Eberechi Eze sinks Tottenham again, reigniting Arsenal title hopes; Liverpool snatches late win

Premier League: Eze and Gyokeres fire Arsenal to derby rout at Spurs as Mac Allister snatches late Liverpool winner

LONDON — Eberechi Eze tormented Tottenham again, striking twice as Arsenal stormed back to winning form with a 4-1 victory in the north London derby that restored a five-point Premier League lead and steadied a title bid wobbling after two straight draws.

Three months after a hat trick against Spurs, Eze reprised the role of derby scourge with a brace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Viktor Gyokeres matched him with two goals of his own for Mikel Arteta’s side. Arsenal’s response — clinical, controlled and ruthless in transition — arrived just as Manchester City were edging back into the conversation, and with the season’s defining head-to-heads looming.

Derby dominance built on Eze’s edge

Eze’s summer almost led him to Tottenham; instead, Arsenal — his boyhood club — swooped for a reported 60 million pounds ($80 million). The sting for Spurs is sharper now: per the club’s recent form, the midfielder’s only goals since the start of November have come against them.

His opener set the tone, only for Igor Tudor’s first match as Tottenham manager to get a brief lift when Randal Kolo Muani capitalized on a rare lapse. After dispossessing Declan Rice, Kolo Muani drilled home in the 34th minute to level at 1-1 and jolt a febrile stadium. The parity didn’t last long after the interval.

Gyokeres restored Arsenal’s lead two minutes into the second half, finding the corner from the edge of the area with a low, confident finish that punctured Spurs’ attempted reset. As the hosts chased, Arsenal tightened their midfield lines and picked their moments. In the 61st, Bukayo Saka’s shot forced a save that Eze reacted to first, sweeping in the rebound for 3-1. Gyokeres added gloss in second-half stoppage time, a reward for a tireless, direct performance that asked questions of Spurs’ back line all afternoon.

This wasn’t merely a derby win; it was a statement. The Gunners rediscovered their edge in both boxes, wresting back control at the top while reasserting the speed and clarity in attack that had faded during recent draws.

Title race recalibrated

Arsenal’s advantage is back to five points, with 10 league games remaining in their hunt for a first top-flight title since 2004. Yet the margins are thin. Manchester City still have a game in hand, host Arsenal in mid-April and meet them again in the English League Cup final on March 22 — a double collision course that will stress-test both clubs’ depth, nerve and tactical range.

For Tottenham, Tudor’s early record of quick-starting tenures elsewhere didn’t carry over to north London. There were flashes — Kolo Muani’s pressing threat, brisk combinations in wide areas — but Arsenal controlled key phases and punished transitions. Fixing that balance will be Tudor’s first urgent task.

Mac Allister’s persistence drags Liverpool over the line

At the City Ground, Alexis Mac Allister turned frustration into release with virtually the last kick. The Argentina midfielder saw an 89th-minute tap-in scrubbed off after the ball cannoned off him and onto his arm as he turned his back on Ola Aina’s clearance — a correct intervention after a lengthy VAR check.

He didn’t need a second invitation. Deep into the seventh minute of stoppage time, Virgil van Dijk’s header was spilled by Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, and Mac Allister — six meters out — sidefooted home. Another VAR review, this time for a possible offside on Van Dijk, upheld the goal. Liverpool’s 1-0 win kept them in sixth place but level on points with fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Manchester United, who visit Everton on Monday.

Liverpool’s structure again carried them late: steady pressure, weight of crosses and patience off second balls. Mac Allister’s persistence matched the team’s, and the single point that seemed to be slipping away turned into three, maintaining Champions League pace.

Palace scrape a win as Glasner questions linger

Selhurst Park has rarely felt more skittish. Before kickoff, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner — who led the club to FA Cup glory last season — was non-committal about whether he would stay through the end of the campaign after confirming he will leave in the summer. He also urged supporters to “stay humble,” a message that met a fierce reply from the stands via a banner reading, “Opportunities missed – board inept. Fans disrespected – Glasner finished.”

On the pitch, Palace delivered a late balm. Substitute Evann Guessand arrived at the far post to prod home a last-minute winner in a 1-0 grind past bottom-club Wolverhampton, pushing back against the noise, at least on the table. Wolves, meanwhile, remain 17 points from safety, and their margin for error is now almost entirely theoretical.

Sunderland’s home aura evaporates

Once the Premier League’s last unbeaten home side, Sunderland have now lost back-to-back matches at the Stadium of Light. Fulham’s 3-1 win featured a brace from Raúl Jiménez — including a penalty — and control that quieted the crowd. Ten days earlier, Liverpool had handed the Black Cats their first home defeat of the season. Two reverses in quick succession have turned one of the division’s hardest trips into fertile ground for visitors again.

What we learned

• Arsenal’s front half is humming again: Eze’s timing and Gyokeres’ direct running offer a devastating one-two punch when the Gunners break lines.
• Tottenham’s pressing must be cleaner under Tudor; Arsenal feasted on transitions once Spurs lost structure.
• Liverpool’s late-game habits still matter: set-piece pressure and persistence remain edges in tight matches.
• Palace’s off-field uncertainty isn’t resolved by one win, but Guessand’s late goal buys time and quieter headlines.
• Sunderland’s home resilience has cracked, and opponents are starting to exploit the spaces that earlier in the season were sealed.

The table will shift again, but Sunday’s message was clear: Arsenal have reset the terms of the title race, Liverpool have found another way to take the hard road to three points and the margins — from London to the North East — are shrinking fast.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.