Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick as Arsenal thrashed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank picked a five-man defence as he looked to keep things tight at Emirates Stadium, but his side could not contain the league leaders.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for an utterly dominant Arsenal in the 36th minute, finishing well after a lovely through ball from Mikel Merino.

Then Eze, who almost joined Spurs in the summer from Crystal Palace before a late swoop by Arsenal, doubled the hosts’ advantage before the break – beating two players on the edge of the box before drilling a strike past Gugliemo Vicario.

Tottenham boss Frank scrapped his back-five plan and brought on Xavi Simons at half-time as he looked to inject some more attacking intent into his lacklustre side.

But Arsenal extended their advantage just 23 seconds into the second half, when Eze curled a left-footed strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Tottenham were pinned back for large parts of the match, but Richarlison did pull a goal back for the visitors by lifting the ball over the stranded David Raya from about 40 yards out.

However, Eze added gloss to the scoreline – and completed his first senior hat-trick – with another brilliant finish past Vicario in the 76th minute.

Arsenal’s six-point lead at the top of the table is their biggest at this stage of any Premier League campaign. They are looking to win the title for the first time since 2004 and three second-place finishes in succession.