Gunners restore five-point lead with 4-1 win after Wolves setback

Mikel Arteta said he could not be “prouder or happier” after Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 4-1 win over Tottenham, suggesting the result could mark a “turning point” in their season.

The emphatic victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came days after Arsenal squandered a 2-0 lead in a draw at Wolves. That midweek setback had intensified pressure in the title race, with Manchester City poised to win the league if they claim victory in all of their remaining 11 matches.

“After what happened against Wolves, it was tough,h but that’s the beauty of this game,” Arteta said. “You watch it back, and you cannot understand how they drew that game. You feel angry, upset, and ashamed. We are all different nationalities, different people, but it’s been a joy to see how we came together and asked: ‘How will we use it to be a turning point and make ourselves better?’ It’s much bigger than a job – it’s our passion, our purpose. It’s very painful, but it can be very rewarding.”

The Arsenal manager appeared notably relaxed after the derby win as he looks ahead to his first week without a midweek fixture in two months.

“It feels that we showed what we are made of, but then you have to show it again and again and again,” he said. “I cannot be prouder and happier from what I saw out there, especially how we lived the last 72 hours.”

Arteta singled out Eberechi Eze for praise after the forward followed up his hat-trick in the derby at the Emirates Stadium with two more goals against Spurs.

“I could see he wanted to prove something,” Arteta said. “He was upset even with me because I did not play him from the beginning [at Wolves].”

For Tottenham’s new manager, Igor Tudor, the defeat laid bare the scale of the challenge facing him.

“I’m very sad,” Tudor said, “but in one way it’s good to understand where we are, to have a game to show you reality, so each of us understands. The medicine is that each of us look in the mirror and really start to change our habits. Working hard is the only way.”

Tudor acknowledged that Spurs and Arsenal are currently operating in “different worlds”.

“We have too many problems at the moment that this level of team will not punish you,” he said. “We want to press high, but if you don’t jump,p then you are late. We wanted to go to press high, but we didn’t take the ball. We need to be in a physical moment where we can go strong and take the ball. Even with the ball, a lack of confidence is very evident in the team.”

Despite the blunt assessment, Tudor insisted he was not despondent.

“I saw the passion,” he said. “I saw the will. I was not angry, because they wanted to do all that we prepared, but they were not able.”

Asked whether there was still time to turn things around, he replied: “Of course.”