- By Ewan Harkness at Bramall Lane
Arsenal boss Arteta set to make changes for upcoming games after 6-0 mauling of desperate Sheffield United
By Ewan Harkness at Bramall Lane
Arsenal go two points within top spot of the Premier League, after thrashing a poor Sheffield United side 6-0 at Bramall Lane tonight.
That makes it seven successful wins for The Gunners, who were 5-0 up at half time after an emphatic performance.
Capital Football spoke to Mikel Arteta on why he left his side unchanged and how important managing minutes is in the title race:
He said: “We believe that today is the best team we have to start the game. We had a long nine-day period after the Newcastle game so that has allowed us to start with this team.
“Now we’re going to have to manage the minutes, as we have Brentford in a couple of days and then Porto midweek.”
As for the game, Sheffield United were bullied all over the pitch in the opening exchanges, with Arsenal carving chances without hardly breaking a sweat. By the fifth minute Martin Odegaard opened the scoring, after Declan Rice’s driven cross left him
completely unmarked in the centre of the box. A string of well-worked wing play saw Saka and Martinelli put their names on the scoresheet, making it 3-0 in only the 15th minute.
Blades boss Chris Wilder desperately tried to shift his side's doomed fortune, as he subbed Oliver Norwood for Ben Osborn in only the 17th minute.
However the change failed to shift the momentum, as The Gunner’s press forced mistake after mistake, which Kai Havertz eventually capitalised on with a breakaway goal in the 25th minute.
Home fans had seen enough and poured out of the stadium in surely record breaking numbers, as Arsenal knocked the ball around their side in an outright cruel manner.
This effortless passing around Wilder’s hopeless low block, culminated in a pinpoint strike from Rice, making the score an utterly embarrassing 0-5 at the break.
The second half came and Arsenal refused to let off, toying with The Blades backline for the opening of the half. The Gunners eventually pounced in the 58th minute, as Ben White’s impressive strike into the bottom left corner made it 6-0. The game remained quiet until the 82nd minute, when Gabriel Jesus’ curled finish forced a top save from Ivo Grbic. Jaden Bogle’s late outside of the boot miss hit finish, which nearly went out for a throw-in, summed up an evening to forget for Blades’ fans.
Capital Football Man Of The Match: Kai Havertz
Arsenal Lineup: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Jorginho,
Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Sheffield United Lineup: Grbic; Robinson, Trusty, Ahmedzovic, Bogle; Hamer,
Norwood, Souza, Davies; McAtee, Mcburnie
Referee: Sam Barrott
