Eberechi Eze scored a sensational hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Eze, who was linked with a move to Spurs before swapping Crystal Palace for the Emirates Stadium in August, got his first two goals in quick succession either side of half-time.
Leandro Trossard had earlier put Arsenal ahead following an excellent pass from makeshift centre-forward Mikel Merino, with Spurs not attempting a shot until the 55th minute.
Their first effort, from Richarlison, sailed into the net from 40 yards out to give the away fans something to cheer, but Eze had the final say, completing his first Premier League hat-trick with a confident finish 14 minutes from the end.
The result leaves Arsenal six points clear of Chelsea and seven ahead of Manchester City, while Spurs are down in ninth, 11 points behind the Gunners.
How the match unfolded
Spurs needed Guglielmo Vicario to block Declan Rice's volley inside the first three minutes, while Bukayo Saka saw a curling free-kick punched clear by the Italian.
Arsenal finally broke through in the 36th minute as Merino picked out Trossard, and the Belgian took an excellent first touch before his shot struck Micky van de Ven on the way in.
Spurs could not escape their own half, and it was 2-0 five minutes later as Eze squirmed between Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur before firing home with the aid of another slight deflection off Van de Ven.
Eze had his second goal just 35 seconds into the second half, finding the far corner on his left foot, though Spurs pulled one back out of nowhere when Richarlison spotted David Raya off his line and lobbed the Spaniard from distance.
But the day belonged to Eze, who applied a powerful finish after being found by Trossard for his hat-trick and almost got a fourth late on, stinging Vicario's wrists from range.
Eze the headliner as Arsenal put on a show
Arsenal emerged from the international break arguably more bruised than they were previously, with a thigh injury to Gabriel Magalhaes viewed as a major blow to Mikel Arteta's men.
Gabriel's absence ensured there would be a baptism of fire for Bayer Leverkusen loanee Piero Hincapie, who made his first Premier League start in one of England's most fabled derby matches.
But Hincapie was hardly tested as Arsenal produced one of their most electric performances of the season, moving the ball at a relentless tempo and suffocating Spurs with their press.
Merino and Trossard again showed their value in the absence of injured striker Viktor Gyokeres as they combined for the opener, but from then on, it was all about Eze.
The England international has previously admitted to rejecting interest from Spurs to rejoin his boyhood club, who released him at the age of 13.
His first taste of the north London derby could hardly have gone any better, as he became the first player to score a treble in the fixture in the Premier League.
Arsenal went into the international break disappointed following a late draw with Sunderland, but ahead of a big week in which they face Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and Chelsea in the Premier League, their swagger is back.
No style or substance for Spurs
Spurs' start to life under Thomas Frank has been up-and-down, with the former Brentford boss facing criticism from some quarters for not adopting a more adventurous approach.
However, few supporters were likely to care about Spurs' style if it yielded a rare north London derby victory.
Kevin Danso was one of five players introduced to their starting XI as Frank used three centre-backs, and the visitors took their time over every restart from the first whistle, prompting fury from the Arsenal fans.
A wall of white shirts stood between Arsenal and Vicario's goal in the early stages, but with none of Richarlison, Wilson Odobert or Mohammed Kudus offering an outlet on the counter-attack, Spurs could not escape and ultimately saw their resistance broken.
Frank's displeasure was made clear by the half-time withdrawal of Danso, with Xavi Simons his replacement as Spurs reverted to a back four, but conceding a third goal straight after the restart left their hopes of a comeback in tatters.
Rather than begin a fightback, Richarlison's goal only served to provoke Arsenal into further action, and Eze's hat-trick will sting his former suitors.
Spurs face a daunting trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League before another London derby against Fulham next weekend, with Frank under pressure to oversee an improvement.
Club reports
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "I enjoyed every minute of it. The preparation since they came back from the international break, the enthusiasm, the joy, the hunger. And then when you are able to play in the manner we played and perform in the manner we did and to win with the goals that we scored against our rivals always leaves a very special day."
Thomas Frank: "It's extremely painful to stand here after an extremely bad performance. It was the perfect storm. I think especially in the first half we lacked the ability to have pressure and get close to them and be aggressive enough in the duels. We had to absorb too much pressure throughout the first half. In the second half, we got a little bit better, but nowhere near the level we want."
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Key facts
Eze is just the fourth player to score a hat-trick in competitive meetings between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur after Ted Drake (October 1934), Terry Dyson (August 1961) and Alan Sunderland (December 1978).
Spurs have recorded the two lowest expected goals totals in a Premier League game this season, 0.07 against Arsenal and 0.1 against Chelsea at the start of November.
In 2025, only Erling Haaland (25), Mohamed Salah (23), Bryan Mbeumo (21) and Antoine Semenyo (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals than Arsenal’s Eze (18 – 10 goals, 8 assists).
Richarlison’s goal for Spurs (35.3 yards) is the furthest in the Premier League this season, and is also the furthest scored in a north London derby in the Premier League since David Bentley’s goal for Spurs in October 2008 (35.7 yards).