Not a rivalry anymore?: "New look" Arsenal sweep aside Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby yet again to grab crucial points in the title race

Yet another five-star performance from Mikel Arteta's men in the North London derby. (Image credits – Heute; licence details).

Arsenal thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in the north London derby in a ruthless and dominating display of football which left Spurs tactically outclassed. Throughout the game, it never felt that the Gunners were threatened by their arch-rivals.

New signings Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres ran the show on the night, bagging a brace each to power Mikel Arteta's team to a five-point gap at the top. Eze, who had bagged a sensational hat-trick at the Emirates in the reverse fixture this season, gave the visitors a very important lead early in the 32nd minute.

However, the home side managed to equalise just two minutes later when Randal Kolo Muani pounced on an error from Declan Rice as the game was level at half-time. Gyökeres put the Gunners' back in front with a brilliant finish from outside of the box just two minutes after halftime.

It was all about Arsenal after the second goal, with Eze completing his brace in the 61st minute. The Englishman has scored five goals against Tottenham this season in the Premier League.

The Swedish striker capped off the dominating display with an accurate finish deep into stoppage time, securing much-needed three points for Mikel Arteta's men. Arsenal are now five points clear at the top with 61 points, while Manchester City are second with 56 points and a game in hand against Leeds United on Saturday.

Arsenal will face another derby challenge next week as they host Chelsea. The Gunners cannot afford to slip up at any point from now on as Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are lurking right behind them for an opportunity to leapfrog them in the title race. The Opta supercomputer has predicted that the Gunners now have a chance of 82.33% to clinch the Premier League title.

Gaining back the edge?: What changes did Mikel Arteta make to dismantle Tottenham in their own den?

Arsenal turned the north London derby into their own training ground, tactically outclassing the home side completely. The visitors secured an xG of 2.07 with 20 attempts, while the home side managed an xG of just 0.76 with only 6 attempts on goal. New boss Igor Tudor, who replaced Thomas Frank as the Tottenham boss, had simply no answer to Mikel Arteta's game strategy.

Arsenal pressed relentlessly and exposed the cracks in Tottenham's midfield, which left them with too much space up front to create clear-cut goalscoring chances. Arteta's men pressed in phases and often targeted when Spurs were trying to play out from the back.

The Gunners blocked the passing lanes for the centre-backs while pressing relentlessly down the wings, which isolated the Tottenham wingers. The home side also couldn't find any spaces vertically, as Arsenal's midfield duo of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi completely locked down Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr, which did not allow Tottenham any sort of momentum in possession.

Arsenal did not let Tottenham keep possession of the ball while also being efficient themselves, which dismantled Tudor’s game plan to press higher up the pitch against Arteta's side. Since appointing Ange Postecoglou, Spurs have deployed a high defensive line. However, with skipper Cristian Romero out due to suspension, there was absolutely no coordination between the Tottenham defenders.

Arsenal's midfield made it very difficult for Tottenham to track their vertical progressive passes, and they found it pretty easy to split open the defence, beating their offside trap. Tudor's men were forced to sit deeper into their half, which again disrupted their game plan.

Mikel Arteta also deployed maximum depth in the midfield against Spurs, which outnumbered the Tottenham midfield in strength. As the home side were dropping deeper, the Gunners pushed higher up the pitch, overloading the flanks as well to tire the legs of the Tottenham players.

Arsenal's passing between the lines was immaculate, in triangles which almost felt like watching Pep Guardiola's Barcelona playing against Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. In almost every duel, Arsenal players had the upper hand, which paved the way for such a ruthless display of football.

The most impressive aspect of the visitor's performance was their solidity at the back. Arsenal never lost their shape without the ball, even when Tottenham had the upper hand. The pivot duo and the centre-back partnership between Saliba and Gabriel did not let Tottenham build any clear-cut transitional chances.

Xavi Simmons lost the most duels in the game, and it was rightly because of Arsenal's relentless pressure. Whenever Tottenham tried to break in a counter, the Gunners were ready to pounce and counter-press. This is why the home side couldn't manage to create a single breakaway opportunity despite having quick attackers.

Tottenham often looked confused as to whether to keep possession or wait for the counter-attacking scenarios. Tudor's men couldn't settle on the ball at any point of the game, which forced them to play against their plan, and it affected them massively.

Mikel Arteta's team also managed to keep their focus and did not let the occasion of the North London derby get the better of them. Despite the equaliser from Spurs, Arsenal continued to attack and get as many goals as possible. In the draw at Wolves' last game, Arteta was severely criticised for his pragmatic approach against the relegation-battling side when they were leading 2-1, which later hit them hard as Wolves equalised deep into injury time.

Arsenal didn't just dismantle Tottenham Hotspur; they exposed them as a team which is simply not capable of fighting for the title or even the top six. Mikel Arteta's side suffocated Tottenham's build-up and didn't allow them any space between the lines while exploiting their high line. 

Tottenham simply lacked enough to match up against Arsenal. The board should have brought players as per Ange Postecoglou’s choice after finishing fifth in his first season, but they did not. Similarly, they did not give Thomas Frank the players he wanted and expected him to compete for the title with such an inexperienced squad. This team needs a rebuild, and unless they do it properly, no manager is saving them from this crisis.