04 March 2024 , 21:10
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It couldn’t have been much easier, could it?
If Arsenal could have picked one Premier League opponent to face on Monday night, knowing that they needed to win to keep pace with title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, it would have been Sheffield United.
After all, while the Gunners have been romping to away wins at West Ham and Burnley (6-0 and 5-0 respectively) in their last two Premier League trips away from the Emirates, Chris Wilder’s side have been getting unceremoniously battered at home - losing both their last two league games at Bramall Lane 5-0, to Aston Villa and Brighton.
So it wasn’t a surprise that Arsenal looked to dominate from the off against their almost-certainly relegated opponents. It wasn’t a surprise that they scored early. But the manner at which they sliced through the Blades, seemingly unopposed and at will, was nothing short of remarkable.
After 15 minutes, the game was over. Martin Odegaard had opened the scoring with an easy finish after five minutes - Bukayo Saka had already hit the bar by that stage - before Jayden Bogle put into his own net in the 13th. Gabriel Martinelli added a third on the quarter hour mark.
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Martinelli’s strike made it 300 Premier League goals for the Gunners in 161 games under Arteta. Only Pep Guardiola (120 matches), Jurgen Klopp (142) and Manuel Pellegrini (149) reached that landmark quicker.
For plenty of Sheffield United fans in attendance, that was enough. Voting with their feet at the shambles they were seeing easily put to the sword in front of them, they left.
Veteran midfield Oliver Norwood wasn’t far behind, hooked by Chris Wilder in the 17th minute. In fairness to Norwood, it could’ve been any of them.
Oliver Norwood of Sheffield United gets substituted by Chris Wilder
Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's third goal (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)When Kai Havertz smashed a fourth into the bottom corner on the half hour mark, ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith, on commentary for Sky Sports, declared: “This is turning into an absolute humiliation for Sheffield United and a masterclass from Arsenal.”
Declan Rice added a fifth in the 39th minute after brilliant work from Saka down the right. Five goals, five different scorers. “This is ruthless, it's brutal,” proclaimed Smith.
"That was a disgrace that," said Jamie Carragher in the Sky Sports studio. "It's one of the most one sided games I've ever seen. And to consider you come in on the back of losing two home games 5-0, that's shocking.
"I can't think of anything worse that I've ever seen in a half of football than that."
Rice’s effort made Arsenal just the second team to net at least five goals in three successive top flight away matches, a feat previously only achieved by Burnley in 1961. It also meant Sheffield United have conceded five or more on six occasions already this season, equalling an unwanted Premier League record jointly held by Derby County (2007-08) and Swindon Town (1993-94).
Ben White smashed in with his left foot (yep, really) to make it 6-0 in the 58th minute, as the one-way traffic resumed after the break.
That Swindon team conceded 100 goals that year - in a 42-game campaign. With 11 games of the season remaining, the Blades have already conceded 72.
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You’d say for Sheffield United it can’t get much worse. Only, it can.
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