Arsenal demonstrated their attacking ruthlessness at Bramall Lane, storming to a five-goal half-time advantage against Sheffield United before cantering through the second half.
Once again, the Gunners spread the goals around the team with Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Ben White all finding the net. A seventh consecutive win means Mikel Arteta’s side could go top of the table on Saturday night if they beat Brentford.
In the meantime, we get to bask for a few days. Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of a fun night in Yorkshire.
Mikel Arteta on his side’s performance…
A great performance and a big result for us again with the amount of goals we scored and the clean sheet. The team shows signs of wanting more, very positive. We got goals against a team that is very well organised but we managed to open them up on three of four occasions. It is believing in the players. They have the capacity to do it. When things are going well that helps the confidence and the players have been brilliant.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
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Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder…
We’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again on Saturday. I understand supporters leaving, but the noise at the end was amazing. The boys are a damaged group of players, they have had some bad defeats and they are hurting. There were some disappointing performances all over the park and if you are not at your level you are going to get punished. We could not lay a glove on them. You have to be on your level because these top teams can take you are apart.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
161 – Arsenal have now scored 300 Premier League goals under Mikel Arteta in what is his 161st game in charge – the only managers to reach that total in fewer games in the competition are Pep Guardiola (120), Jürgen Klopp (142) and Manuel Pellegrini (149). Milestone. pic.twitter.com/WYA7Ms3Wew
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 4, 2024
Ben White on scoring the 10,000th goal in Arsenal history…
Yeah, obviously it’s nice. I don’t score often so it’s extra special.
Source: Viaplay Fotball
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Arteta on injury concerns for Saka and Martinelli…
Bukayo was feeling sick and he wasn’t feeling right. So we decided to take him off and bring Fabio in. And with Gabi, it’s just a cut. So he had a tackle and he had a slight cut. And we have to see how he is.
Source: Sky Sports
William Saliba completed 169 passes in that game. Sheffield United completed 142.
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) March 4, 2024
Ben White on his goal celebration…
Yeah, I kind of didn’t really know what I was doing so, um, yeah it was a surprise to me.
Source: Viaplay Fotball
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Jamie Carragher on Sheffield United’s first half performance…
That was a disgrace that. 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.
Source: Sky Sports Monday Night Football
Arsenal have conceded an average of 0.31(xG) across their last seven Premier League matches.
Ridiculous numbers.
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) March 4, 2024
Thierry Henry on free-scoring Arsenal…
Arsenal didn’t concede and had different scorers, but kept on playing the way Mikel Arteta wants to play. We have had a discussion so many times if Arsenal are going to go for a big striker in the summer, but it’s a different discussion now. The way Arsenal are playing at the moment it is outstanding. But, if you don’t have a trophy with you at the end I cannot celebrate it.
Source: Sky Sports Monday Night Football
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Michael Owen on Arsenal’s form…
Arsenal are growing and growing and it’s only a matter of time before they become Premier League champions – we’ll have to wait and see if it’s this season. They’re a top side, they’ve developed over the years and they’ll push all the way.
Source: Premier League Productions
5+ – Arsenal 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 they’re the first side in English league football to win three successive away games by 5+ goals. Excursions. pic.twitter.com/7j7dOlMJbB
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 4, 2024
Arteta on the importance of Arsenal’s impressive goal difference…
Obviously, the fact that we are scoring that many goals and not conceding is a great sign, but it’s about winning every game now and that’s the demands that those two clubs have put over the last six or seven years and that’s the task ahead of us.
Source: Post-game press conference (via Hayters)
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Arteta on whether Arsenal will visit Dubai now the Chelsea game is postponed…
Well, they have international games, the majority of the squad so they will be flying to different places, they will have two games, so I don’t think we have the opportunity to be together.
Source: Post-game press conference (via Hayters)
Sheffield United 0-6 Arsenal
Arsenal show their class with a dominant win at Bramall Lane. They were 5-0 up at half-time and looking likely to post a Premier League record win, but took it easy in the second half. pic.twitter.com/colMS9MqPS
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) March 4, 2024
The best quotes are the ones that reassure me that Saka and Martinelli are going to be ok!
Agreed! Was concerned by how much difficulty Martinelli appeared to have getting down the tunnel. Great news.
Dang…an absolute mauling. Some of that passing in and around the blade’s box was mesmerising. Wilder should have just chucked the towel in and called his team off the pitch realising they showed up for a game they were never even in. It was literally like Harlem Globetrotters out there in the first half…
Now a 2-2 draw between Shitty and Puddles with a couple red cards each and a few injuries sprinkled here and there…
Henry is unnecessarily being salty at the end there. Dissapointing.
Lol. I see this thing where many of our fans have been disrespectful of Thierry for a while now. He never said anything bad there, no? He only said that is his mentality. People like him, Michael Jordan and many others have a ruthless mentality that kept them at the top for years. That’s what is shining through here. We all know Titi loves the Arsenal. No one should ever doubt that.
I just didn’t like that there is nothing to celebrate if we win nothing. I don’t agree with that. We are trying our best against a juggernaut of a team and manager. It would be great to win but to suggest the season is a write off if we dont win?
I think Henry is correct. We should celebrate every victory and enjoy the moments along the journey, but if we don’t win the league, there won’t be any gooners that will be celebrating. We can recognize the improvement, how Arteta has turned the club around but there won’t be any reason to celebrate, which is reserved for winning things. Now, let’s go win the fucker.
I’m enjoying every minute of this journey and even if we don’t manage to win this season I’ll still be celebrating the successes on the way, the improvement, the lovely guys we have at Arsenal who’ve given us so much. That’s being a supporter and loving this team. Of course I’d love them to win, but if they fall trying I will still love them to bits and go again next season. So I will be one gooner celebrating, as I did last season, the journey this young team is giving us, and Henry can get fucked.
He is an Arsenal fan and it shows. He was hurt due to last year collapse and won’t hype anything based on current performances. Deep down he would be as happy as you and me are but being the face of club he is trying play down the expectations.
He is an ex- Arsenal player. Not the same.
He is an Arsenal fan. My favourite Arsenal player ever and the greatest player to don the red and white. That said, after football, my favourite Arsenal player is Ian Wright by a clear mile. How he can be a tv pundit, and manage to be critical yet fair, optimistic and supportive is impressive. And you can see it in his eyes when he is happy or sad about the game, but always level headed. And he doesnt even have to shit on all the other teams like their useless former players do. The other day they were saying he… Read more »
thiery henry thiery henry Thiery Henry thiery Henry….. I think sometimes, he can be less harsh on us and some of our players. Like I remember what they said he sai about Granit, but at least he didnt say it publically. But even yesterday, he raised it again saying Xhaka didnt get better, he just played in a better position for him, partly true but still, harsh on him, he is doing really well in Germany too. I have no problem though in general because he speaks his mind, and is often surrounded by cunts which cant be easy. I… Read more »
I think he was saying that Xhaka was always better than Arsenal supporters recognized but was tasked with a role that was not he best, which doesn’t have he same flavour as saying he didn’t get better.
There’s often a little dig from Henry when he discusses Arsenal. He wanted nothing to do with the club until he and Bergkamp came out of the woodwork when that stupid guy with no money wanted to buy the club. Always nasty about Ollie Giroud, who now overtakes him for France. Rather went on TV than played in the charity matches. He was an awesome player but is a bit of a dickhead.
Excursions.
Another great result, but we need to seriously soak Partey in wd-40 and let hug Vieira. These guys need a few friendly games under their belt. Hopefully Tomi and Zinchenko will be back soon too.
Ya I wish we could take these returning players to Dubai along with the youngsters for the upcoming break, so they can get some more of that magic sauce. they will definitely play a friendly or under 21 game, over that 19 day break between games. Super Mik doesnt sleep on those.
Partey’s first 2 or 3 passes were mistakes that could easily have led to goals if it were Man City or Liverpool we were up against.
Vieira’s corners were dire.
They are both good players but need some minutes. Which may be hard as all our games are must win.
Does that opta joe stat mean that Burnley lost one of those games?
No, it means Burnley also scored 5+ goals on three consecutive away games, but didn’t win all three games by 5+ goal margin
My understanding is that Arsenal is the first to do it in Premier League.
Actually, not just the Premier, but the entire history of league football – all four divisions. We’re the first football league team ever to win three consecutive away league matches by five or more goals, keeping a clean sheet in all of them.
It’s so easy to take Bukayo for granted. Watching Vieira take over his role in the same position in the same game was revealing in this regard… Fabio has the speed and the technique in spades, but couldn’t really get in the game because he didn’t have the strength to hold off the defender on his back, so he couldn’t recieve the ball to feet, nor could he bring it down under pressure when the ball was played to him behind in the air. Bukayo makes those things look easy because he is also elite physically. By the way, I’ve… Read more »
Martinelli comes to mind
No offense but Salah is still a notch up
As a 1 v1 threat or overall? Overall I agree with you. In that specific skill set, no, Saka is better.
Saka is Saka and I think we are just glad more than taking him for granted. It’s the reason we don’t have a top quality replacement because nobody wants to deputies for him same as Salah, Messi in his prime.
As for Vieira, kid did alright in his first game in months. Should have had an assist when he found Martinelli unmarked in the box. Soon after that the game kind of died out when fellow injury returnees came on and the sharpness died out across the front line
I see a real improvement game after game. This time the Sheffield United fans started to leave after 15 min. Next game we should improve and take it to the next level. Make the Brentford away fans not bother to show up.
Carragher’s quotes are 100% sour grapes. Every time we beat a team convincingly he seems to always focus the attention on how criminal it was to get beaten that bad. He never once mentioned how arsenal bullied, thrashed or took a team apart. It’s always about how disappointing it is to be beaten like that at the highest level.
When city or liverpool beat a team like thar, he focuses on how good they are and most times it’s not just him. Sour grapes and I am loving it. Long may it continue
A littled sad cunt he is
Carragher seems like a rational pundit except when discussing Arsenal, then he just loses his mind. The very definition of living rent free in his head.
I think Blogs got it exactly right in a recent podcast: West Ham aren’t brilliant, but they don’t lose all their games 6-0. Three of the teams we beat in this run are in the top half of the table. We thrashed two of them, West Ham and Newcastle (that 4-1 final score flattered them, thanks to Joe Willock). The third is the current leader of the Prem and we completely dominated them for around 75 of the ninety minutes, including completely stifling their extraordinary attack. Without any exaggeration, we were quite clearly the superior team.
Love James Carragher’s comments, so bitter that Sheffield couldn’t give us a better game, even more so knowing his former team should have dropped points at Forest!!!
I was listening to the match on talksport last night. The whole message was how bad United were. But they were beaten just as bad as west ham were.
I sincerely hope Martinelli’s injury is not serious, otherwise,it gonna be a setback. The team performed extraordinarily well last night.kudos.👏👍🤸❤️
A bit unrelated, but on my small phone Kiwor looks pregnant in the above photo 🤓
In general he looks like he has put on some weight in the gym, which seems to have helped his game.
Ha ha, and the baby is reaching out of his belly