ARSENAL will face Manchester City in the FA Cup next after beating Oxford 3-0.Mohamed Elneny headed the Prem table-toppers in front in what had been a frustrating night against the League One side.
Before Eddie Nketiah scored a double with two stunning finishes to put the game out of the League One side’s reach.
The Etihad awaits now for the fourth round as the Prem’s top two face each other.
Kick-off: 8pm
TV channel: ITV 1
Live stream: ITV X
Oxford XI: McGinty, Anderson, Moore, Long, Brown, McGuane, Bate, Brannagan, Bodin, Taylor, Murphy
Arsenal XI: Turner, Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Elneny, Lokonga, Vieira, Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah
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Thanks for joining me!
At one stage it looked as if the conditions might be right for a famous giant killing but in the end Arsenal flexed their Premier League muscles and took control of the contest after the hour mark.
The Gunners scored three goals in 13 second half minutes to take the game away from their League One opponents.
Before then, Oxford had caused Arsenal all sorts of problems, especially during the first half, by not allowing them any time on the ball and with a bit of quality up front they could have hurt their opponents.
Next up for the U’s is a trip to Lancashire to face a Fleetwood Town side who are separated from them by goal difference alone.
Arsenal progress into the fourth round where they will face Manchester City at the Etihad towards the end of January.
For now though, the Gunners turn their attention to a North London showdown with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in a game where a victory for either side will put a big dent in their opponent’s season.
Following that, Mikel Arteta’s team will host the Premier League’s most in-form team, Manchester United.
We will certainly learn a lot about this Arsenal team over the next few weeks.
Until then all that’s left for me to say is thanks for joining me and I look forward to speaking to you next time!
Karl Robinson
The Oxford United head coach is feeling positive about what lies ahead for his team this season.
We lost control of the game in the second half but my players did the football club proud.We do have good players and when we have our strongest team available we are exciting to watch. Karl Robinson ITV
Impressive Oxford
Karl Robinson’s side were impressive and certainly frustrated Arsenal, at least until the hour mark.
In the end they just didn’t have the sort of quality in attacking areas that the Gunners were able to call upon.
Oxford’s attention will now turn back to their league form where they need to find some consistency in results and performances.
Arsenal fixtures
Arsenal’s next five fixtures will go some way to proving whether they are good enough to be competing for the big honours come the end of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side face off against their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday before games against Manchester United, Everton, Brentford and Manchester City.
How they fare in those games will go some way to defining their season.
Nketiah quotes
Eddie Nketiah has been speaking to the media about his recent run of games after his two goals helped Arsenal progress into the next round.
We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we had to stay patient. Obviously every player wants to play and I just want to keep improving.Eddie NketiahITV
Eddie Nketiah
The Arsenal forward was handed a big new contract at the end of last season and he is starting to prove that it was money well spent for the North London club.
While he would like to be considered as more than a back up, he has allowed Arsenal to navigate the absence of Gabriel Jesus without missing a beat.
He scored two high quality goals tonight and will be full of confidence as a result.
Match stats
Arsenal run out as deserved winners in the end.
Full Time: Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
It’s all over at the Kassam Stadium.
Arsenal go into the fourth round where they will face Manchester City at the Etihad.
Stay with us for the post match reaction!
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
90+1, Arsenal are just sitting off their opponents for the remaining couple of minutes.
They know the job is done.
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
90, Referee David Coote has decided that we’re going to play an additional two minutes here.
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
87, The changes seem to have made all the difference for Arsenal here.
They’ve been in total control of this match ever since Zinchenko and Xhaka entered the fray.
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
85, Yet more bookkeeping for you!
Johnson and Fleming are on for Oxford in place of McGuane and Brown.
Phew! Everyone stay where they are for a few minutes please.
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
81, Arteta makes another two changes.
Ben White and Marquinhos have ben introduced as Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira make way.
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
80, A sign of rustiness on Emile Smith Rowe’s part perhaps as he wastes a good opportunity to score the Gunners’ fourth.
Martinelli’s square ball finds him in acres of space inside the Oxford penalty area but his first touch lets him down and his shot eventually deflects wide for a corner.
Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
77, Karl Robinson makes two changes immediately after Arsenal score their third.
Taylor and Bodin are off.
Goodrham and O’Donkor are on.
GOAL! Oxford 0 – 3 Arsenal
76, Fantastic finish from Nektiah!
The Arsenal forward is played in by Gabriel Martinelli but the finish from Nketiah is so cute.
Nketiah just lifts the ball over the goalkeeper on the angle.
Will he get his hat trick?
Oxford 0 – 2 Arsenal
74, Saka is down and receiving treatment from the Arsenal medical team.
The Arsenal winger looks in some discomfort.
Arteta is taking no chances and replaces him with Emile Smith-Rowe who comes on to make his first appearance in almost three months.
GOAL! Oxford 0 – 2 Arsenal
70, Nketiah doubles Arsenal’s lead!
Oxford give the ball away cheaply in midfield and Vieira cleverly plays Nketiah in one-on-one with McGinty.
The Arsenal forward touches the ball around the goalkeeper as he comes off his line and rolls the ball into the empty net.
Game over for Oxford, surely?
Oxford 0 – 1 Arsenal
67, It looks an uphill battle for the home team now.
But if Oxford can keep it to just one then they’ll fancy they can work one goalscoring opportunity for themselves before the full time whistle.
GOAL! Oxford 0 – 1 Arsenal
63, Elneny breaks the deadlock for the Gunners!
A wicked delivery from a Fabio Vieira free-kick finds the unmarked Egyptian around five yards from goal.
Elneny makes no mistake with his header as he directs it into the bottom corner, but to be honest he couldn’t really miss.
Oxford 0 – 0 Arsenal
60, Arteta makes two changes to his team as Xhaka and Zinchenko are introduced at the expense of Lokonga and Tierney.
Karl Robinson also makes a change as Yanic-Sonny Wildschut comes on for Josh Murphy.
Oxford 0 – 0 Arsenal
58, A dangerous looking ball into the Arsenal box from Ciaron Brown looks like it’s going to drop right on the head of his teammate Sam Long but Gabriel just gets his head in there before the Oxford defender.
Arteta has sent the Arsenal subs out to warm up.
Oxford 0 – 0 Arsenal
56, A corner kick for Arsenal from the far side almost finds its way straight into the Oxford goal.
McGinty forces his way through a couple of Arsenal players to punch the ball away.
Pressure building…
Oxford 0 – 0 Arsenal
54, Nketiah is making some good runs in behind the Oxford defence but none of his teammates have seen them.
Tierney the guilty party this time.
Oxford 0 – 0 Arsenal
53, Whatever Mikel Arteta said to his team during the half time break, it hasn’t had the desired effect.
The second half has taken on exactly the same pattern as the first 45.
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