LONDON: Eberechi Eze hailed his “special” moment as the Arsenal star’s first ever hat-trick inspired a 4-1 rout of north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
Eze tore Tottenham to shreds with three clinical finishes after Leandro Trossard’s opener for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.
The 27-year-old had made a relatively slow start to life with Arsenal after his £60 million ($78 million) move from Crystal Palace in August.
But against the club he spurned to join Mikel Arteta’s team, the England midfielder produced a sublime display that fired them six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
“That’s a good one man. Enjoyable day. Happy to help the team and to win today was special,” Eze said.
“It is special. Words can’t explain this one today.”
Rejected by Arsenal as a teenager, Eze has made it back to the top after a long and winding career that now sees him established as one of English football’s elite talents.
Devoutly religious, Eze attributed his man of the match display to his faith.
He had scored only twice in 15 previous appearances for Arsenal, but this stunning performance underlined what Tottenham missed out on.
“I prayed for it. This is what I pray for. I prayed for a hat-trick so I am grateful to God,” Eze said.
“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.”
Eze’s brilliance was a huge boost to Arsenal’s bid for a first English title since 2004 after three successive runners-up finishes.
It was the first hat-trick in a north London derby since 1978 and only the fourth in the long history of the bitter derby rivalry.
Asked which of the three goals was his best, Eze picked his second, which came with a clinical finish just 35 seconds after half-time.
“They are all good. Maybe the second one. That was my favorite,” he said.
“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.”
Arsenal’s Eze revels in ‘special’ hat-trick after destroying Spurs
https://arab.news/csjdz
Arsenal’s Eze revels in ‘special’ hat-trick after destroying Spurs
- Eze tore Tottenham to shreds with three clinical finishes after Leandro Trossard’s opener for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium
Al-Ittihad drop points in Abha as Al-Fateh cruise to fifth consecutive win
- Al-Ittihad’s perfect run of form since the Arab Cup break comes to an end after 1-1 draw against Damac
- Al-Fateh defeat Al-Riyadh 3-1 to extend winning streak to five games
RIYADH: Matchday 15 of the Saudi Pro League continued on Tuesday with three fixtures across three cities. Al-Ittihad shared the spoils with Damac in Abha, Al-Okhdood edged Al-Kholood 1-0 in Najran, while Al-Fateh defeated Al-Riyadh 3-1 in Al-Ahsa.
The result in Abha was a disappointing one for the defending champions. Since their defeat to city rivals Al-Ahli on November 8 of last year, Al-Ittihad had won every match in the league. Damac proved stubborn opposition at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Stadium, which welcomed a vibrant crowd, split — albeit unevenly — between Damac’s red and Al-Ittihad’s black and yellow.
Early signs suggested the visitors were in control. From the outset, the threat of Moussa Diaby stretching the pitch down the right, combined with Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti’s underlapping runs, led Al-Ittihad to what appeared to be an early opener in the 3rd minute.
Al-Shanqeeti, providing the connection between Diaby and Karim Benzema, took advantage of a failed clearance to fire past Damac goalkeeper Kewin. Unfortunately for the visitors, the goal was ruled out, as Diaby failed to keep the ball in play before delivering the cross.
Damac gradually grew into the contest, with their compact 5-4-1 shape limiting the opposition from establishing control. Al-Ittihad resorted to direct balls from deep to exploit space in behind, but the well-drilled Damac defence consistently denied them from the final touch.
The hosts then struck against the run of play. After an accidental intervention by the referee, play resumed with Riyadh Sharahili threading a pass behind the Ittihad centre-backs for Abdullah Al-Qahtani, who finished confidently to open the scoring in the 37th minute.
Sharahili would be involved in a goal at the other end just eight minutes later. The underlapping Al-Shanqeeti runs would come back to bite Damac, as he was spotted by Diaby inside the box, only for Sharahili’s misfired clearance to fall back to him to finish for the equaliser.
Sergio Conceição’s side knew that an early goal in the second half was crucial against a side like Damac. However, Benzema was surprisingly brought off at half-time in favour of Saleh Al-Shehri. Social media footage later suggested the Frenchman had been substituted due to injury.
Al-Shehri provided a different attacking profile, as Al-Ittihad now relied on crosses from Ahmad Al-Julaydan, but Damac defenders Abdulrahman Al-Khaibary and Hassan Rubayyi of Damac’s dealt well with the threat.
Their plan to draw Al-Ittihad forward and strike on the counter nearly paid off late on. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, they found themselves in a three-on-two situation that quickly turned into a one-on-one, only for Abdulrahman Al-Obaid’s effort to crash against the post.
Al-Ittihad’s night ended on a sour note when Fabinho was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Yahya Naji. Despite avoiding defeat, this draw was Al-Ittihad’s seventh game away at Damac without a win.
Elsewhere, Al-Fateh continued their stellar run of form to grab their fifth win on the trot with a 3-1 victory over Al-Riyadh. After spending the first part of the season lingering outside the relegation zone, they now sit 12 points clear in 10th place. In Najran, Al-Kholood fell to a 1-0 defeat against Al-Okhdood, marking their eighth loss in nine matches.
Matchday 15 concludes on Wednesday, with Al-Qadsiah vs. Al-Fayha at 5:45pm, followed by Al-Ahli vs. Al-Taawoun in the battle for second place at 8.30pm alongside Al-Shabab vs. NEOM.
