Arsenal 5-0 Sheffield United: 5 Talking Points as the Gunners secure their biggest win of the season | Premier League 2023-24
Arsenal thrashed Sheffield United 5-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, October 28.
The Gunners entered this contest on the back of three wins, one draw and one defeat in their last five outings. Their last game was a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sevilla in the Champions League. Mikel Arteta made three changes to his XI for this game as he was serious about winning.
The Blades, on the other hand, entered this contest on the back of a poor run of form. They lost each of their last five outings, conceding 17 goals in the process. Manager Paul Heckingbottom was keen to turn things around as he went with a strong lineup for this game.
Arsenal made a strong start to the game and were faced with a rather toothless Sheffield United who struggled to do much with limited possession. This allowed the hosts to build some momentum with their stylish passing, before eventually grabbing the lead in the 28th minute.
Declan Rice found Edward Nketiah in Sheffield's penalty area, where the striker turned smartly to beat Auston Trusty to create space for himself. He then smashed it into the net from close-range to make it 1-0.
The hosts led by one goal at the interval.
Arsenal came out for the second half with a spring in their step as they looked to carry their first-half momentum forward. They doubled their advantage just five minutes after the restart as Nketiah reacted first to dispatch a poor clearance following a corner to make it 2-0.
The striker then grabbed his hat-trick as he took the initiative and smashed a shot into the top-left corner to make it 3-0 after 58 minutes. The hosts were then awarded a penalty and Fabio Vieira stepped up and scored to make it 4-0 after 88 minutes.
Takehiro Tomiyasu rounded off the scoring in the 98th minute with his first goal for Arsenal as they secured a rampant 5-0 win over Sheffield United.
On that note, let's take a look at the five major talking points from the game.
#5. Bukayo Saka captained Arsenal for the first-ever time
Having worn the captain's armband briefly towards the end of Arsenal's game against Sevilla, Bukayo Saka made his first start as the Gunners' captain against Sheffield United.
Saka made his way to the first team from the Hale End youth academy and has made 191 appearances for the club, scoring 43 goals and assisting 46. At only 22 years of age and getting close to 200 appearances for his boyhood club, being named captain marked a special day in his career so far.
#4. Nketiah scores the opener following assist from Rice
Arsenal looked sharp from the start as they looked to put Sheffield on the back foot with their precise possession play. With 66% of the ball in the first half, the Gunners attempted five shots with three on target. They opened the scoring midway through the first period as two former Chelsea youth players combined.
Declan Rice received the ball in midfield and spotted Edward Nketiah's run inside the 18-yard box. He played the ball to the forward, who took a delicate touch to beat former Arsenal defender Auston Trusty, before firing a shot into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
#3. Nketiah grabs first-ever hat-trick for the Gunners
Nketiah gave his team a dream start to the second half as he doubled their lead just five minutes after the break. He reacted the fastest following Wesley Foderingham's parried shot that fell in a dangerous area and smashed it into the net to make it 2-0 after 50 minutes.
Just eight minutes later, the Englishman scored a stunning goal from outside the box to send the stadium into raptures. In doing so, he bagged his first-ever hat-trick for Arsenal.
#2. Sheffield conceded a penalty after much deliberation by the VAR
Late in the second period, Blades' captain Oliver Norwood brought Fabio Vieira down in Sheffield's box with a hard tackle on the forward's toes. Upon first looks at the real-time replay, it seemed the foul was committed outside the box.
However, upon much deliberation by the VAR, referee Tim Robinson was invited to the on-field monitor and awarded a penalty. Vieira stepped up and scored to make it 4-0 to Arsenal after 88 minutes.
#1. Takehiro Tomiyasu scores his first goal for the Gunners
Substitute Tomiyasu was in the perfect position late in the game as he scored in the 98th minute for his first goal for the club. The corner was played in from the right side and the ball fell kindly to the Japanese defender, who swiveled and struck the ball sweetly to take it past Foderingham in goal.
The win took Arsenal up to second place with 24 points from their 10 games as they remain unbeaten.