Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland: 5 talking points as Patino nets in Carabao Cup

Arsenal cruised into the Carabao Cup semi-finals after a routine 5-1 win over League One side Sunderland on Tuesday. An Eddie Nketiah hat-trick, along with a Nicolas Pepe strike and a debut goal from Charlie Patino, sent the Gunners through on a thoroughly enjoyable north London night.

Mikel Arteta rang the changes as expected with a busy Christmas period coming up. Folarin Balogun was handed a start, while Nicolas Pepe, Eddie Nketiah, Bernd Leno, Nuno Tavares, and Mohamed Elneny all came into the side.

Nketiah opened the scoring in the 17th minute after a brilliant Rob Holding header was well saved and he was on hand to tap home the rebound. The home side was in full throttle and doubled their lead just 10 minutes later.

Nicolas Pepe, starting his first game in forever, played a neat one-two with Cedric and the Ivorian’s deflected shot found its way into the net as Arsenal were cruising. However, that didn’t last long.

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Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland: 5 talking points as Charlie Patino scores on his debut Carabao Cup to book semi-final spot for Arteta’s side

Just four minutes later, Sunderland sprung a superb counter-attack that ended with Nathan Broadhead coolly dinking his effort over an onrushing Leno to bring the Black Cats back into the game.

Arsenal dominated the second half as Nketiah scored his second after great build-up play from Balogun and Tavares as the Portuguese found the striker who flicked home at the near post. Just nine minutes later, Nketiah had his hat-trick.

A superb ball from Martin Odegaard found Pepe who nutmegged his way into the box before setting up Nketiah to score a fantastic backheel goal as Arsenal ran rampant. If that wasn’t enough, Mikel Arteta brought on youngster Charlie Patino for his Gunners debut and the 18-year-old scored in injury time as he arrived late in the box with Pepe again providing the assist as the game finished 5-1.

There were plenty of talking points. Here they are.

1. Eddie Nketiah Answers the Call With Excellent Hat-Trick

Leading the line tonight, Eddie Nketiah dominated from start to finish. His three goals were typical “Nketiah” goals. In the six-yard box, Eddie found himself in the right spots at the right time. It is never by accident.

Each goal increased in distance from the net by two yards, and each was of higher quality than the last.

Two of his three goals show just what a talent he is in the penalty box. Deft touches and movement in tight areas made him a nightmare to mark for the Sunderland backline.

He certainly gives Arteta something to think about regarding his future, even if his stance from the start has been to keep him at the club. He echoed those sentiments again post-match.

After rejecting a new deal due to lack of playing time, Arteta might have to seriously think about what he does with the young Englishman. If he truly wants him to stay, he best start playing him.

After tonight, if he is to force through a move that appears likely, he certainly added a few more numbers onto his transfer fee. Well, hopefully, anyway. A truly superb performance and easily won Man of the Match.

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