‘Couldn’t believe he did that yesterday’: Shearer left baffled by what 24-year-old did in second-half of Arsenal win
Alan Shearer has joked that he and Ian Wright could not believe it when Eddie Nketiah handed over the penalty that allowed Fabio Vieira to put Arsenal 4-0 up against Sheffield United.
Shearer was speaking to Football Daily after the Gunners ended up winning 5-0 to keep themselves within touching distance of the Premier League summit.
Of course, there was no doubt who the star of the show was at the Emirates. Eddie Nketiah bagged a brilliant hat-trick, with all three goals proving to be moments of class.
Alan Shearer surprised Eddie Nketiah handed the penalty over
Ahead of the game, Mikel Arteta was full of praise for the improvement Nketiah has made over the last few years. And with Gabriel Jesus injured, the England international knew that he had a brilliant opportunity.
And he absolutely took that chance. In fact, he could have easily become only the third Arsenal player to score four goals in a single Premier League game. Arsenal won a penalty in the second-half after Fabio Vieira was brought down.
Nketiah had the ball. However, he ended up giving the ball to Vieira to take the spot-kick. And Alan Shearer suggested that neither he or Ian Wright would not have done the same in that situation.
“Yeah they were all very different. Say what you want about the defending, which wasn’t great. But the one from outside the box was superb where he took the touch and turned and then put it in the top corner. Keeper no chance,” he told Football Daily.
“And me and Wrighty were saying we would have given the penalty away as well. We wouldn’t have taken that as well, both of us,” he joked.
“We couldn’t believe he did that.”
Another Arsenal star prioritising team spirit over personal glory
Mikel Arteta would have been incredibly proud of Nketiah for that moment. It meant a lot to Vieira to get on the scoresheet. And it acted as a further reminder of the amazing team spirit at the Emirates.
It is not the first time that Arsenal have made a change over who takes a penalty this season. Everyone within the Arsenal squad was delighted for Kai Havertz when he scored a penalty against Bournemouth earlier this month.
The gesture takes nothing away from the fact that Nketiah did brilliantly on Saturday. And he still gets to take away the match ball.
