Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah has been awarded the Carabao Cup Player of the Round after scoring a hat-trick for the Gunners in their 5-1 Quarter-Final victory over Sunderland.
The 22-year-old had previously found the net in Round Three and Four against AFC Wimbledon and Leeds United, respectively, taking his tally in this season’s competition to five with a ruthless display of finishing against the Sky Bet League One outfit.
England Under-21’s record marksman opened his account for the evening in the 17th minute, showing his poacher’s instinct by bundling home a rebound from a couple of yards out to put Mikel Arteta’s side in front.
He doubled his tally early in the second half, neatly diverting a low Nuno Tavares cross into the back of the net, before capping off an impressive display by converting Pepe’s driven ball into the area with an audacious flick.
Nketiah narrowly edged out Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) and Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham Hotspur) to scoop the award, receiving 31% of the votes.
The prolific frontman currently tops this year’s Carabao Cup goalscoring charts alongside Brentford’s Marcus Forss, and may have the opportunity to claim the outright lead when Arsenal face Liverpool across two legs in the upcoming Semi-Finals.