Eddie Nketiah puts on show with hat-trick in Arsenal rout of Sheffield United

So much for Arsenal missing Gabriel Jesus. With the captain’s armband round his bicep and a first Premier League hat-trick of his career, this was a spectacular manner for Eddie Nketiah to banish any thoughts of the absent Brazilian.

“I’m here,” said Nketiah, while jabbing his finger at the Emirates turf after his thunderbolt third goal. He has been a fixture of this part of north London for some time and is clearly not prepared to relinquish control yet.

Before this game, some fans had bemoaned his inclusion in place of the injured Jesus, who has been ruled out for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury picked up during his inspirational performance against Sevilla on Tuesday night. By the end, they were singing Nketiah’s name.

The only minor disappointment came in his denial of a fourth, when substitute Fabio Vieira was allowed to take – and score – the late penalty he had earned. Takehiro Tomiyasu then added a fifth deep in stoppage time. Mikel Arteta’s side are up to second and the title quest continues.

Reports had emerged this week that poor Paul Heckingbottom might imminently be relieved of his duties to be replaced by former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder. If his time does come to an end, one wonders what anyone else could do with a squad palpably inadequate for this level of football – and one that has suffered a horror run of injuries to further deplete the weapons at his disposal.

Sheffield United have now picked up just one point from 10 games – the same tally they managed at the start of a 2020/21 season in which they claimed only two points from their first 17 fixtures (a Premier League record) and were relegated. How they can possibly avoid the same fate this campaign is a mystery.

Any hope that the visitors could cling on and find a route back into the game dissolved just five minutes into the second half when Foderingham flapped at an Arsenal corner, palming the ball straight to Nketiah, who lashed home from inside the six-yard box. As the Sheffield United outfield players surrounded the referee to complain that Foderingham had been fouled, the goalkeeper was conspicuous by his absence and the video assistant referee spotted no infringement.

Eight minutes later, Nketiah had his thunderous third, turning on the ball 25 yards out and crashing a powerful drive high into the top corner; a sublime strike that sent the Emirates into raptures.