Sheffield United 0 – 6 Arsenal – Match Report

A breathless, brutal display of attacking football saw us equal our record away win the Premier League for the second time in a matter of weeks.

Following a 6-0 win at West Ham late last month, and a 5-0 hammering of Burnley in our last away league game, we were at it again at Bramall Lane, blowing away the hosts.

Martin Odegaard opened the floodgates inside five minutes, and we never looked back. A Jayden Bogle own goal doubled our advantage before Gabriel Martinelli made it 3-0 inside 15 minutes. Kai Havertz and Declan Rice made it a nap hand before the break, and Ben White’s sixth in the second half was also our all-time 10,000th goal.

We had racked up more than 20 shots during the 90 minutes, and ensured our place in the history books by becoming the first team in English league history to win three successive games by at least five goals.

Early onslaught

Incredibly we had three clear chances inside the first four minutes before Odegaard did put us ahead in just the fifth minute. Bukayo Saka hit the bar on our first attack with just 70 seconds the clock, the rebound fell to Gabriel Martinelli at an awkward height and his improvised shot with the outside of his foot was cleared off the line.

White then sent a searching low cross across the face of goal that Havertz just couldn’t reach. We kept possession though, recycling the ball on the left where Rice crossed low for Odegaard to tuck in from eight yards.

Odegaard then fired over and Bukayo Saka had a shot blocked before we doubled the lead. Saka’s low cross from the right wriggled through the keeper, and looked destined for Rice at the far post, but Bogle could only divert the ball into his own net.

It was a relentless start against a nervous, shell-shocked United side, and it soon got even better. Jakub Kiwior got into the area , cut the ball back to Martinelli who tucked home inside the near post via a deflection.

We were three goals to the good with just 15 minutes on the clock, and Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder responded by bringing on an extra defender.

Goals keep flowing

After a brief respite of 10 minutes, we added a fourth. Martinelli was being pulled back as he looked to break forward, and showed the strength to set up Kai Havertz. He strode on into the area and rifled his left-footed shot low into the corner.

For the third successive away game in the Premier League, the home faithful were heading for the exits early on. Every time we came forward we forced a shot as the United defenders were chasing shadows, unable to get a foot on the ball at all, or stop any of our build-up play.

It was only a matter of time before the fifth goal arrived. This time Saka was the supplier, enjoying the freedom of the right flank, before cutting back for Rice to slide home. It was Saka’s 50th first-team assist in an Arsenal shirt.

It was a brutal, awe-inspiring first half of football from Mikel Arteta’s side. We became just the second side in English top-flight history to score at least five goals in three consecutive away games, after Burnley in September 1961.

White’s landmark strike

Saka was replaced by Fabio Vieira at half-time and the Portuguese made a storming run down the right to set up Martinelli early in the second period, but the cross was just overhit and the Brazilian couldn’t direct his acrobatic effort.

Just before the hour mark White got in on the act, and it was an absolute beauty. Havertz took a long pass in his stride before setting up White inside the area. The defender lashed a first-time left-footed shot beyond the hapless Ivo Grbic and into the bottom corner.

It was a significant goal – our 10,000th in all competitions in our long illustrious history. White’s name will forever be in history on the back of it, and this game will also go down in the history books. He was withdrawn shortly afterwards, with Thomas Partey brought on for his first appearance since October 8.

The final 20 minutes or so were played at a more sedate pace, but we still dominated proceedings, and had a few chances to score our seventh.

But the 6-0 win means we have now won all seven of our Premier League games in 2024 by an aggregate score of 31-3. We are hot on the heels of the leading pair, a point behind Manchester City, and two behind Liverpool with 11 games remaining.

FACTS AND STATS

We went five goals ahead of Sheffield United by the 39th minute, which is the earliest an away side has had a five-goal margin in Premier League history. 

We are just the second side in top-flight history to score 5+ goals in three successive away league games after Burnley in September 1961, while we’re the first side in English league football to win three successive away games by 5+ goals. 

Sheffield United are the first side in English football (top four tiers) to concede 5+ goals in four successive home games in all competitions and the first side in English league football to lose three consecutive home league games by at least a 5+ goal margin.

This is the fourth time this season that Sheffield United have lost a home league game by at least five goals, becoming the first side in a top-flight season to do so.

Bukayo Saka registered his 50th assist for us in all competitions – since his debut for the Gunners in November 2018, he’s just the sixth different Premier League player to register at least 50 goals (54) and 50 assists in all competitions after Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min, Bruno Fernandes, Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne.

Martin Odegaard has scored 17 Premier League away goals since the start of 2021/22, with the only midfielder netting more such goals in the competition during that time being James Ward-Prowse.

Gabriel Martinelli both scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the fourth time, with this the second time he’s done so in an away game after April 2023 against Liverpool at Anfield.

Kai Havertz has both scored and assisted in each of his last two Premier League games, becoming the first player for the Gunners to do so in successive matches in the competition since Henrikh Mkhitaryan in February 2019.

Havertz’s 25th minute strike, and Arsenal’s fourth goal of the game – was the 150,000th scored in England’s top-flight.

Jayden Bogle’s own goal was the fifth time Sheffield United have put the ball through their own net in the Premier League this season, more than any other side in the competition in 2023/24.

What’s next

We host Brentford in the Premier League next Saturday, before looking to overhaul a 1-0 first leg deficit to Porto, when the Portuguese side visit Emirates Stadium in the Champions League Round of 16 next Tuesday. We then don’t play again for 19 days, when we head to take on champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 

10,000 up!

Ben White’s goal was the 10,000th we have scored in all senior fixtures since foundation.

The first was scored by Hope Robertson in a 11-0 FA Cup win over Lyndhurst in 1889.

The goals came in 5,839 games, at a rate of 1.71 per game. The vast majority came in league football (8,017), with 888 in the FA Cup, 607 in European football, 448 in the League Cup and 40 in the Community Shield. 

Thierry Henry leads the way among the 535 goalscorers, with 228 goals, while Everton have conceded the most (367) of the 219 teams we’ve scored against.

Look out on Arsenal.com this week for an in-depth feature on our 10,000 goals.