Arsenal player ratings: Nketiah 10/10 for hat trick vs. Sheff United،
Eddie Nketiah scored his first Premier League hat-trick in exquisite style as Arsenal kept the pressure on north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the table with a thumping 5-0 win over Sheffield United, without victory.
The Arsenal academy graduate controlled the ball and calmly slotted it past Wes Foderingham to open the scoring just before the half-hour mark, before smashing a superb second into the roof of the net shortly after the restart.
And the best was yet to come when the striker collected Emile Smith Rowe’s pass and fired an unstoppable piledriver from 25 yards beyond a helpless Foderingham, who could only watch as the ball nestled into the top corner .
Arsenal weren’t done and there was still time for Fabio Vieira to add a fourth from the penalty spot, before right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu scored a fantastic five in the dying seconds to cap off a breathtaking afternoon in the Emirates.
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Good points
There are not enough superlatives to describe this demonstration by Nketiah. The unplayable striker wowed the Blades with a phenomenal individual performance that had a bit of everything.
Negative points
Despite their dominance, Arsenal looked sluggish for around 25 minutes as Mikel Arteta’s men struggled to find their usual creative spark. But when the final whistle blew, their biggest disappointment was not having scored even more.
Manager’s note
8 – Arsenal will need to rotate their best players if they are to go all the way this time around and Arteta has done so with some smart changes, although Nketiah’s introduction was forced by Gabriel Jesus’ injury. However, no one will be more delighted for the striker than the Arsenal boss who has continued to support him.
Player Ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK David Raya, 8 years old — Commanded his area with confidence and quickly put the Gunners on the front foot with precise distribution. He didn’t have a single save to make en route to his fifth clean sheet of the season.
DF Ben White, 8 years old — Maybe we should start calling him “Whitinho. The right-back has raised the bar this season and caught the eye again when he danced with ease in Sheffield United’s midfield. Later he made a fine save from Foderingham with a swirling effort.
DF William Saliba, 7 years old — The easiest 90 minutes he will have all season. Hardly perturbed, but he looked classy and had a 96.1% success rate.
DF Jakub Kiwior, 6 years old – A 10th Premier League appearance for the 23-year-old, and probably his easiest yet against a virtually non-existent Sheffield United attack.
DF Oleksandr Zinchenko, 7 — It looked like he was playing three different positions. He struggled on a non-stop outing and always provided a good option for his teammates. He spent a ridiculous amount of time in the Sheffield United box, which epitomized his work rate.
Rice MF Declan, 8 — A typically assertive performance in the middle of the park. He hustled and dominated the opposition, and sent an inviting cross between the defender’s legs to find Nketiah who opened the scoring.
Mr. F. Emile Smith Rowe, 8 years old — An industrious demonstration for his return to the starting lineup. It took some smart intervention from former Gunner Auston Trusty to keep him off the scoresheet and he got an assist from Nketiah’s screamer.
Lecturer Kai Havertz, 6 years – Did a lot of work in the middle as the hosts stifled their struggling opponents, but he failed to provide much of an offensive output. It was mercilessly hacked down by Ben Osborn who was booked immediately after coming on.
FW Bukayo Saka, 7 years old — The young captain spotted Rice, whose cross scored the opening goal, and got another attacking return when his corner was headed home for 2-0.
FW Gabriel Martinelli, 8 – The silky Brazilian outran his opponents and frequently picked out his teammates in dangerous areas with some frankly outrageous vision. Stung Foderingham’s palms with a dull effort as the hosts continued to apply the heat.
FW Eddie Nketiah, 10 years old — Stunning; what a way to score your first hat-trick! The striker has started to look like a real player this season, but this was easily his finest hour yet, much to the delight of his teammates and the Gunners faithful.
Substitutes (players introduced after 70 minutes receive no rating)
DF Takehiro Tomiyasu, 7 years old – Replaced the impressive White and marked his 50th Arsenal appearance with his first goal for the club when he headed a late effort beyond Foderingham on the turn.
MF Léandro Trossard, 6 years old – Replaced Martinelli, perhaps to save him from a spot-kick as the visitors’ discipline began to wane. Made himself a nuisance during his 30 minute outing.
MF Fabio Vieira, NR – Replaced Smith Rowe and earned his side a penalty when caught late on by Oliver Norwood. He got up off the turf to send Foderingham the wrong way and make it 4-0.
MF Mohamed Elneny, NR – A late appearance from the Egyptian international who replaced Rice in the final minutes.
F.W. Reiss Nelson, NR – Replaced Saka for his fourth Premier League appearance of the season.
