Eddie Nketiah has marked his return to Arsenal’s starting line-up in style with a maiden Premier League hat-trick as the Gunners ruthlessly brushed aside rock-bottom Sheffield United 5-0.
Replacing the injured Gabriel Jesus as Arsenal’s target man at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Nketiah proved he was up to the task as a swivelled finish gave the home side a 28th-minute lead.
Nketiah arrowed a shot into the top corner for his and Arsenal’s second after 50 minutes and the England forward completed his treble with a stunning strike from distance just before the hour.
Substitutes Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu added gloss to the scoreline with a penalty and a close-range finish respectively as Arsenal moved up to second in the table, two points behind Tottenham.
Eddie Nketiah celebrates. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Chelsea fell to a third home defeat of the season as Brentford maintained their 100 per cent Premier League record at Stamford Bridge with a deserved 2-0 victory.
Ethan Pinnock took advantage of non-existent marking to head Brentford in front shortly before the hour mark after the Blues had failed to take advantage of a first half in which they dominated.
Thereafter there was little genuine attacking threat nor hope of salvation, as the hosts took a worrying backwards step towards the goal-shy, hesitant play that characterised the manager’s early games.
Robert Sanchez was embarrassed in added time after joining his team’s attack for a corner, failing to catch Neal Maupay in a foot race as he broke with the ball, allowing Bryan Mbeumo to score in an empty net to compound home fans’ woes.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola claimed his maiden Premier League victory at the 10th time of asking with a 2-1 comeback win over Burnley.
The Clarets went ahead in the 11th minute when Charlie Taylor opened his account for the club on his 198th appearance with a sweet strike, but Antoine Semenyo’s fine solo effort ensured it was all square at halftime.
Inside the final quarter of an hour, Philip Billing spotted Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford off his line and audaciously lobbed the ball home from a 40-yard distance.
Hwang Hee-chan’s seventh goal of the season earned Wolves a point as they twice came from behind in a 2-2 draw at home against Newcastle.
Callum Wilson bagged a first-half brace for the visitors, scoring his second from the penalty spot, but Mario Lemina cancelled out the first strike before Hwang sealed a share of the spoils for Wolves.