Premier League

ARSENAL got back to winning ways in the Premier League with a convincing 5-0 win over struggling Sheffield United.Eddie Nketiah was the man of the moment as his hat-trick helped the Gunners bounce back from last week’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
Eddie Nketiah scored a hat-trick as Arsenal dominated Sheffield UnitedCredit: EPA

It was a dominant performance from Mikel Arteta’s side, with David Raya barely even getting a touch on the ball.
As Arsenal climb back up to second in the table, SunSport’s Emillia Hawkins rates the performance.
David Raya – 7
The Spaniard was back beaming with confidence today.
But that might be because he barely had anything to do.
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His distribution was great whenever he picked up the ball direct from a set-piece and looked to send it straight out to rapid winger Martinelli.
Ben White – 8
White has been one of Arsenal’s most consistent players so far this season.
He put on another strong performance in defence and even left the Sheffield United players stunned at one point with an audacious bit of skill in midfield.
William Saliba – 8
Cool, calm and collected at the heart of the back four.
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He didn’t face too much pressure from the Sheffield United attack throughout the game, but whenever there looked to be the slightest hint of a threat he dealt with it as if he were in a training session.
William Saliba impressed againCredit: Getty
Jakub Kiwior – 8
He has had limited minutes so far this season, but he certainly made these ones count with a composed performance in defence.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 8
Another brilliant display from Zinchenko, who barely put a foot wrong all game.
With Arsenal dominating the ball, he regularly moved inside to midfield where he was able to open up play with some clever passes.
Declan Rice – 8
Another top performance from the £105million man.
He controlled the midfield once again and added another assist to his account with an excellent cross to Nketiah in the first half.
Kai Havertz – 6
It was another quiet day for Havertz.
He barely touched the ball in the first half and although he appeared to get more involved during the second half he struggled to create anything.
The midfielder came close to getting Arsenal’s sixth with the last touch of the game, but he hit the side netting.
Emile Smith Rowe made his first Prem start since May 2022Credit: PA

Emile Smith Rowe – 7
On his first Premier League start for the Gunners in 530 days he didn’t look out of place at all in midfield.
He provided the assist for Nketiah’s third goal.
Bukayo Saka – 8
Saka led his team out for the first time today – and it was a real captain’s performance.
The winger perhaps lacked a bit of sharpness in the first half, but even when he’s not performing at his best he is always able to pop up with something.
This time, it was the assist to Nketiah’s crucial second goal, which certainly helped to ease any pressure on the Gunners.
Eddie Nketiah – 9
Despite a quiet start to the game the striker popped up in the box at just the right moment to break the deadlock.

Nketiah sealed his hat-trick with a world-class strikeCredit: Getty
He fired the ball into the top-left corner from distanceCredit: Getty
He controlled Rice’s cross with a perfect first touch, taking the ball around former team-mate Auston Trusty before slotting it past Wes Foderingham.
Nketiah then made the most of a corner from Saka in the second half, once again bringing the ball down with an excellent touch before firing his shot into the top-right corner from close range.
And he sealed his hat-trick with a world-class strike, leaving the Emirates Stadium stunned.
Gabriel Martinelli – 7
Caused several problems for Jayden Bogle on the right, especially in the first half.
However, his end product wasn’t the best.
Substitutes
Takehiro Tomiyasu (for White, 65) – 8
Solid defensively once again and even got on the scoresheet for Arsenal’s fifth – his first goal for the club.
Leandro Trossard (for Martinelli, 65) – 8
The winger made an instant impact as soon as he was introduced, taking the intensity up a level with his explosive runs both on and off the ball.
Reiss Nelson (for Saka, 73) – 7
A positive performance from the substitute, who was introduced to replace Saka.
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Fabio Vieira (for Smith Rowe, 73) – 8
Scored Arsenal’s fourth with a composed penalty after making a run into the box to win the spot-kick.
Mohamed Elneny (for Rice, 89) – 6
Didn’t have enough time to make too much of an impact.
Fabio Vieira scored from the spot after coming onCredit: AP More

EDDIE NKETIAH ended his nine-match goal drought in spectacular style to keep unbeaten Arsenal snapping at the heels of League leaders Spurs.The recently capped England striker bagged the first Premier League hat-trick of his career to leave Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom teetering on the brink of the sack.
Eddie Nketiah scored his first from close rangeCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
He then doubled Arsenal’s advantage after Sheffield United failed to clear a cornerCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Nketiah completed his hat-trick with a long-range screamerCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
It is Nketiah’s first Arsenal hat-trickCredit: Getty
Arsenal dominated against Sheffield United at the Emirates
And this Emirates stroll in the park means that the Gunners can now definitely discount Sheffield United as one of their title rivals.
Blades defender Auston Trusty had laughably claimed that his team should be aiming to be Champions despite managing just one point from their opening nine games.
But this defeat means that even if they were to win all their remaining fixtures they can still only finish the season with 78 points, and that won’t be enough to finish top of the pile.
But in all seriousness, the gulf between these teams is so great that it is hard to believe that they are even playing the same game.
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The last time United were a Premier League team, it took them until January to win their first match.
The way this lot are going, the wait could be even longer.
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Nketiah was the difference for the Gunners on a comfortable afternoon for the hostsCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Fabio Vieira added a fourth from the penalty spotCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Nketiah scored three goals from four shots
Trusty had claimed that he might be able to offer Heckingbottom some useful inside information on Arsenal following his brief time at the club.
But considering the American defender didn’t even make Mikel Arteta’s subs’ bench before he was sold last summer, it was a wonder he even knew where the Emirates was.
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He certainly looked completely lost when Nketiah fired the Gunners into a 28th minute lead which they were never going to surrender.
Arteta had only just called his players over for a touchline rollocking following their lethargic start to a game which they clearly thought they could win at walking pace.
And the manager’s words had an almost instant effect as Declan Rice’s precise through ball allowed Nketiah to turn Trusty and coolly slot home past Wes Foderingham.
It was another massive kick in the teeth for the visitors, who hadn’t looked like a team who were resigned to their fate up to that point.
But the minute they conceded they simply collapsed like a pack of cards and it is that lack of fight which is surely going to do for Heckingbottom.
The under pressure boss had set his team up to squeeze the play into a narrow strip 20 metres either side of the halfway line and challenge Arsenal to tiptoe their way through the traffic.
And it was a tactic which looked like it might just work until Trusty switched off to give Nketiah the freedom of the box.
The young striker might have won his first senior England cap earlier this month, but has still to convince many Arsenal fans that he can be a big-time player for a club with serious title ambitions.
But with Gabriel Jesus ruled out for the next couple of weeks after pinging a hamstring in Sevilla on Tuesday, Nketiah now has the chance to prove that he can be more than just a back-up player.
And how he grabbed that opportunity with a devastating demonstration of his finishing skills which had the watching Jesus up and applauding from his executive box.
It was back in December 2021 that Nketiah scored three in a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Sunderland to convince Arteta that he deserved a new long-term contract at a time when his future was still up in the air.
But this hat-trick will mean so much to the 24-year-old graduate of the club’s Hale End academy.
Arteta had told his players that there could be no room for complacency against the rock bottom Blades.
Arsenal’s next five games in all competitions
But they clearly weren’t listening to his warning as they displayed an alarming lack of urgency and struggled to get out of second gear.
They weren’t helped by the Emirates atmosphere, which had been red hot for their last home game against Manchester City but was lukewarm at best this time.
But all that changed as soon as Nketiah broke the deadlock and suddenly the supporters were up on their feet and getting excited again.
Gabriel Martinelli tested Foderingham’s reflexes with a powerful shot just before the interval but any ideas the visitors might have held of a second-half comeback were shattered within five minutes of the restart.
Bukayo Saka, wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of the rested Martin Odegaard, swung over a corner which Foderingham could only push tamely into the path of the lurking Nketiah.
Two yards out and with the goal at his mercy, there was no way he was going to pass up on that opportunity.
But if that one was as straightforward a tap-in, there was nothing easy about his 58th minute hat-trick goal.
Receiving the ball from Emile Smith Rowe with his back to goal and 25 yards out, he was allowed to turn unchallenged once again before leathering an absolute beauty into the top corner.
He could have had a fourth when substitute Fabio Vieira was hacked down in the area by Blades skipper Oliver Norwood in the 87th minute.
The fans certainly wanted Nketiah to take the penalty but Vieira was determined to cash in on his own work and stepped up to send Foderingham the wrong way from the spot.
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And still Arsenal weren’t finished and deep into stoppage time Takehrio Tomiyasu made it five to condemn dismal United to a sixth straight defeat.
Game over for Arsenal and game almost certainly game up for Heckingbottom. More

BRENTFORD striker Neal Maupay was booked while WARMING UP during his side’s 2-0 win over Chelsea.The Bees forward, 27, came off the bench to assist his team’s second goal in stoppage time as he teed up Bryan Mbeumo to tap into an empty net.
Neal Maupay kicked the ball away while warming upCredit: TNT Sports

He was booked for coming onto the field of play and kicking the ballCredit: TNT Sports
But when the Frenchman entered the fray as Yoane Wissa’s replacement in the 76th minute, he had already been cautioned by referee Simon Hooper.
That was because he interfered with play as Chelsea prepared to take a free-kick by the touchline.
Blues forward Cole Palmer was waiting patiently as Hooper measured out the wall.
But Maupay then came into shot and kicked the ball a yard or so away from the Chelsea man.
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Palmer threw his hands up in frustration at Maupay’s behaviour.
As a result, he earned himself the first booking of the match… despite not having come on.
But fans on social media saw the funny side of the Brentford man’s cautionable offence.
One said: “I love Neal Maupay. The s***housery is elite.
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“Kicked the ball away while warming up, he’s a silly but hilarious young man 😂.”
Another added: “Maupay with the most ridiculous yellow ever 😂.”
A third replied: “Neal Maupay with the stupidest yellow card in history there.”
While a fourth responded: “I’d laugh if Maupay picked up a second yellow card 🤣.”
Fortunately, Maupay avoided another yellow card and what would surely have been one of the most bizarre red cards in Premier League history. More

NEAL MAUPAY shrugged off Robert Sanchez before squaring the ball to Bryan Mbeumo as Brentford sealed a 2-0 win at Chelsea this afternoon.Following the Bees’ second goal, fans were obsessed with the slow foot-race between Maupay and Sanchez.
Unbelievable! 🤩Robert Sanchez leaves his goal to come up for a Chelsea corner and Brentford break away into the open net! 😲 pic.twitter.com/IgRTPUAw4K— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 28, 2023

Neal Maupay initially raced through on goalCredit: X / @footballontnt
The Frenchman was nearly caught by Robert SanchezCredit: X / @footballontnt
Maupay was forced to shrug off a challenge by the SpaniardCredit: Rex
The Blues goalkeeper had gone up for a stoppage time corner with his side trailing 1-0.
Thomas Frank’s side won the initial header, before Ian Maatsen was beaten to the second ball.
This left Maupay with the freedom of Chelsea’s half to run into, with their net unguarded.
Sanchez busted a gut to get back, and very nearly caught Maupay.
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But the Brentford ace managed to shrug him off.
Maupay went into today’s game 33 Prem games without a goal, dating back to September 2022.
Rather than be selfish, however, he squared the ball to Mbeumo, who gratefully smashed the ball into the empty net.
Following the goal, one fan wrote on social media: “The way Sanchez caught up with Maupay is crazy lol.”
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While a second asked: “Is Sanchez rapid or is Maupay slow?”
A third joked: “Like a school sports day that.”
Another added: “Sanchez actually caught up to Maupay and Brentford STILL scored.”
Maupay was involved in the action even before coming on as a substitute.
In the 56th minute while warming up, he received a yellow card for poking the ball away before a Chelsea free-kick.
Just two minutes later, Ethan Pinnock headed Brentford into the lead.
Maupay made his entrance on 76 minutes, replacing Yoane Wissa.
He then set up Mbeumo’s dramatic clincher on 96 minutes as the Bees ran out 2-0 winners.
After the game, Mbeumo told TNT Sports: “When I’ve seen him coming high I’ve said to myself ‘if we have the possibility to counter-attack it’s a very good opportunity’.
“We did. I wanted Neal to score his first goal here but I’m very happy with this.”
Brentford’s win saw them leapfrog Chelsea in the table, going a point clear of them in tenth ahead of the 3pm kick-offs.
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Maupay, meanwhile, appeared to swap shirts with his former Brighton team-mate Sanchez.
The forward posted a picture of himself beaming in Sanchez’s top back on the team bus, and captioned it: “Mood.”
Maupay was in great spirits after the gameCredit: INSTAGRAM / @nealmaupay
Maupay squares the ball to his strike partnerCredit: PA
Bryan Mbeumo rolls the ball into the empty netCredit: Rex More