Arteta said.
“We lift everyone up immediately. Now we have to show what we are made of. That is about attitude and how you respond to a difficult moment,” he added.
Photo: AP
Eze has even struggled for minutes in the past few weeks as Arteta has favored other options.
However, restored to the starting lineup, Eze repaid his manager’s faith.
The England international hooked in the opening goal from close range just after the half-hour mark, but Tottenham leveled almost immediately through Randal Kolo Muani.
Viktor Gyokeres restored Arsenal’s lead early in the second half with his most significant goal so far for the Gunners.
Eze was on hand to roll in his second goal after Guglielmo Vicario denied Bukayo Saka.
Gyokeres then rounded off the scoring in stoppage time.
City have a game in hand in the title race and home advantage when the top two meet in April.
However, a much-needed victory gives Arsenal some breathing space in their quest for a first league title in 22 years.
Tottenham remain just four points above the relegation zone.
“It was a difficult game,” said Tudor. “It was a lesson.”
Mac Allister admitted “nothing was good” about much of Liverpool’s performance despite snatching a crucial win in their battle for UEFA Champions League qualification.
Forest’s fourth manager of the season, Vitor Pereira, was taking charge for the first time in the league, and his side looked set to earn a deserved point until a dramatic finale.
Mac Allister had a goal ruled out when he charged down Ola Aina’s clearance in the closing stages.
The ball was deemed to have struck the Argentine midfielder on the arm.
However, to Pereira’s fury, Forest did not heed the warning as they slipped to within two points of the bottom three.
Mac Allister swept home a rebound after Virgil van Dijk’s header was saved.
Liverpool remain in sixth, but climb level on points with Chelsea and Manchester United, and within six points of Aston Villa.
“I love scoring, I love winning, so in that sense I think it’s a really good day,” said Mac Allister. “But on the other hand, I don’t think we played very well. There’s plenty of things we need to improve.”
Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sunderland said they were appalled by the racial abuse directed at their players on social media on Sunday following defeats in the Premier League.
Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare and Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle received online abuse, with the incidents coming less than 24 hours after Wesley Fofana and Hannibal Mejbri were racially abused following Chelsea’s draw with Burnley.
Wolves said they were disgusted by the multiple instances of abuse received by Arokodare following their 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.
“We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity,” the club said in a statement.
Sunderland, who lost 3-1 to Fulham, said they were working with the authorities to identify those responsible for the messages targeting Mundle.
“The abhorrent behaviour displayed by multiple individuals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Club under any circumstances,” Sunderland wrote on their Web site.
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