So much for Arsenal missing Gabriel Jesus. With a first Premier League hat-trick of his career and the captain’s armband wrapped around his right biceps, this was a spectacular manner for Eddie Nketiah to banish any fears of the Brazilian’s absence proving costly.
“I’m here,” said Nketiah, jabbing his finger at the Emirates turf after his thunderbolt third goal fired home from all of 25 yards. The academy graduate has been a fixture in this part of north London for some time and, while he may sometimes flatter to deceive, he is clearly not prepared to relinquish control yet.
Before this game, some fans had bemoaned his inclusion in place of the injured Jesus, who has been ruled out for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury picked up during his inspirational performance against Sevilla on Tuesday. By the end, they were singing Nketiah’s name. Called that one wrong, eh?
Of course, it was only against a Sheffield United side killing time before a return to the Championship. But what a show from one of Arsenal’s own. That Bukayo Saka – captain in place of the rested Martin Ødegaard – had given him the armband when departing in the second half merely added to Nketiah’s pride as he carried the match ball off at the final whistle.
The only minor disappointment came in his denial of a fourth goal, when the substitute Fábio Vieira was allowed to take – and score – the late penalty he had earned. Takehiro Tomiyasu then added a fifth deep in added time. Mikel Arteta’s side are up to second and the title quest shows no sign of slowing.
Reports had emerged this week that poor Paul Heckingbottom might imminently be relieved of his duties at Sheffield United. If his time does come to an end, one wonders what anyone else could do with a squad palpably inadequate for this level of football – and one that has suffered a horror run of injuries to further deplete the weapons at his disposal.
United have now picked up just one point from 10 games – the same tally they managed at the start of a 2020-21 season in which they claimed only two points from their first 17 fixtures (a Premier League record) and were relegated. How they can possibly avoid the same fate this campaign remains a mystery.
This trip to the Emirates was something of a shot to nothing for Heckingbottom, whose side should not be judged on how they perform against the division’s elite. But days like this will surely leave psychological scars.
A measure of the visitors’ desperation was evident as early as the 15th minute when Gustavo Hamer carried the ball over halfway and shanked an attempted 50-yard shot (so lacking in threat that it ranked an impotent 0.01 on expected goals) which only just dribbled across the line, nearer the corner flag than the goal.
For almost half an hour, United did all they were capable of – namely, defending – with aplomb. They frustrated Arsenal, organising themselves diligently and restricting the home side to distant views of Wes Foderingham’s goal. But no sooner had the first impatient whistles begun to emanate from Arsenal’s supporters than the home side went ahead and never looked back.
With time to identify his target, Declan Rice’s fizzed pass found the feet of Nketiah, whose first touch near the penalty spot took the ball past his defender and second fired it into the back of the net.
Any hope that the visitors could cling on and find a route back into the game dissolved five minutes into the second half when Foderingham flapped at an Arsenal corner, palming the ball straight to Nketiah, who lashed home from inside the six-yard box. As the Sheffield United outfield players surrounded the referee to complain that Foderingham had been fouled, the goalkeeper was conspicuous by his absence and the video assistant referee spotted no infringement.
Eight minutes later, Nketiah had his thunderous third, turning on the ball and crashing a powerful drive high into the top corner from distance; a sublime strike that sent the Emirates into raptures.
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There was still time for two more late Arsenal goals. The referee, Tim Robinson, initially decided there was nothing wrong with Oliver Norwood’s lunge on Vieira, but the VAR advised him to have another look and he pointed to the penalty spot after viewing replays. The Portuguese picked himself up and stroked it home.
His fellow substitute Tomiyasu completed the rout by crashing in a bouncing ball from close range for his first Arsenal goal.
