An eventful 10 days for Arsenal ended on a note of joy. It’s interesting how soccer changes.
After a draw with Brentford and then a dismal drop in points against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Gunners had an opportunity to turn things around against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday night.
On paper, though, this didn’t seem like the easy mission it had been a week ago. Mikel Arteta’s side have lost confidence and Spurs are now led by Igor Tudor after the sacking of Thomas Frank.
But it certainly made things look easier. With Ebelesi Eze and Victor Gokeres leading the charge, Arsenal proved that north London is indeed red, defeating their arch-rivals 4-1 and extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points once again.
How Arteta’s tactical tweaks beat Spurs
This week has been a bit of an experiment for Arteta. But whether it worked is debatable.
Arsenal were initially expected to use Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, but the teenager was shuffled to left-back after Riccardo Calafioli was injured in the warm-up. Bukayo Saka started in midfield in his place.
It looked like an inspired decision, one that Arteta replicated a few days earlier at Molineux. Although the England superstar found the back of the net, Arsenal lacked quality in the wide areas and looked bereft of many ideas in the final third.
That all changed against the Spurs. Saka returned to the right wing and Leandro Trossard returned to the left, giving Eze a rare start in the Premier League.
In fact, it was the 27-year-old’s second start in a league game in 2026, having been sent off midway through the 1-1 draw at Brentford.
On this occasion, the former Crystal Palace man played like a man with a point to prove. After the match, Arteta said: “He was even upset with me because the other day I didn’t play him from the start and some of the decisions I made. Now he’s starting to understand how I can get the most out of him.”
Well, he certainly didn’t falter at the end of this match. Eze and the manager shared a warm embrace at full-time after the summer’s big-money signing scored two more goals against Spurs and completed a hat-trick against the Lilywhites at the end of 2025.
The alliance between Eze and Gökeres seems to be working, and the boss has finally found a way to profile both of them. Truth be told, it was the former who played a more central role as the Swedes peeled off and plunged into the ditch. It worked beautifully.
The striker also scored twice and appears to have finally made his way into English football after joining from Sporting in the summer.
Gokeres has scored eight goals in his last 12 games. No player in the Premier League has scored more goals than him in all competitions this year.
Big failure? Let’s think again. The centre-forward now looks like an Arsenal player from any angle.
What Gokeres’ form means for the Arsenal team
Wearing Arsenal colors hasn’t been easy for the Sweden international. Since last Wednesday’s draw with Wolves, that has meant Gökeres has not had a single shot on target in 60% of his league games since signing.
So how did the story change on Sunday? He continues to grow heading into 2026, but this was his best performance to date at the famous Kohaku. Not only did he score two goals, he also recorded the most touches (41) ever in a Premier League match. Now it’s time to introduce myself.
However, this form is certainly bad news for Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal’s third-highest earner.
The Brazilian, who is reportedly on a reported £265,000-a-week salary, has put in some strong performances since returning from a long injury spell. He scored twice against Inter Milan and was on the scoresheet in the cup game against Wigan just over a week ago.
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But in reality, Jesus is not as cruel as Gokeres. His technique may be aesthetically pleasing and beautiful to watch, but he now seemed to have strayed far from it in many matches.
The 28-year-old has only found the back of the net twice in 11 league games, but truth be told, he looks completely finished in an Arsenal shirt now.
His cameo off the bench against Wolves last week seemed to confirm just that fact, with the former Manchester City man converting a brilliant late chance to give Arsenal all three points.
Jesus held the ball on the left side, and instead of driving towards goal or making an assist, he just shoved the ball at his feet. Shortly after that incident, Wolves scored an equalizer and the Gunners dropped a valuable point in the title race.
Gabriel Jesus’ career in England | ||
|---|---|---|
season | game | the goal |
2016/17 | 11 | 7 |
2017/18 | 42 | 17 |
2018/19 | 47 | twenty one |
2019/20 | 53 | twenty three |
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 the like-minded Jesus since his return to the first team, and his cameos off the bench are not the kind of players who can help Arsenal win the league this season.
When he comes on, he lacks Gokeres’ physicality and defensive ability. He loses the ball too easily and doesn’t press as much in attack as his colleagues.
When Jesus first arrived at Emirates Stadium, much was promised to him. He certainly had a better start to life in north London than his current number 14, scoring five goals in his first eight league games.
That level of performance has now deserted him, and that’s bad news for Jesus now that Goqueres is finally picking up speed at Arsenal. Combine that with Kai Havertz’s promising return in recent weeks and the Brazilian’s future in the English capital looks bleak. If both can stay healthy between now and the end of the season, there’s no reason not to start them.
Don’t expect him to still be with the Gunners next season.
Comparable to Eze and Gokeres: £45m star had his best game at Arsenal vs Spurs
Arsenal won 4-1 against Spurs on Sunday night.
