Arsenal managed to secure all three points in stylish fashion on Saturday as they managed to do what both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur couldn't by dispatching bottom-of-the-league Sheffield United with ease and a stunning five-goal tally.
It was filled with interesting aspects to look into and of course, the starring role of Mikel Arteta's hat trick hero Eddie Nketiah will headline most of the discussion. Yet there were more than the obvious takeaways and football.london has you covered by looking into both the successes from the game and the areas which required more critical thought which made up the 5-0 win over The Blades.
Successes Eddie Nketiah If you could write the perfect time to score a hat trick it was probably this moment. Gabriel Jesus is out injured for the next few weeks and the man to replace him smashes in his third in a way that's arguably been missing from Gunners forwards of late.
If we're honest, the majority of vocal views were favouring Kai Havertz or Leandro Trossard for the number nine slot. Nketiah faces the challenge of an uphill battle to win over the fans to convince them he is the man to take on the striker role but performances like that will be perfect in his hopes to accomplish it.
Goal difference Arsenal needed a big win after so many games whereby they narrowly got the three points. A plus-15 goal difference gives them an advantage over both Tottenham and Manchester City.
Putting teams away who decide to sit deep will hope to have the psychological effect on future oppositions to deter them from sitting deep and instead opening up in an attempt to hurt Arsenal. It's important to state how key momentum is during a title race and looking at Man City score lines during their winning campaigns only further evidence this.
Rotational dream Mikel Arteta was able to rest players like Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Magalhaes and get some important minutes into some of his less-used stars. Emile Smith Rowe, Jakub Kiwior and Kai Havertz were given chances but the Pole was arguably the best of the bunch and struck a composed figure between the sticks.
Furthermore, Bukayo Saka was substituted relatively early, as was Gabriel Martinelli. Managing minutes is a trait I've wanted to see improved in Arteta's organisation of his squad and thankfully Saturday showed clear progression.
Areas of development Martin Odegaard The frustration for Martin Odegaard is that there's a perception circulating that he was quote-unquote dropped for Saturday's game. However, it was a management of minutes due to an injury that Mikel Arteta admitted has been plaguing him the past few weeks.
Yet the only thing that will truly stop the talk around the club captain is by putting in some top performances. Hopefully, he can take this rest and use it to refocus his
A training exercise Now, I love an absolute mauling of an opposition side with goals threatening to get into double figures as much as the next person. However, despite all the successes, standout performances and ability to rotate and rest players there will of course be something of a caveat, perhaps an asterisk is the better word, next to this game.
Sheffield United were dreadful and I mean utterly awful. That was the worst performance of any side I think I have ever seen at the Emirates, perhaps in any game ever.
And because of that what Arsenal did is somewhat tarnished in the knowledge that anyone else we play this season will, at least in my estimations, offer more than the Blades did this weekend. However, however the three points are secured, I am just glad they are in the bag.
Missed chances I think that in a game where the opposition offered so little, I would have liked to have seen more from Emile Smith Rowe and Kai Havertz considering they were given the encouragement of being the attacking midfield force. Perhaps it comes through a lack of consistent minutes, for Smith Rowe in particular, but ultimately chances will not come all that often.
There were flashes of positivity but Havertz seemed something of an enabler in the game. He kept things simple and really only had that one big moment toward the end when his right-footed shot hit the side netting from a tight angle.
If you're Fabio Vieira having shown what he has this season, I'd feel rather gutted not to have been given the nod here. Perhaps we see him against West Ham, which is certainly an intriguing fixture regarding who Arteta might want to select.y
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