Eddie Nketiah Fires In Hat-Trick Against Sheffield United To Maintain Arsenal's Strong League Start

After rescuing a point away from Chelsea in the club's previous Premier League game, Arsenal got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 thrashing over the still-winless Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal's big win was predominantly spearheaded by striker Eddie Nketiah, who scored his first-ever Premier League hat-trick to send Arsenal within just two points of league leaders, Tottenham Hotspur. Nketiah was filling in for the injured, Gabriel Jesus, who had to limp off with a hamstring issue in the Gunners' midweek win over Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League.

The opening period of the game saw the Premier League's bottom side hold out Arsenal and frustrate them. However, just before the half-hour mark, Declan Rice found Nketiah in the box with a cross and the striker manoeuvred the ball into his path before finishing clinically to give Mikel Arteta's side the lead.

Five minutes into the second half, the home side doubled their lead as Sheffield United keeper, Wes Foderingham, fumbled a corner whipped in by Bukayo Saka, and Nketiah was in the right place to pounce on the mistake and score.

Less than 10 minutes later, Nketiah picked up the ball from Emile Smith Rowe and launched a ferocious effort from 25 yards out which flew past Foderingham and into the back of the net. This sensational strike completed Nketiah's hat-trick and put Arsenal in a very commanding and comfortable position.

Arsenal continued to pile pressure onto Sheffield United and were awarded a penalty in the last few minutes of normal time when VAR found that Fabio Vieira was brought down by Oliver Norwood. Vieira took the resulting penalty and calmly slotted the ball into the middle of the goal to get his side's fourth goal of the afternoon.

Deep into stoppage time, Arsenal got their fifth goal as Takehiro Tomiyasu scored from close range as a result of the ball finding its way to him from a corner. This was the Japanese defender's first ever goal for the Gunners and he dedicated the moment to his mother who passed away last year.

In his post-match press conference, Arteta praised Nketiah for his impressive display, commenting: "I'm really happy for him, an academy player, to experience in the Premier League a hat-trick. He needs to enjoy the moment. He fully deserves it and hopefully, there are many more to come."

The Arsenal boss added: "The best thing he's got, along with the talent, is his mentality. It's incredible. When he has that mentality and that talent, he's going to get much better."

Nketiah spoke to BBC's Match of the Day after the match to touch on his special moment. The striker said: "It's amazing. It's not been easy - last month I lost my auntie so I want to dedicate these three goals to her. Her family was here watching so it is a really special moment."

The hat-trick hero also revealed that he was initially planning on taking the penalty awarded to Arsenal but decided against it. He stated: "My first instinct was to grab the ball and go, but Fabio won it and it was a good moment. It's all about being a team player. It was his time to get a chance and he tucked it away."

Arsenal are next in action on Wednesday night when they travel to face West Ham United in the Carabao Cup. Arteta's team selection for that game will be interesting as he may want to give fringe players an opportunity or he may feel this is a good chance for Arsenal to win a trophy and therefore choose to field a strong starting 11.

The Gunners' next Premier League game will see them face off against Newcastle United away from home this coming Saturday. After the trip to St. James' Park, Arsenal's next few league fixtures are quite favourable as they will take on Burnley, Brentford, Wolves and Luton Town.