Oxford, January 10 (BNA): Premier League leaders Arsenal booked a fourth-round FA Cup clash with Manchester City after beating Oxford United of the third division 3-0 on Monday evening, thanks to second-half goals from Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketeh.
Oxford then held their ground in the first half, giving Arsenal a few unnerving moments while limiting their illustrious opponents to half their chances at the other end, Reuters reports.
Once the deadlock was broken by Elneny, heading in a Fabio Vieira free-kick in the 63rd minute, Arsenal were too strong for Oxford. This was Egypt’s first goal for his club since May 2021.
And Nketiah made sure of victory seven minutes later with another pass from Vieira, before scoring his fifth goal in his last five matches in all competitions for Arsenal 14 minutes from time to seal Arsenal’s hard-won victory.
A trip to Premier League champions City at the end of the month is Arsenal’s reward for victory, as Mikel Arteta’s side continue their impressive season.
Arsenal have now won their last 14 FA Cup matches against teams from outside the two top tiers of English football. Wrexham were the last team not in the top two leagues to knock out Arsenal in January 1992.
“It’s always difficult to win these rounds,” Arteta told ITV Sport. “You have to be patient and we were waiting for the openings.
“Eddie scores goals and contributes to the way we play and I’m happy for him. He has to score goals and he does.”