Arsenal v Sunderland ratings: Nketiah 10, Pepe 9; Pritchard 8, Gooch 5

Gunners progress to League Cup semi-finals with hat-trick from striker out of contract in the summer

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  ARSENAL RATINGS: Bernd Leno: 6 - The Germany international had little to do other than claiming crosses. He should have stayed back in one attack, with Broadhead chipping over his head to pull one back for the visitors. Reuters

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  Cedric Soares: 7 - The full-back caused problems for Sunderland down the right, linking up well with Pepe on the overlap. His great corner set-up the opener, while his pass to Pepe extended Arsenal’s lead. EPA

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  Rob Holding: 6 - Arsenal captain on the night, the centre-back produced a fine performance and offered a threat at the other end of the pitch. His free header set-up Nketiah for the opener, causing problems from set-pieces. Reuters

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  Ben White: 6 - The England international had a quiet game, but looked secure before he was substituted. He did well to usher Stewart, who was a threat in the box with his aerial presence. Getty

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  Nuno Tavares: 6 - The left-back rarely joined the attack, but grew into the game. He passed the ball out of play poorly early on, but in the second half he grabbed an assist with a cross io Nketiah at the front post. Reuters

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  Mohamed Elneny: 5 - The midfielder’s role involved circulating possession, but was outnumbered at times when defending in the central areas. He was beaten too easily by Pritchard that opened up the space for Embleton for the Sunderland goal. Getty

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  Nicolas Pepe: 9- The Ivory Coast international impressed, looking to take on the opposition wing-back regularly. He scored the second goal with a finish inside the box that looped over Burge. He then assisted Nketiah with a great nutmeg and cross and did the same for Patino late on. Getty

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  Martin Odegaard: 5 - The summer signing struggled to have the same impact in a deeper midfield role than he usually does higher up the pitch. It was shown most when he tried to pass the ball into Pepe but misjudged the weight on it and missed the winger entirely. PA

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  Emile Smith Rowe: 6 - The 21-year-old had few chances to stamp his mark, though he could have had an assist when he squared the ball to Balogun, whose effort was poor from close-range. Getty

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  Eddie Nketiah: 10 - The striker opened the scoring with a well-timed run and finish on the rebound from a header. He added a second by latching onto a cross at the near-post with some great movement. The youngster completed his hat-trick with a great flick from Pepe’s cross. Getty

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  Folarin Balogun: 5 - The youngster struggled to make an impact, playing in a wider role than he usually does in the youth team. The forward had two big chances, with one free header going wide and another chance to shoot being comfortably saved by Burge. EPA

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  SUBS: Granit Xhaka (For Balogun 56’): 6 - The Switzerland international came on to add some security in midfield and helped his side take control with comfortable passes on the ball. AFP

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  Gabriel (For White 73’): N/R - The centre-back came on late to help his side see it out as well as giving some rest to White. He had very little to do in his cameo. Getty

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  Gabriel Martinelli (For Odegaard 73’): N/R - The Brazilian made a short appearance from the bench and looked lively on the ball. He looked to take on the opponents, drawing a foul from Wright. Reuters

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  Charlie Patino (For Smith Rowe 80’): N/R - The youngster made his debut, and capped it off with a goal too. He made a late run to tap the ball in from close-range. EPA

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  SUNDERLAND RATINGS: Lee Burge: 6 - There was little the goalkeeper could do to stop any of the goals, with the majority coming from close-range. His passing was a highlight, with Lee Johnson wanting his side to play out from the back. PA

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  Callum Doyle: 5 - The Manchester City loanee had a tough match, with his side under pressure throughout. He should have tracked Nketiah better for the second goal, with the forward peeling off to shoot. AP

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  Tom Flanagan: 6 - The Northern Ireland international showed glimpses of his defensive ability, making a huge challenge early on to stop Pepe from having a two-on-one. PA

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  Bailey Wright: 5 - The defender was kept busy all night, much like the whole of his defensive line. He should have covered the front post to stop Nketiah for one of the goals, while he picked up a yellow for a poor challenge on Martinelli. Reuters

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  Elliot Embleton: 7 - The versatile 22-year-old caused problems and was unfortunate to not have a goal to his name. He played a great through ball to Broadhead for the goal and could have had his own with a great curling effort from range that struck the post. AP

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  Daniel Neil: 5 - The midfielder covered a lot of ground, but struggled to compete when the game got stretched, losing his duels in the middle of the park. Reuters

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  Carl Winchester: 6 - The wing-back provided good width on the right flank, with his surging run to beat the majority of the Arsenal side to whip the ball in being his highlight. AFP

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  Lynden Gooch: 5 - The 25-year-old struggled at times, picking up an early yellow card with a poor challenge on the flank. His opportunities to drive down the wing were wasted, blasting a shot over rather than crossing in the first-half. Getty

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  Alex Pritchard: 8 - The playmaker was a bright spark for the League One side, with a lot of their play going through him. He opened up space to create Sunderland’s goal, beating Elneny to find Embleton, who played through Broadhead. Getty

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  Nathan Broadhead: 7 - The Everton loanee was a big threat, scoring with a golden opportunity. He was played through on goal and converted well, chipping Leno. An ankle injury ended his game early and he had to be substituted before half-time. AP

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  Ross Stewart: 6 - Sunderland’s top scorer pressed well, but was given little service in front of goal. EPA

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  Denver Hume (For Broadhead 45’): 4 - The 23-year-old struggled from the bench, with Pepe causing him problems. The winger nutmegged him three times, setting up a goal from one and drawing a yellow card from him on another. PA

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  Corry Evans (For Gooch 78’): N/R - The 31-year-old came on with the game out of reach. Had little to do in his short appearance. Getty

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  Aiden O’Brien (For Embleton 78’): N/R - A former Arsenal academy player, the forward had no chances in the final few minutes as his side succumbed. Benji Kimpioka (For Stewart 90’): N/R - The striker came on in the final minute. EPA

A first hat-trick for Eddie Nketiah guided Arsenal to a comfortable victory over Sunderland and into the semi-finals of the League Cup.

The back-up striker has reportedly turned down a new deal at the Emirates Stadium and is out of contract in the summer but shone in a 5-1 win which also saw Charlie Patino score on his first-team debut.

Nketiah opened the scoring before Nicolas Pepe doubled the lead, while the in-form Nathan Broadhead scored his sixth goal in six games to pull one back for the Black Cats before the break.

Any threat of a shock was extinguished within 13 minutes of the second half as Nketiah provided two smart finishes and Patino came off the bench to add the gloss with a late fifth.

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