Arsenal thumped north London rivals Tottenham (Picture: Getty)
Chris Sutton spotted a ‘slightly concerning’ sign for Arsenal and their Premier League title charge after the north London derby win over Tottenham.
The Gunners got their title challenge back on track with an empathic 4-1 victory at arch-rivals Spurs on Sunday.
Eberechi Eze, who was close to joining Tottenham last summer, fired Arsenal in front midway through the first half.
The Gunners were well on top at that stage but Randal Kolo Muani equalised just two minutes after Eze’s opener against the run of play.
Viktor Gyokeres restored Arsenal’s lead just after half-time and Eze settled the visitors’ nerves with his second of the afternoon on the hour mark.
Gyokeres rounded off an impressive performance with an injury-time goal as Arsenal dominated their north London rivals to restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The Arsenal players celebrated passionately with their travelling supporters in one corner of the stadium, with Mikel Arteta also displaying his pleasure at a one-sided derby.
Get your football fix
Don’t want to miss the week’s biggest football stories? Metro’s exclusive football newsletter, In The Mixer, is your essential guide.
From the latest transfer rumours and managerial moves to analysis of the biggest games and a lot more, our experts have you covered.
Sign up here, it’s an open goal.
Viktor Gyokeres scored twice in the north London derby (Picture: Getty)
But ex-England striker Sutton accused Arsenal of ‘over-celebrating’ and said it was a ‘slightly concerning’ sign for the Premier League title race.
‘Slightly concerned with the over celebrating from the Arsenal players,’ he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘Celebrate at the end of the season when you have won the title.’
Fellow former England international Danny Murphy was impressed by league leaders Arsenal and singled out Gyokeres for special praise.
“It was a complete mismatch”Jamie Redknapp says Arsenal and Spurs are leagues apart 😳 pic.twitter.com/fFkZTV7ei0— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026
‘I think more Arsenal being good [than Tottenham being bad],’ he said. ‘The tempo was good, they looked like a team wanting to prove a point.
‘First half they moved the ball quickly, they caused Tottenham problems. Although they went into the break level, the quality started to shine through.
‘Second half when Arsenal went up it was a mountain to climb for Tottenham. Some Arsenal fans are split [on Viktor Gyokeres], some backing him and some saying he is not the one.
Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s win over Spurs (Picture: Getty)
‘That performance today is going to change a few minds. As a player it doesn’t matter how much success you have had or what you have done before before, if you had a bad spell or you know people are doubting you it creeps in.
‘Today can only do good things for him. Physically it looked like he was enjoying it. He will be walking on water now.
‘He has got competition for places, but after that performance it’s easy for Arteta. I think we could see him go on a good little run now.
‘Some of Tottenham’s defending was reactive, which is better than nothing, but they were getting there late so the distances were big.
‘It’s never easy tactically to stop a good team like Arsenal because everyone has to be perfect all the time.
‘When Arsenal had moments to show their quality in the areas where Spurs were weak, they did. They just looked back to where we have seen them be this season.’
Arsenal face another London derby next weekend when they take on Chelsea, while 16th-placed Tottenham will be desperate to return to winning ways when they take on Fulham.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Comment now
Comments
Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google
Add as preferred source
