United started resoultely before Eddie Nketiah broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark, with the young striker going on to complete his hat-trick before Fábio Vieira’s penalty, and a late goal from Takehiro Tomiyasu, capped another difficult day for United.
Defeat will increase talk about Heckingbottom’s future, with the Blades rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and still looking for their first win of what is shaping up to be a pretty miserable season so far. Here’s how we rated the Blades’ players at the Emirates...
5. Luke Thomas 3.5
Had a difficult task of marshalling Saka down the Arsenal right but stuck to his task well defensively. Tidy enough on the ball as well, if not anything spectacular
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6. Ollie Norwood 4
His influence mostly limited to off the ball as United struggled to keep possession against their illustrious opponents. But blotted his copybook in the dying minutes as his lunging tackle caught Vieira rather than the ball and after a check that seemed to last an age, the referee awarded the penalty for 4-0
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7. Vinicius Souza 4.5
Sat in front of the defence and tried to offer them some sort of protection but it was always going to be a difficult ask against the likes of £100m star Rice, never mind Arsenal’s other attacking options. Earned extra credit for a lovely bit of skill into extra time that earned applause from the away end | Getty Images
8. Anis Slimane 4.5
Made his full Premier League debut for the Blades and showed some promising moments when the Blades did have the ball down the left channel, but couldn’t put the stamp on the game he would have hoped when he heard the news he was starting. Made way for Osborn later in the game
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