Nketiah hits hat-trick as Gunners beat Cats
SUNDERLAND’S Carabao Cup adventure ended at the Emirates as Eddie Nketiah’s hat-trick saw Arsenal book a semi-final spot.
Nketiah put the Gunners in front inside 20 minutes, and Nicolas Pepe added the second before the half-hour.
But Nathan Broadhead gave the 5,000 travelling Sunderland fans something to cheer when he pulled a goal back minutes later.
Sunderland’s hopes of pulling off a shock evaporated in the second half, however, as Nketiah added his second and Arsenal’s third soon after the break, and then he completed his treble just before the hour.
And there was still time for 18-year-old substitute Charlie Patino to add a fifth goal for the Londoners in injury-time.
Lee Johnson made two changes to the side that drew at Ipswich at the weekend, with Lee Burge replacing Thorben Hoffmann in goal while Elliot Embleton came into the starting XI in place of Leon Dajaku.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made wholesale changes, with only two players who began the weekend win at Leeds – Ben White and Martin Odegaard – starting last night.
Sunderland started positively, Alex Pritchard firing an early shot htt straight i ht at tL Leno, while hil Ross R Stewart had appeals for a penalty correctly waved away by referee Robert Jones after he went to ground following little, if any, contact with Mohamed Elneny.
But gradually Arsenal stepped things up and started to test Sunderland’s back three.
The Black Cats had a lucky escape inside the first quarterhour when Embleton stuck out a leg and only succeeded in diverting Tavares’ shot up into the air and over Burge, but the ball came back off the crossbar and was ushered to safety.
Arsenal did take the lead on 17 minutes from a set-piece.
Soares delivered the corner from the left and Holding was presented with a free header, which Burge dived to keep out, but the ball came back to Nketiah ti h a couple l of f yards d out t and d it went in off his knees.
Balogun then brought a smart save out of Burge as Arsenal turned the screw.
They doubled their lead on 27 minutes, as Soares found space on the right and he rolled the ball into the penalty area for Pepe, who lashed his finish past Burge.
Sunderland refused to lie down, and they halved the deficit in the 31st minute with a fast break that started with Pritchard and Dan Neil, before Embleton threaded a pass through for Broadhead to run on to and finish with a neat dink over the advancing Leno.
It could have got even better for Sunderland a couple of minutes later when Winchester hit a low shot from the edge of the box, which Leno did well to tip wide.
But Burge had to make a good save from Smith Rowe shortly before the interval, and then in injury-time at the end of the first period Sunderland suffered a major blow when Broadhead picked up a knock in a challenge with Holding and had to go off, with Hume replacing him.
Four minutes into the second half, Arsenal re-asserted control.
Balogun played the ball down the left hand side for Tavares, and when he sent in a low cross Nketiah reacted quicker than Callum Doyle and nipped in front of the defender to score from a couple of yards out.
Embleton then hit the post with a curling effort from the edge of the box.
But Nketiah completed his hat-trick and effectively killed the game on 58 minutes.
Pepe breezed past Hume on the right far too easily, then squared for Nketiah to step in front of Flanagan and finish with a cute back-flick that left Burge no chance.
Burge prevented Pepe adding to Arsenal’s haul, while at the other end Leno punched an inswinging Pritchard free-kick off the line.
However a minute into injury time, substitute Xhaka’s chip into the box found Pepe on the right and he squared for Patino to slide home at the near post.