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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2. Nicolas Pepe Reminds us of His Quality

Similar to Nketiah, Pepe absolutely tore Sunderland apart. Two nutmegs on a poor left-back Tom Flanagan, who will have nightmares for the next decade, were the standout as he set the Emirates alight.

His goal was well taken, albeit via a deflection, and he provided two assists for Nketiah and Patino in what was a great all-round performance from the Ivorian.

Having been in the wilderness due to Gabriel Martinelli’s resurgent form, Pepe has seen his playing time diminished dramatically. However, games like this will remind Arteta of the quality he does possess.

While some will point out the League One opposition, and rightly so, Pepe can only play against who he is matched with and tonight he was levels above the Sunderland rear-guard.

No player angers and frustrates the fanbase quite like Pepe, and it is because of performances like this where flashes of both sides of his game stood out. Consistency is the key and he needs to do it against Premier League opposition, but tonight Pepe looked like a player worth splashing the cash for.

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3. Nervy Moments Again After Scoring First

A somewhat common theme for this Arsenal side, but this time they regrouped and eventually tore Sunderland apart. After going 2-0 up inside half an hour, the Gunners were in cruise control until it all threatened to unravel just minutes later.

Poor positioning and lack of awareness cost Arsenal as Nathan Broadhead was given space and neatly dinked over the oncoming Leno.

Credit has to go to Lee Johnson’s side on the night, who didn’t throw in the towel until their energy levels dropped and they played some lovely stuff in the first half.

The goal sparked the visitors and for the rest of the opening 45 minutes they were the better side – and could possibly have leveled matters with a few nervy moments at the back. Sunderland could have easily got level as the Gunners seemed taken aback by their endeavour, and against better opposition, they would have thrown away a two-goal lead in just minutes.

While the final scoreline suggests a routine 5-1 win, the truth is had Sunderland been more clinical, the result might have been a lot closer if they’d have gone in at half-time with the scores even.

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4. Martin Odegaard is Sensational Yet Again

The Norwegian is now oozing that “Ozil” style class when on the ball. His silky touches, superb positional awareness in the final third, and his ability to thread a pass were reminiscent of some of the best to grace the north London turf.

The ball he played to Nicolas Pepe to set up Nketiah’s third goal was simply ridiculous as took out the entire Sunderland back four, allowing Pepe to be one-on-one. That was one of many delightful balls he pinged around the pitch.

With every passing game the 23-year-old is showing why he made his debut for Real Madrid at just 16. He is a super talent, and at £35m looks like a steal right now.

He will largely be judged for what he does against the bigger teams, not against a League One side, but his quality is there for all to see and has been steadily building up with each minute he plays.

Odegaard pulled the strings with ease tonight. He’s someone who makes the game looks easy and, perhaps more importantly, makes it a fun spectacle.

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5. Charlie Patino Scores on His Debut

Waltzing straight into number 18 on the list of youngest ever goalscorers for Arsenal, and being the youngest to score on his debut since Jon Sammels in 1963, is one Charlie Patino.

The 18-year-old has been on the cusp of a first-team debut for what seems like forever. After taking the mickey out of just about every team at youth levels, Patino was mooted to be someone to earn involvement in this competition and finally got his chance against Sunderland.

Arteta gave him his senior debut with a little over ten minutes to go.

His passing was neat and tidy and he took up good positions, but his crowning moment came in injury time. After Pepe again sent Flanagan to the cleaners, he found Patino who arrived late in the box who hit his shot side-footed into the net to send the Emirates crowd into raptures.

How can you not be happy for him? Another gem in the Arsenal stable. What a moment for the young lad. A day he’ll never forget but one he’s sure to experience many times in the future.

One to watch, no doubt about that.