Mikel Arteta’s side were too strong for timid Tottenham as Leandro Trossard and Eze netted in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.
Eze, who spurned Tottenham’s advances to join Arsenal in the close season, struck again in the second half.
Richarlison’s incredible long-range goal reduced the deficit, but it was no consolation as Eze completed his superb treble to fire the Gunners six points clear at the top.
It was only the fourth north London derby hat-trick after Ted Drake, Terry Dyson and Alan Sunderland.
Arsenal’s 10-match winning streak was ended by Sunderland’s late equaliser in a 2-2 draw before the international break.
But Eze’s best performance since his £60 million move from Crystal Palace erased that bitter taste as Tottenham were put to the sword at the Emirates yet again.
The Gunners - unbeaten in the last seven north London derbies - have lost just once in 33 home meetings with their bitter rivals from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road.
Arsenal’s biggest win over Tottenham since 2012 was the perfect start to a crucial period featuring a visit from Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before a trip to second-placed Chelsea next weekend.
Arsenal’s unbeaten run in all competitions has reached 15 games, ensuring they took advantage of Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.
With City spluttering and champions Liverpool in turmoil, Arsenal have a golden opportunity to end their wait for a first English title since 2004.
Tottenham arrived with the Premier League’s best away record, but the limp end of their five-game unbeaten run on the road raised fresh questions about boss Thomas Frank’s negative philosophy.
The absence of injured Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes had been highlighted as a potential weakness for Tottenham to exploit.
Yet Tottenham rarely got close enough to the Arsenal penalty area to test that theory.
Frank urged Tottenham to embrace the “controlled chaos” of a “madhouse” derby.
But the Dane has struggled to win over Tottenham supporters with his conservative style and his decision to use five defenders backfired to such an extent that the only chaos was in his overwhelmed rearguard.
Eze makes his point
Tottenham were determined to take the sting out of the game, wasting time at throw-ins and goal-kicks.
But Arteta’s men, superior in their passing and movement, deservedly took the lead in the 36th minute.
Mikel Merino was again deployed as a makeshift striker in the absence of the injured Viktor Gyokeres, but the Spain midfielder dropped deep into more familiar terrain to set up Trossard’s goal.
Caressing a sublime pass over the Tottenham rearguard, Merino picked out Trossard, who was played onside by the dozing Kevin Danso.
Trossard smartly twisted and turned to find space for shot that deflected past Guglielmo Vicario from 10 yards.
If Tottenham had their way in the summer, Eze would be turning out for them, but Arsenal hijacked the deal with Palace to sign the England star at the 11th hour.
Frank had joked: “Who’s Eze?” when asked this week about the failed move.
Eze had the perfect riposte in the 41st minute as he took Declan Rice’s pass in stride and weaved through to drill a fine low finish past Vicario.
Frank sent on Xavi Simons for Danso at the interval, but the introduction of the forward Tottenham signed instead of Eze made no difference.
Eze struck again just 35 seconds after half-time, punishing Tottenham’s flat-footed defence with a predatory finish from just inside the area.
Richarlison briefly silenced the crowing Arsenal fans when he lobbed David Raya with a majestic effort from 35 yards in the 55th minute.
But that was Tottenham’s first shot of the game and Eze, picked out by Trossard’s pass, put a fitting seal on his masterclass with a blistering strike from 12 yards in the 76th minute.
In yesterday’s early game a Morgan Rogers double helped Asto Villa to a 2-1 win at Leeds United which sees the Villains move up to fourth place in the table.
Woeful Reds
Meanwhile, troubled Liverpool’s woeful season hit a new low with a shocking 3-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The spluttering champions fell behind in the 33rd minute when Murillo’s fierce strike punished their failure to deal with Elliot Anderson’s corner.
Reds boss Arne Slot was fuming that the goal was allowed despite Forest’s Dan Ndoye appearing to obstruct Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker - an offence that led Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser to be disallowed in the 3-0 loss at Manchester City before the international break.
Sean Dyche’s side doubled their lead after 46 minutes when Nicolo Savona slotted home from Neco Williams’ cut-back.
With Liverpool’s defence in disarray, Morgan Gibbs-White scored Forest’s third from the rebound after Omari Hutchinson’s shot was saved in the 78th minute.
Beaten by Forest at Anfield for a second successive season, Liverpool have lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions, including six of their last seven in the top flight.
It is the first time Liverpool have lost consecutive league games by a three-goal margin since 1965.
Once again Liverpool were devoid of inspiration and energy in another lethargic display that left them languishing in 11th place.
Liverpool’s stunning decline comes after a summer spending spree of over £400 million.
Alexander Isak was hauled off in the second half of his fourth league start for Liverpool following a British record move from Newcastle that has failed to live up to the hype. Sweden striker Isak has yet to score for the Reds in the top flight.
“Another big disappointment. We started off quite well but we conceded the 1-0 and weren’t able to play the way we did in the first half hour,” Slot said.
“If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility. We weren’t able to create enough. I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out. We are in a very bad spell.”
Man City rocked
In Saturday’s late game Newcastle dented Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge as Harvey Barnes’ brace sealed a controversial 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.
Barnes opened the scoring in the 63rd minute with a drive from the edge of the area before Ruben Dias equalised with a deflected strike five minutes later.
Two minutes after Dias levelled, Barnes bagged Newcastle’s contentious second goal with a fierce volley, which was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for a potential offside against Bruno Guimaraes, whose header had cannoned back off the bar.
Guardiola was also aggrieved over a rejected first-half penalty claim by Phil Foden.
City’s fourth league defeat this season left them in third place, seven points behind Arsenal.
Guardiola stormed onto the pitch at full-time to confront referee Sam Barrott, but later insisted “everything is fine” when asked about the incident.
“It happened in the Bournemouth game and it happened today again. It is what it is after VAR decided. They know perfectly,” he said of Newcastle’s second goal.
“It was an entertaining game, we both had chances and then there was a momentum shift and ultimately we couldn’t win.”
Chelsea moved up to second place with a 2-0 win at Burnley.
Pedro Neto’s diving header put Chelsea ahead just before the interval and Enzo Fernandez netted in the closing stages.
Enzo Maresca’s side, who sit three points behind Arsenal, have won eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions, making it a memorable 50th Premier League game in charge for the Italian.
It was the ideal warm-up for Chelsea ahead of a crucial week featuring home games against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday and Arsenal in the Premier League on November 30.
New Wolves manager Rob Edwards suffered a 2-0 debut defeat against fourth-placed Crystal Palace at Molineux.
Brighton came from behind to defeat Brentford 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.
Raul Jimenez’s 84th minute goal gave Fulham a 1-0 victory against Sunderland at Craven Cottage, while West Ham blew a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.