Oxford United 0-3 Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah strikes twice as Gunners second half blitz sees off League One side

Arsenal booked an FA Cup date with Manchester City following a comfortable 3-0 third round win against Oxford United on Monday night.

Second half goals from Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketiah were enough for Arsenal to advance.

In a fairly uneventful opening 45 minutes, Arsenal struggled to break Oxford down as the hosts were aggressive and made life difficult for the Premier League side.

The biggest talking point came when Sambi Lokonga’s effort struck the arm of Elliot Moore in the Oxford penalty box, which was waved away by referee David Coote.

Kieran Tierney raced toward goal and found Bukayo Saka on the right, who cut inside and teed up Takehiro Tomiyasu on the edge of the box, but the defender had his shot blocked.

Lokonga recycled the loose ball with a low effort just inside Oxford’s penalty area, but as Moore got low to block the shot, seemed to stop the goal-bound ball with his arm.

Controversially there is no VAR at Kassam Stadium with Oxford being in League One, so there was nothing to be checked as after Coote had made his on-field decision.

Saka was denied the opener with a clearance off the line early into the second half.

Fabio Vieira ran onto a long ball over the top of the Oxford defence and flicked the ball cheekily back to the England international, who cut inside and beat Edward McGinty with his low shot, but saw his effort turned behind for a corner.

Arsenal finally broke the deadlock through Elneny who powered home a pinpoint Vieira free kick in the 63rd minute.

Seven minutes later, Arsenal had a second as Nketiah continued his impressive goalscoring form.

Vieira played an inch-perfect through ball to the forward, who took the ball around McGinty and slotted it home into an empty net.

Nketiah delicately dinked the ball over McGinty six minutes later for his second and Arsenal’s third, as Mikel Arteta’s side booked their place in the fourth round.

Arsenal will travel to Manchester City at the end of January in the next round.

TALKING POINT – ARSENAL FACE MAN CITY TEST

It looks as though the Premier League title race between Arsenal and Man City will go down to the wire, so this will be a good audition for Arsenal when they take on Pep Guardiola’s side in the next round.

The last time they visited Etihad Stadium they were beaten 5-0 at the beginning of last season, so it will be interesting to see how far they’ve come since then.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – FABIO VIEIRA (ARSENAL)

Eddie Nketiah might grab the headlines, but it was Vieira who made the difference with his perfect cross for Mohamed Elneny’s opener, before setting up Nketiah to score Arsenal’s second and put the game to bed.

His two assists showcased the quality the Portuguese has when he gets the opportunity to shine for the Gunners. He created four chances in a game where Arsenal struggled to create for the majority, but his technical excellence changed the tide and gave Mikel Arteta’s side the opportunity to find the back of the net.

MATCH RATINGS

OXFORD UTD: McGinty 5, Anderson 7, Moore 6, Long 6, Brown 6, Bate 6, McGuane 6, Brannagan 5, Bodin 6, Taylor 6, Murphy 6.

Subs: Fleming N/A, Johnson N/A, Goodrham 6, Wildschut 6, O’Donkor 6

ARSENAL: Turner 7, Tomiyasu 8, Holding 7, Gabriel 7, Tierney 7, Elneny 8, Lokonga 7, Vieira 9, Saka 7, Martinelli 8, Nketiah 9

Subs: White N/A, Smith Rowe 6, Xhaka 6, Zinchenko 6, Marquinhos N/A

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

34’ – TIERNEY STORMS FORWARD, ARSENAL WANT A PENALTY – The left-back takes matters into own hands and drives toward goal, finds Saka on the right who tees up Tomiyasu on the edge of the box. His effort is blocked, and Lokonga picks up the loose ball which he fires toward goal, but Elliot Moore gets in the way and Arsenal think it hit the defender’s arm. Nothing given!

54’ – ARSENAL’S BEST CHANCE YET – Vieira runs onto a ball over the top and finds Saka in the box with a cheeky flick, who cuts inside and takes aim at goal. His effort beats McGinty but is stopped on the line and cleared for a corner.

63’ – GOAL! OXFORD 0-1 ARSENAL (ELNENY) – Vieira puts the ball on a plate for Elneny from a free-kick out wide with a pinpoint cross, and the Egyptian can’t miss with a close-range header.

70’ – GOAL! OXFORD 0-2 ARSENAL (NKETIAH) – And that should be that for Arsenal! Nketiah rounds McGinty and slots the ball into an empty net.

76’ – GOAL! OXFORD 0-3 ARSENAL (NKETIAH) – Martinelli plays a great through ball for Nketiah to run onto. With one goal already to his name, he beautifully dinks the ball over McGinty for his second as the ball rolls over the line.

KEY STAT

• Eddie Nketiah has scored 17 goals in 24 starts for Arsenal in all competitions since the start of last season.