Eddie Nketiah returned to the Arsenal starting line-up with style as the England forward hit a first Premier League hat-trick in a 5-0 win over bottom club Sheffield United.
Mikel Arteta made five changes for the visit of the Blades and it was Nketiah – in for the injured Gabriel Jesus – who proved the difference and ended a memorable afternoon wearing the captain’s armband.
Substitutes Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu wrapped up the points late on with a penalty and a close-range finish respectively on an afternoon where Arsenal’s fringe players took centre-stage.
Martin Odegaard dropped to the bench in the most eye-catching of Arteta’s alterations, which also saw Emile Smith Rowe make his first league start since May 2022.
The victory took Arsenal up to second place, two points behind leaders and north London rivals Tottenham as Arteta’s men remained unbeaten after 10 league games.
For the Blades, this was a galling afternoon where – once their resolute defence was breached for the first goal just before the half-hour mark – the writing was on the wall.
The travelling fans sang the name of under pressure manager Paul Heckingbottom but they have still yet to see their team win on their return to the top-flight, with just one point on the board.
With Jesus facing a few weeks out with a hamstring issue, Nketiah has once again been tasked with filling his boots as Arsenal’s go-to centre-forward.
His touch and finish for the opening goal proved he can do the job as the England international set the Gunners on their way to a comfortable victory over the rock bottom Blades.
Wes Foderingham would have expected to be busier in the opening half but he was on hand to push a rasping Gabriel Martinelli strike wide of the post five minutes before the break.
The second goal arrived five minutes after the interval, Foderingham this time flapping at a Bukayo Saka corner with the ball dropping to Nketiah, who arrowed a shot into the top corner. A VAR check for a potential foul on the United goalkeeper failed to save the visitors.
Nketiah, who made his England debut of the bench in 1-0 friendly win over Australia earlier this month, saved the best for last.
Collecting a pass from Smith Rowe, the 24-year-old rifled home from 20 yards to complete his hat-trick.
Saka, captain in the absence of Odegaard and Jesus, was replaced soon after and – to cheers from the home supporters – gave the armband to Nketiah.
Nketiah initially picked up the ball to take a late penalty awarded after a lengthy VAR check by referee Tim Robinson after Vieira had been caught by Oliver Norwood.
But instead Vieira dusted himself down to send Foderingham the wrong way and further extend the lead.
Tomiyasu rounded off the scoring deep into added time after Mohamed Elneny’s flick on from a near-post corner was deflected into the path of the Japan defender.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
Luis Enrique hoping for home comforts in semi-final second leg
Luis Enrique is hoping Paris Saint-Germain's home support proves the difference in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.
PSG must try to overturn a 1-0 deficit when BVB visit the Parc des Princes next week.
Dortmund's Niclas Fullkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal victory over visitors PSG, who had more possession throughout Wednesday's game but could not take their chances at Signal Iduna Park.
While PSG beat Barcelona in the quarters and Real Sociedad in the last 16, playing the second leg away both times, Luis Enrique knows their home fans could be crucial if they are to reach the final at Wembley on June 1.
"We saw an even match with two teams that play good football when they have the ball," Luis Enrique told reporters.
"We both created many scoring chances. This time our opponents scored and we didn't. The result reflects how close the game was.
"In the last two rounds, they had the home game as their second game, whereas it was the other way round for us. Now it's a different and new scenario, we'll have the crowd on our side in the second leg.
"I would have liked to create the chances we have created, but you have to be effective to score. We'll see what version we show in Paris."
Despite creating more chances after the break, PSG lost without scoring for the first time across all competitions this season.
"We missed our chances in the second half," PSG defender Achraf Hakimi told Canal+.
"We knew what they were going to do, with long through balls. We were very focused, the coach repeated it all week."
PSG have progressed from two of their previous four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those coming against Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20.
"We've come back from 1-0 down before," added PSG captain Marquinhos.
"We've shown that we can do it, especially at home, with the energy of our supporters, it's going to be a different scenario. We know we can do a lot better. We just need to take our chances and be more decisive.
"We conceded a goal that we shouldn't have conceded, and we've been talking all week about these deep passes from this Borussia team. It's the details that make all the difference, and we're going to do better in the next game if we want to go through."
Al-Nassr 3-1 Al-Khaleej: Ronaldo nets twice and passes up penalty in cup semi-final
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet with two goals as Al-Nassr beat Al-Khaleej 3-1 to reach the final of the King Cup of Champions on Wednesday.
Ronaldo scored either side of half-time as Al-Nassr teed up a final clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, who beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star took advantage of an error from opposing goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic to open the scoring 17 minutes in, then tapped home at the second attempt to make it a double shortly before the hour mark.
That goal could have made it a hat-trick for the Portugal star, but he passed up the chance to take a first-half penalty after Ivo Rodrigues handled in the area, Sadio Mane instead stepping up to blast his kick into the top corner.
Fawaz Al Terais was on target late on for Al-Khaleej, but that proved a mere consolation in a one-sided affair which saw Al-Nassr rack up 21 shots and 3.78 expected goals (xG), with their opponents managing just nine shots totalling 1.37 xG.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo's mini drought over
Ronaldo was frustrated against Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, but he was back on song against the same opponents on Wednesday to end his mini drought of two games.
While Ronaldo's 43 touches were the fewest of any outfielder to start for Al-Nassr, he managed seven shots, five shots from inside the area and four dribbles – all game-high figures.
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