A rampant Arsenal have made history with a 6-0 win away to shambolic Sheffield United as Mikel Arteta’s side moved back to within two points of the Premier League summit.
Having seen title rivals Liverpool edge past Nottingham Forest and Manchester City defeat Manchester United, Mikel Arteta’s men knew they had to respond at the Championship-bound Blades yesterday.
Arsenal did so in style and could easily have struck more than the five first-half goals they managed at Bramall Lane, where the mauling was finished by a Ben White missile.
"I loved the way the team played, the quality we showed and the aggression without the ball," Arteta told Sky Sports.
"We have to continue doing what we are doing. We have to do our business and win our games, that’s all we can do. Now it is Brentford."
On the importance of having a superior goal difference to their title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, the Spaniard added: "I don’t know, it will be crucial if we win the remainder of the games."
This was the Gunners’ seventh straight Premier League win and saw them become the first English league side to win three consecutive away games by five or more goals.
By contrast, the Blades have now conceded five or more in four successive home games in all competitions — not exactly the fight boss Chris Wilder promised from his rock-bottom side.
Instead, United fans watched one the most humiliating first halves in Premier League history, with a Jayden Bogle own goal coming between efforts from Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli in the opening 15 minutes.
Kai Havertz and Declan Rice made it five by the halftime, which was greeted by boos from the Blades fans who had not already headed for a pint or an early exit.
White brilliantly fizzed home Arsenal’s sixth — the 10,000th goal in club history — as Arteta rung the changes, including taking off injured Martinelli after withdrawing Bukayo Saka at the break.
"We have to dust ourselves down. We have an obligation [to the fans] and I understand supporters leaving [early]," United boss Wilder told Sky Sports.
"We just weren’t good enough tonight ... the boys are hurting, we are all hurting," he said.
"They were on a different planet to us and we couldn’t lay a glove on them."
