Arsenal 4-9 for Premier League after cruising past Spurs in north London derby

Premier League snapshots 

Arsenal could have hardly hoped for a better return from the international break as they stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points with a 4-1 north London derby victory over Tottenham on Sunday.

The Gunners received a lift the night before when Manchester City were sunk 2-1 at Newcastle and Chelsea are second after they came through a Saturday lunchtime appointment with Burnley by winning 2-0 at Turf Moor.

Mikel Arteta's side have been cut to 4-9 from 4-6 to finally get over the line after finishing runners-up in the last three seasons, but their victory over Spurs, in which Eberechi Eze became the first Arsenal player to score a hat-trick against their rivals since 1978, sets up a potential cracker between the top two at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.

Elsewhere, Leeds were unable to drag themselves out of the bottom three as they fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. The Whites, who won the Championship last season, are 11-8 to make an immediate return to the second tier.

Their situation was not helped by the result of the weekend which saw Nottingham Forest win 3-0 at Liverpool, who have lost six of their last seven league matches.

The Reds have slipped into the bottom half of the table, but bookmakers still have faith in them and bet365 rate them an 8-15 chance to still finish in the top four.

Basement boys Wolves were unable to gain their first win of the league season in Rob Edwards's first game in charge as they fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

Talking point 

Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick for Arsenal against Tottenham on SundayCredit: Arsenal FC via Getty Images

There is little doubt that while Forest's Anfield win was the performance of the weekend, Eze provided the star performance. 

And what a great way for him to send a reminder to England boss Thomas Tuchel that he could play an integral role in next summer's World Cup.

Les Ferdinand, who was director of football at QPR when Eze played at the west London club, said before the game that he still thinks there is more to come from the midfielder, even though he cannot be considered a youngster at 27.

His character came through on Sunday as it was a big game for him following his decision to sign for Arsenal in the summer when he seemed set to join Tottenham.

There seem a few doubts that Jude Bellingham may not be the centre of attention for the Three Lions this summer, and Eze demonstrated at the Emirates that he could comfortably step into the Real Madrid man's shoes.

Market moves

Manchester City are out to 10-3 from 15-8 for the title after they lost ground on Arsenal and there is still not a great deal of faith that Chelsea can stay the course even though they are second. The Blues have been cut to 14-1 from 20-1 to lift the trophy at the end of the season.

Newcastle are as short as 11-2 to claim a place in the top four, while Spurs have been pushed out to 12-1 following their dismal performance at the Emirates.

At the other end, Burnley are 1-4 from 2-7 to go down following their loss to Chelsea while Forest's heroics at Anfield mean they are 11-2 from 11-4 to be playing in the Championship next season.

Premier League title betting

Odds from Hills - correct at time of publishing

Punting pointers

It is beginning to look the case that we will be discussing who can catch Arsenal, and if you fancy Chelsea to be the team to do it, now might be the best time to back the Blues. 

Enzo Maresca's team look to be flying under the radar and there looks a chance they may be able to kick on even further, especially as it should not be too long before we see Cole Palmer back in a Blues shirt.

Tuesday's Champions League match against Barcelona may not be a knockout-stage clash, but it will give us an indication of how good they actually are.

And then they are set for a huge game against Arsenal on Sunday which could prove a pivotal clash.

Don't forget the Gunners have their own big clash against Bayern Munich to navigate in midweek, so if the 14-1 appeals about the Blues, this week may be a good time to get on.

West Ham are also a team to keep an eye on at the bottom of the table and it will be interesting to see how they react to be being pegged back from a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Difficult games against Liverpool and Manchester United await, so they could slip further into trouble.

Read more from our football experts:

Manchester United vs Everton predictions, team news, betting tips, odds and Bet Builder 

History beckons for Haaland – but who will chase him home in the Golden Boot race? 

Championship manager vacancies: Who should Middlesbrough, Southampton and Swansea appoint? 

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.