Eddie Nketiah’s hat-trick sees Arsenal ease to Sheff Utd win

Arsenal moved within two points of Premier League leaders Tottenham after beating Sheffield United 5-0 on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s side didn’t reach top gear at the Emirates but still secured a comfortable win against the Premier League’s bottom club. Eddie Nketiah scored a sensational hat-trick, just days after fellow striker Gabriel Jesus suffered a hamstring injury against Sevilla. Fabio Vieira came off the bench to convert a penalty before Takehiro Tomiyasu completed the scoring.

Arsenal will now look to win at West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, while the Blades will try to pick up their first Premier League win of the season at home to Wolves next Saturday.

Arteta took a big risk on Saturday by benching Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Magalhaes and captain Martin Odegaard. Emile Smith Rowe was given his first Premier League start since May 2022, while Bukayo Saka was handed the armband.

With the Gunners also competing in the Champions League and Carabao Cup, it’s clear Arteta saw this game as a chance to rotate his squad. United are bottom of the Premier League and big favourites to make an immediate return to the Championship.

Yet it’s always a gamble to rest players in English football’s top flight. Arsenal fans started to worry that Arteta had made a mistake around 25 minutes into the game, with the Blades looking confident on the ball. The Gunners needed to take control.

And that’s exactly what they did. Declan Rice picked up the ball down the middle, around 30 yards out, and took United’s defence by surprise by quickly playing a ball into the box. Nketiah read the delivery and controlled it before finishing from eight yards out.

It was the game’s first moment of real quality. The next came in the 41st minute, when Gabriel Martinelli’s left-footed strike was tipped around the post by goalkeeper Wes Foderingham. Arsenal went into the interval with a lead, but they weren’t at their best.