A rocky old ten-day period for Arsenal ended in jubilation. It’s funny how quickly football can change, isn’t it?
After drawing with Brentford and then dropping points in dismal fashion against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Gunners had an opportunity to make things right when they faced Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.
That said, on paper, this did not look like the easy assignment it did a week ago. Mikel Arteta’s men were low on confidence and Spurs were now led by Igor Tudor after Thomas Frank’s sacking.
However, the result certainly made things look easy. Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres ran the show as Arsenal proved that north London is indeed red, beating their arch-rivals 4-1 to open up a five-point gap at the top of the Premier League table again.
How Arteta’s tactical tweaks defeated Spurs
This has been a week in which Arteta has experimented a little. Whether or not it has worked, however, is up for debate.
Against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, Arsenal were initially expected to field Myles Lewis-Skelly in the middle of the park but an injury in the warm-up to Riccardo Calafiori meant that the teenager was shuffled to left-back. Bukayo Saka started in midfield instead.
It looked like an inspired decision and one that Arteta replicated at Molineux a few days ago. While the England superstar did find the net, Arsenal lacked quality in wide areas and looked bereft of many ideas in the final third.
That all changed against Spurs. Saka was back on the right, Leandro Trossard returned on the left and Eze earned a rare start in the Premier League.
Indeed, this was just the second time the 27-year-old had started a league match in 2026 after he was withdrawn at the break in that 1-1 draw with Brentford.
On this occasion, the former Crystal Palace man played like a man with a point to prove. Speaking after the game, Arteta said: “He was upset, even with me, because I didn’t play him the other day from the beginning, and some of the decisions that I made. I start to understand how we’re going to get the best out of him now.”
Well, he certainly wasn’t upset at the end of this one. At full-time, Eze and his manager shared a warm embrace after the big-money summer signing had scored two more goals against Spurs to add to his hat-trick against the Lilywhites at the back end of 2025.
Partnering Eze with Gyokeres worked a treat and it does look as though the boss has finally worked out how to profile them both. Truth be told, it was the former who played a more central role with the Swede peeling off and running into the channels. It worked brilliantly.
The striker also scored twice and now looks as though he’s finally motoring in English football after his mega move from Sporting over the summer.
Gyokeres has now bagged eight goals in his last 12 games. No player in the Premier League has scored more than him across all competitions this calendar year, either.
A huge flop? Think again. The centre forward now looks every bit an Arsenal player.
What Gyokeres’ form means for the Arsenal squad
The Sweden international has not had an easy ride in Arsenal colours, far from it. After that draw with Wolves last Wednesday, it meant that Gyokeres had failed to have a single shot on target in 60% of his league matches since signing.
Well, how the narrative turned on Sunday. While he has been improving in 2026, this was his finest performance in the famous red and white to date. Not only did he score twice, but he had the most touches (41) that he’s ever had in a Premier League match. Talking about finally introducing yourself.
This run of form, however, is certainly bad news for Arsenal’s third-highest earner, Gabriel Jesus.
Taking home a reported £265k-per-week, the Brazilian has delivered a few strong performances since returning from a lengthy injury lay-off. He scored twice against Inter Milan and was on the scoresheet against Wigan just over a week ago in the cup.
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The fact of the matter, though, is that Jesus is not nearly as ruthless as Gyokeres. His technique may be nicer on the eye and more aesthetically pleasing to watch but he has looked way off it in a number of matches now.
The 28-year-old has found the net on just two occasions in 11 league games and truth be told, he looks rather finished in an Arsenal shirt now.
His cameo off the bench against Wolves last week just seemed to cement that fact, with the former Manchester City man spurning a fabulous late opportunity to give Arsenal all three points.
Jesus received possession on the left flank and instead of driving towards goal or supplying an assist, got the ball stuck under his feet. Within moments of that incident, Wolves had scored an equaliser and the Gunners had dropped precious points in the title race.
|
Gabriel Jesus career in England |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games |
Goals |
|
2016/17 |
11 |
7 |
|
2017/18 |
42 |
17 |
|
2018/19 |
47 |
21 |
|
2019/20 |
53 |
23 |
|
2020/21 |
43 |
14 |
|
2021/22 |
41 |
13 |
|
2022/23 |
33 |
11 |
|
2023/24 |
36 |
8 |
|
2024/25 |
27 |
7 |
|
2025/26 |
18 |
5 |
There have been too many moments for Jesus of a like-minded nature since he returned to first-team action and his cameos off the bench do not speak of a player who is capable of helping Arsenal win the league this season.
When he comes on, he lacks the same physicality and ability to occupy the defence as Gyokeres does. He loses the ball far too easily and doesn’t press as well as his colleague in attack.
So much was promised of Jesus when he first arrived at the Emirates Stadium. He certainly had a better start to life in north London than their current no.14, scoring five times in his first eight league matches.
That level of performance has now deserted him and with Gyokeres finally up to speed at Arsenal, it’s bad news for Jesus. Combine that with Kai Havertz’s promising return over recent weeks and the future looks bleak for the Brazilian in the English capital. Should both remain fit between now and the end of the season, there is no excuse not to start them.
Do not expect him to still be with the Gunners come next season either.
As good as Eze & Gyokeres: £45m star had his best game for Arsenal vs Spurs
Arsenal romped to a 4-1 victory over Spurs on Sunday evening.
