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Every Arsenal Premier League hat-trick at the Emirates

sportsmole.co.uk, 29 October 2023, 11:22
A 41st Premier League hat-trick came Arsenal's way during Saturday's visit of Sheffield United, who succumbed to an electrifying Emirates display from Eddie Nketiah in a 5-0 annihilation.

The England international stepped into the goalscoring boots of the injured Gabriel Jesus and proved far too hot for the Blades to handle, breaking the Blades' admirable resistance in the first half before lighting up North London with two postage-stamp strikes following the restart.

In doing so, Nketiah - who also passed up the chance to add number four from the penalty spot - netted his first-ever hat-trick in English top-flight football, almost two years on from his maiden senior treble in an EFL Cup thrashing of Sunderland in December 2021.

The 24-year-old also holds the honour of scoring his side's 10th Premier League hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium, and to mark the striker's achievement, Sports Mole takes a look at every Arsenal home treble in the competition since they bid farewell to Highbury in 2006.

1. Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal 5-0 Derby County (September 22, 2007)

Only the bravest or most foolish of souls would dare utter the name Emmanuel Adebayor inside the Emirates walls nowadays, but before his highly acrimonious exit and infuriating antics at Manchester City, the Togo talisman wowed North London crowds in the 2007-08 season.

During the earliest weeks of the campaign - which was Arsenal's first since all-time top goalscorer Thierry Henry left for Barcelona - Arsene Wenger's men taught Derby County a footballing lesson at the Emirates, where Adebayor netted three of his side's five goals on the afternoon.

Abou Diaby and Cesc Fabregas also helped put the Rams to the sword as Arsenal maintained top spot in the table, but few Gooners will need reminding of subsequent events, as Eduardo da Silva's sickening leg break preceded an end-of-season capitulation.

2. Theo Walcott - Arsenal 6-0 Blackpool (August 21, 2010)

Wenger's men would go without a single Premier League home hat-trick during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, but Theo Walcott - whose influence on the team was slowly growing - snapped that sequence in the second gameweek of the 2010-11 campaign.

The recently-retired striker already boasted one match ball on his shelves, memorably making the net bulge three times for England in a 4-1 World Cup qualifying win over Croatia in 2008, and Blackpool were carved open at will by Walcott, who scored three of Arsenal's six efforts at the Emirates.

Blackpool's brave approach backfired and then some, and Walcott could have easily ended the fixture with another few strikes to his name, but he ultimately declared at three for his maiden club hat-trick at senior level.

3. Robin van Persie - Arsenal 3-0 Wigan Athletic (January 22, 2011)

Following Walcott's man-of-the-match display against Blackpool, Arsenal engaged in a three-horse title race with the two Manchester clubs as the 2010-11 campaign entered its second phase, where Wigan Athletic were powerless to quell the flying Dutchman.

The Latics were initially indebted to Ali Al-Habsi for keeping the Gunners at bay, but Robin van Persie eventually wore the Wigan goalkeeper down with two thunderous strikes - including a quintessential volley from a lofted Fabregas pass.

Van Persie spurned two gilt-edged chances to complete his treble - blazing a penalty over the bar and also rattling the frame of the goal - but he was not to be denied his rightful match ball, netting his and Arsenal's third with 85 minutes on the board.

4. Robin van Persie - Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn Rovers (February 4, 2012)

A season that will always be remembered as Van Persie's breakout year, the Netherlands attacker had already made the net bulge three times in a sensational 5-3 beating of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 2011-12 campaign, where Wenger's men began adjusting to life without Barcelona-bound Fabregas.

Just over three months on from that eight-goal extravaganza in West London, Arsenal shared an identical number of strikes with Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates, but seven of them went to the Gunners in a total annihilation.

Van Persie needed just two minutes to get off the mark that day before also banking strikes in the 38th and 62nd minutes, and a near-perfect afternoon for Arsenal also saw a teenage Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bag a brace alongside Henry's heart-warming cameo.

5. Theo Walcott - Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle United (December 29, 2012)

After Van Persie made himself Arsenal's public enemy number one with his move to Manchester United, Gooners feared a similar situation with Theo Walcott, who went into the 2012-13 season with only a year remaining on his contract.

Amid constant calls to "sign da ting", Walcott was spreading out festive cheer left, right and centre during December's visit of Newcastle, scoring the first goal of the night before the Magpies clawed their way back into the match on no fewer than three occasions.

However, Newcastle had no response to Walcott's vicious second, and the Englishman also set up a pair of Olivier Giroud efforts before saving the best for last, as he weaved his way through several black and white shirts, was tripped in the box and quickly rose to his feet before chipping Tim Krul to put Arsenal in seventh heaven.

6. Theo Walcott - Arsenal 4-1 West Bromwich Albion (May 24, 2015)

Prior to the final weekend of the 2014-15 season, Walcott - who ultimately did "sign da ting" - had gone two months without a Premier League start following a severe knee injury, but the former Southampton youngster made his presence well and truly felt against West Bromwich Albion.

Still battling Manchester United for the coveted third spot and a direct route into the Champions League group stages, Arsenal killed the game off against the Baggies before the half-time whistle sounded, as Walcott netted a 37-minute hat-trick while Jack Wilshere also got in on the act.

Gareth McAuley's second-half consolation could not dampen the mood in North London, as Arsenal confirmed yet another podium finish thanks to Walcott's third and final Emirates hat-trick in the top flight.

7. Olivier Giroud - Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa (May 15, 2016)

Had Olivier Giroud not embarked on an excruciating 15-game goal drought in the 2015-16 season, Leicester City's title fairytale could very well have remained a fantasy, but the Frenchman rebuilt a few burned bridges with Gooners on the final day of the campaign.

Sitting two points behind second-placed Tottenham Hotspur before the visit of Aston Villa, Arsenal and Giroud took just five minutes to break the deadlock as he headed in from Nacho Monreal's cross, although he had to wait until the 78th minute to double his and the hosts' tally.

However, just two minutes after converting from Mesut Ozil's assist, Giroud latched onto Hector Bellerin's ball for his first Premier League hat-trick, and with Tottenham suffering an unforeseen drubbing against relegated Newcastle United, Wenger's men finished above their bitter rivals for the 21st year running.

8. Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal 5-1 Everton (February 3, 2018)

Before the tears flowed for Aaron Ramsey during his Emirates farewell in 2019, the goals flowed for the Wales international when Everton made the trek to North London in February 2018, which also saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang make his debut in red and white.

With 20 minutes played, Arsenal were already three goals to the good courtesy of Ramsey's double and a Laurent Koscielny effort, before Aubameyang delicately dinked the ball over Jordan Pickford for a goal on his Gunners baptism.

Sam Allardyce's switch to a four-man defence did little to quell the Arsenal juggernaut, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan registered his third assist of the night for Ramsey's third goal of the night, which saw the midfielder become the 20th player to score a Premier League treble for the Gunners.

9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Arsenal 4-2 Leeds United (February 14, 2021)

Valentine's Day 2021 saw Mikel Arteta's wobbly Arsenal host Leeds United behind closed doors, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had certainly not feeling the love from absent supporters in previous months, having lost his best shooting boots since signing a lucrative new deal.

The Gabon striker had endured a troubled time off the field, as he sat out a pair of games in January due to his mother falling ill, but he came back with a bang against the Whites, netting three of the Gunners' four goals during an emphatic victory.

Aubameyang issued a heartfelt message of thanks to his Arsenal teammates, staff and fans as he took home a Premier League match ball for the first time, but his Leeds treble would ultimately not help him rediscover his old ways, and the less said about events later that year the better.

10. Eddie Nketiah - Arsenal 5-0 Sheffield United (October 28, 2023)

No stranger to deputising for an injured Jesus, Nketiah surprised some with his feats during the Brazil international's absence through knee surgery last year, and the Hale End graduate hogged the spotlight once again on Saturday.

As one of two unbeaten teams faced one of two sides still winless in the top flight, the result was a foregone conclusion from the first whistle, although it took a neat piece of skill from Nketiah to evade former teammate Auston Trusty and fire home the opener in the first half.

From then on, Wes Foderingham and his defensive shield came under siege constantly, and while the Blades goalkeeper should have done better for Nketiah's second - spilling a corner at his feet - no goalkeeper on the planet would have saved the striker's treble-sealing effort, a 25-yard thunderbolt into the top corner.

Nketiah was only 12 yards away from emulating Andrey Arshavin and Henry's four-goal displays, but he unselfishly allowed Fabio Vieira to convert the penalty he won, and he was all smiles when Takehiro Tomiyasu's maiden Gunners goal capped off a flawless afternoon.

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