Mikel Arteta hails motivated Eberechi Eze after derby heroics against Tottenham

Mikel Arteta revealed that Eberechi Eze went into the North London derby with a real point to prove after another brilliant display against Tottenham.

The Arsenal midfielder, who hit a hat trick in the first league meeting this season, struck twice more in the latest 4 1 win over Spurs. Arteta suggested Eze’s response was fuelled by the frustration of being left out of the starting XI in the previous game against Wolverhampton.

“He had that belief, and I’m very happy for him. He works very hard to adjust and adapt to what we want from him,” Arteta said.

“In the previous game, he was upset and even angry with me because I didn’t start him, as well as because of some other decisions I made. I just need to figure out how to get the best out of him now.”

Arteta also underlined how rare Eze’s scoring record is in such a fierce derby. “He has scored five goals in recent matches against Tottenham, which is very difficult to achieve. But I could see that he wanted to prove something,” he added.