Even Mikel Arteta's fiercest critics had to admit that Arsenal have lift-off. 

The rejuvenated Gunners humbled Spurs with three goals within 23 minutes in a remarkable one-sided north London derby at the Emirates. More than that, the slick superiority of their performance against a nervous, shambolic city rival made everyone connected with the prestigious club think something implausible was happening. 

Just a couple of weeks ago, Arteta's team had made their worst start to a season for 67 years and remained rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, while Spurs were flying high at the top with a perfect record. In a sensational turnaround, however, Arsenal have now won their last three games and sneaked into the top half, while Spurs have the same record in reverse and slumped to the bottom half. 

Spurs have not won at the Emirates in the league since 2010, and the hosts overran their sorry visitors in scintillating fashion, with goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka making the difference. Though Spurs improved after the interval, Son Heung-min's late effort proved nothing more than a consolation. 

"It's a special day. It is one example of what we want to do, but we have to be consistent. This win is for the fans. They were there when we needed their support," beamed an emotional Arteta. "It was one of the nicest feelings that I have had in this stadium. The way we won and to feel the connection with the crowd made it really special." 

The sentiment was echoed by Smith Rowe, who stole the show with an early goal and then assisted Aubameyang for the second. "It's probably the best day of my life," said the 21-year-old academy graduate. "I've always wanted to score against Tottenham in a derby. It's just the best feeling ever." 

With another goal to his name, Aubameyang has netted eight times in 12 career appearances against Tottenham, but the veteran striker showed humility and highlighted Smith Rowe's flawless display after the game. "It's quite easy when you have boys like him," he observed. "They always listen, always ready to learn. They feel free when they play. That's why they're doing amazing."

In sharp contrast, Spurs talisman Harry Kane struggled throughout and is still without a Premier League goal this season. But Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo has shouldered the blame for his team's weak loss, admitting he got his tactics wrong. 

"The performance was not good," Nuno told a press briefing. "The game-plan was not good. The decisions were not good. So it was not a good day for us. Definitely not a good day." 

"I'm going to be honest. When you have a game-plan you have to make the right decisions in terms of who you want to put on the pitch to develop that game-plan. I take responsibility because the decisions were not right according to the game-plan. I won't name individuals but the game-plan was not right according to the players who were on the pitch. 

"We were not aggressive enough to control the dynamic of Arsenal in midfield. We suffered when we wanted to go in front and we allowed Arsenal to always come to us. Why did it go wrong? Because I decided bad. I refuse to go further than that. All that I have to say, I will say directly to the players," he concluded.

Spurs captain Hugo Lloris added, "We lost complete control in the first half. We got smashed and then had a good reaction [in the second half]. When you concede three goals in each of the last three league games, you cannot hide the problems." 

For both Arsenal and Spurs, there is still a long way to go. The days of challenging for the title in every competition are long gone. But as Nuno's side plummeted down the table following a sequence of poor results and horror shows, Arteta's team at least offered a glimmer of hope.  

Arsenal fans' wild celebrations after the final whistle showed what it was like to see your team win one of the most important games of the season. And it provided a timely reminder of their glory days under Arsene Wenger. 

With the average age of Arsenal's starting XI being just 24, perhaps a new page has finally turned.