Too Eze: Midfield star's hat trick helps Arsenal beat Spurs and take 6-point lead in Premier League

Eberechi Eze came close to joining Tottenham during the summer. On Sunday, he scored a hat trick against Spurs for their biggest rival.

The England playmaker was the inspiration behind Arsenal's 4-1 win in the north London derby that left his team with a six-point lead in the Premier League.

Eze added to Leandro Trossard's 36th-minute opening goal with his first in the 41st, and made it 3-0 just 23 seconds into the second half by slotting in a left-footed finish.

Eze completed his first senior hat trick — and the first by an Arsenal player against Tottenham since 1978 — with a curling shot in the 76th. It has proved to be the perfect weekend for Arsenal, which had seen its two biggest title rivals — Manchester City and Liverpool — lose on Saturday.

“It is special," Eze said. “Words can’t explain this.”

Now it's Chelsea which is the closest challenger in second place. After 12 games, however, Arsenal is a big favorite to win its first top-flight league title since 2004.

Tottenham's consolation wound up being the goal of the game at Emirates Stadium. Richarlison picked up a loose ball and chipped Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya from around 45 yards (meters) to make it 3-1 at the time.

Eze made sure there would be no comeback, three months to the day after joining his boyhood club from Crystal Palace for a reported initial fee of 60 million pounds ($80 million). Earlier in the transfer window, he was reportedly in talks with Tottenham.

Asked if he might have been wearing the white of Spurs on Sunday, Eze said: “Let’s not speak about that.”

Eze is getting a run in central midfield because of an injury to Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and is slowly growing into the role.

“He’s a big player who can create magic moments which unbalance a team,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario apologized to the team's supporters for Spurs' meek performance, which came after manager Thomas Frank opted to deploy a five-man defense — without any success.

“As a collective, we didn't fight,” Vicario said.

Frank said it was a "hard defeat to take," adding: “It’s extremely painful to stand here after an extremely bad performance — against the worst team we could put a bad performance in against. It was the perfect storm."

Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers has just returned from international with England, where he is currently keeping Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham out of the starting team.

He showed exactly why against Leeds.

Rogers clipped in a finish from Donyell Malen’s cross for the equalizer in the 48th before demonstrating wonderful technique to whip a free kick over the defensive wall and into the net in the 75th to seal a 2-1 comeback win for Villa.

Leeds took the lead at a highly charged Elland Road when Lukas Nmecha bundled in from close range after Villa defender Ezri Konsa cleared the ball off the goalline following Anton Stach’s header. There was a video review to check if Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez was impeded in the build-up but the goal was allowed.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin thought he’d equalized for Leeds two minutes after Rogers’ second goal but it was ruled out for handball.

It was Villa’s sixth win in the last seven league games, after starting the campaign without a victory in the team’s first five games. Villa moved up to fourth place.

Promoted Leeds has now lost five of its last six games and has dropped into the relegation zone.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Eberechi Eze walks off the pitch after a Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Tottenham in London, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Arsenal's Eberechi Eze , centerm smiles after scoring during a Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Tottenham in London, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Arsenal's Eberechi Eze celebrates after scoring during a Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Tottenham in London, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Leeds United's Lukas Nmecha scores their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match between Leeds and Aston Villa in Leeds, England, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match between Leeds and Aston Villa in Leeds, England, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers scores their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match between Leeds and Aston Villa in Leeds, England, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Luxury retailer Saks Global has filed for bankruptcy, preparing to reposition itself in the increasingly competitive upscale market after obtaining about $1.75 billion in financing commitments.

The New York-based private company that owns retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus said in a release Wednesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas.

The company’s top executive, Marc Metrick, stepped down earlier this month as the firm struggled with debt it took on for its $2.65 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus in 2024. He was succeeded as CEO by executive chairman Richard Baker, who quit both roles earlier this week and was replaced as chief execute by Geoffroy van Raemdonck.

The company is also facing increasing competition as it tries to winnow down its heavy debt load, while its customers have balked against extravagant price hikes.

The company said it was “evaluating its operational footprint to invest resources where it has the greatest long-term potential.”

Saks said it did not expect its operations to be disrupted and it would continue to honor its customer programs and pay its suppliers and employees.

It said it has financing commitments of $1.5 billion from some of its creditors and another $240 million in “incremental liquidity” from its lenders.

Hudson’s Bay Co., the Canadian owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, split off the luxury retailer’s e-commerce business, Saks.com, in 2021. After acquiring Neiman Marcus three years later, Saks Fifth Avenue changed its name to Saks Global.

Global sales of luxury goods are expected to contract for the second straight year in 2026 as consumers anxious about the global economy pare back their spending, according to a study by Bain & Co. consultancy released in November.

Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s oldest company, moved to begin liquidating all but six of its stores in March 2025.

FILE - Saks Fifth Avenue President Marc Metrick poses for a portrait inside the company's flagship Fifth Avenue store, in New York, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)