Arsenal vs Sheffield United. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance60,153.
Report and free match highlights as Eddie Nketiah's hat-trick helps Arsenal maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign; Gunners move above Man City and into second place; Sheff Utd remain bottom and without a win in 10 games
Saturday 28 October 2023 18:49, UK
Eddie Nketiah's sensational hat-trick inspired Arsenal to a 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United as Mikel Arteta's side moved back within two points of Premier League leaders Tottenham.
Nketiah, leading the line in place of the injured Gabriel Jesus, converted the opener coolly from Declan Rice's cross in the first half then capitalised on a Wes Foderingham error to slam home an instinctive second soon after the break.
The 24-year-old saved his best until last, however, sealing his treble with a stunning long-range effort driven into the top corner after collecting Emile Smith Rowe's pass 25 yards from goal.
Arsenal rammed home their advantage when Fabio Vieira won and converted a late penalty and fellow substitute Takehiro Tomiyasu poked home his first goal for the club following a corner in stoppage time, but the afternoon belonged to Nketiah.
"For me, he is top level," said Arteta afterwards. "He has started [eight] out of the 10 Premier League games, so that tells you how much we and I trust him and the importance he has in the team.
"Really happy for him, an academy player, to experience a hat-trick in the Premier League. He needs to enjoy the moment, he fully deserves it, and hopefully there are many more to come."
The 24-year-old's performance, having not scored in his previous nine appearances, was an exhibition in ruthlessness and helped Arsenal maintain their unbeaten start to the season in style, moving them up to second place and piling more misery on bottom side Sheffield United, who remain winless, with one point from 10 games.
Before their second-half collapse, Sheffield United offered stubborn resistance, doubling up effectively on Saka, Arsenal's captain for the day with Martin Odegaard benched, as the hosts struggled to break them down in the opening 25 minutes.
But it all changed with the opening goal, when Rice, outstanding in midfield, picked out Nketiah with a low cross. The 24-year-old took the ball away from Aaron Trusty with a deft first touch before slotting a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
The goal came from Arsenal's first shot on target and helped Arteta's side find their flow, with Gabriel Martinelli a persistent source of danger as his powerful effort from Saka's pass inside the box forced Foderingham into an athletic save.
Arsenal were in complete control at that point and Nketiah's second arrived shortly after half-time as Foderingham palmed Saka's inswinging corner into the danger area and the striker punished the error ruthlessly, firing a first-time finish high into the net.
Nketiah's first two goals showed his poaching instincts but his third demonstrated he can do it from long-distance too as he collected Smith Rowe's pass, turned, and launched a stunning drive back across Foderingham and into the top corner.
Arsenal continued to pour forward, with Ben White drawing a save from Foderingham and Tomiyasu firing narrowly wide, and their fourth goal arrived after a lengthy VAR check, with Oliver Norwood eventually penalised for a foul on Vieira just inside the box.
It seemed Nketiah would take the resulting spot kick, but he handed the ball over to Vieira, who rolled a low effort into the net before Tomiyasu hooked home the fifth from close range following a corner.
Arsenal could have had a sixth late on, with Kai Havertz firing into the side netting, while their hapless opponents failed to even register a shot on target.
As Arsenal and Nketiah celebrated a confidence-building victory, Paul Heckingbottom's side were left to reflect on an increasingly miserable return to the top flight.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said of hat-trick hero Eddie Nketiah: "For me, he is top level.
"He has started [eight] out of the 10 Premier League games, so that tells you how much we and I trust him and the importance he has in the team.
"Really happy for him, an academy player, to experience a hat-trick in the Premier League. He needs to enjoy the moment, he fully deserves it, and hopefully there are many more to come."
Asked how he compares to Jesus, Arteta added: "I don't like comparing. I think they are very different.
"Eddie brings different qualities to the team. He's got an eye for goal. You look at the stats from his last 10 years, what he has done is remarkable.
"He needs minutes and opportunities and service and if he gets that, Eddie is going to score goals, that is for sure.
"How good is he now? He is already playing for Arsenal, he has started eight games in the Premier League. He is already really, really good. He can be better, yes.
"The best thing about Eddie is the talent that he has got, but especially mentality. It's incredible. When he has that mentality, with that talent, obviously he is going to get much better."
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom said: "I think if you break the game down you see what we did well and what we did not so well. In the first half, Wes had one save to make. It was a really poor goal to concede. We were organised and broke well.
"The second half, again we conceded really poor goals. When they upped the pace, they were more aggressive and they outfought us as well.
"That's something we have to be clear on. Yes, we're missing big characters and personalities with big physical presence, but the boys coming into the team need to understand how important that part of the game is.
"That bit will never change. A lot of people will have to learn that quickly. Yes, they have good players but they have a real edge to them as well."
He added: "Our season is not going to be defined by our trip to the Emirates. We've played six of the top nine. Now, we are coming into a little spell where we play a lot of the teams around us.
"These are big moments. Regardless of what we've got missing or personnel, these are the games we've got to attack."
Arsenal travel to east London to face West Ham in the Carabao Cup fourth round live on Sky Sports on Wednesday, kick-off 7.30pm. They're back on the box in their next game on November 4, when they visit Newcastle in front of the Sky Sports cameras in the Premier League. Kick-off 5.30pm.
Sheffield United next host Wolves in the Premier League on November 4, kick-off 3pm. They then travel to Brighton on November 12, kick-off 2pm.
