There have been good days for Arsenal on this season of wonder and hope and there have been great ones too. This was neither, but fair play to whoever coined that old phrase about scorecards having no need for pictures.
It was ugly and it was grim and for a shade more than an hour it had the slightest whiff of one of those cup ties where something special might be mined from the muck.
Only slight because Oxford weren’t landing punches. They ran, they chased, they created a few nice patterns in midfield and they tried to make the climb. But it’s a long way up from 15th in League One when the bigger boy is top of the Premier League.
Mohamed Elneny celebrated a first goal since May 2021 as he gave Arsenal the lead at Oxford
Calm as you like! Nketiah (left) gets his second goal with a delightful chip past the Oxford keeper
And so it didn’t work out. Karl Robinson’s side kept it tight and gave a decent scrap, with the score 0-0 until the 63rd minute. Quarter of an hour later, Arsenal had three that were neither against the run of play, and nor were they entirely deserved, with Mohamed Elneny kicking down the door and Eddie Nketiah adding another two.
It was flattering, but not all staging posts in a campaign can be memorable and jazzy and so the job that simply needed to be done, was done. Manchester City are up next in the fourth round – one suspects an improvement is necessary.
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah smiles in celebration after scoring his first goal of the night
If there is to be a positive for Karl Robinson’s Oxford, it was in the duration they stayed in the scrap.
For Mikel Arteta, victory through commitment has its merits, but perhaps he will be more satisfied in the isolated contributions of Fabio Vieira, who got two assists in his first start for two months – he will take a launchpad wherever he can find one.
There was also the reassurance of Nketiah’s ongoing scoring form in place of the injured Gabriel Jesus. With four goals in four, he is shaping into a more-than-reliable deputy.
Of course, goals at Oxford are one thing; goals at Tottenham this weekend will be quite another and will weigh rather a lot more.
It was with an eye on that game Arteta made seven changes to the side used in Arsenal’s most recent business in the Premier League against Newcastle.
And yet it is hard to talk too much of diminished sides when the four he retained included his regular front three in Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Weakened but not exactly weak, especially with the insurance of Martin Odegaard on the bench.
Facing them was an interesting ensemble collated by Robinson, spanning a goalkeeper found in the Irish leagues, Eddie McGinty, and a midfield of Lewis Bate, Marcus McGuane and Cameron Brannagan that typically turns the wheels when things are going well, which hasn’t been so much lately.
Oxford striker Matty Taylor (yellow) can’t get the crucial touch required to put the hosts ahead when the match was goalless
Arsenal might have won but boss Mikel Arteta was not a happy man in the dugout for large parts of the match
Here and away from the slog of a single win in five in League One? Oxford looked good. Freed from their own pressures, perhaps. Bate, on loan from Leeds and highly rated, was sharp in his use of short balls through tight spaces, while McGuane, 13 years in Arsenal’s academy before a romantic but unfruitful move to Barcelona, was also lively.
Indeed, he created the only half-chance of the opening 30 minutes, which Brannagan drilled against Gabriel’s thigh.
Alas, that was pretty much as good as the first half got, which is a somewhat better reflection on Oxford than Arsenal. They really were dire – soft in the tackle, desperate in their appeals, frail to intensity of Oxford’s pressing and unimaginative in their few attacks.
Arsenal playmaker Fabio Vieira (right) caught the eye with two assists against Oxford
Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe marked his comeback from injury with a substitute appearance
Whatever urge Arteta may have had for half-time changes, he somehow resisted and out of such blind faith, came a handful of moments of moderate excitement.
In the first instance that meant a twisting, turning run from Martinelli on the left that beat two men before meeting its end in a blind alley.
McGinty was also required to keep out a Saka corner that evaded all heads on a direct flight to goal. Clocking at 55 minutes, it was the first shot on goal in the match.
Arsenal manager Arteta cut a stern figure at full-time despite seeing his side progress to round four
Oxford boss Karl Robinson was proud of his players at full-time for their performance
Arsenal players celebrate after finally getting their breakthrough at the Kassam Stadium
Reacting to the scenario, Arteta brought on Oleksandr Zinchenko and Granit Xhaka for Kieran Tiernery and Albert Lokonga, sparing Vieira and therefore teeing up a pair of assists that might be worth a fortune in confidence and momentum to the midfielder.
The first was a free-kick from the left which Elneny headed for 1-0 – good delivery, good finish. The second goal, created for Nketiah, came from Vieira’s throughball. Again, it was a lovely assist.
With a sweet little chip after a ball from Martinelli, Nketiah went on to add the most generous coat of gloss to the score, allowing enough comfort for Arteta to bring on Emile Smith Rowe for his first competitive football in four months.
With all the difficulties of his groin injury, it was warming to see him manage 15 minutes at the end – a good end to an evening that had been a little too tricky for Arsenal.
Arsenal secure safe passage to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a hard-fought three-goal win in the south-west. Mikel Arteta’s side weren’t at their best but a first goal since May 2021 for Mohammed Elneny rounded off by two fine strikes from Eddie Nketiah wrapped up an impressive second-half performance.
Manchester City await Arsenal in the next round as the Premier League’s two best teams of the season so far prepare to battle it out in England’s oldest cup competition.
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Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah has been named the Emirates FA Cup man of the match for his two goal performance against Oxford tonight. Two well-taken goals see’s him fairly take the accolade after scoring his 17th and 18th cup goals for Arsenal.
Oxford boss Karl Robinson freshens things up with some more substitutions as Brandon Fleming and Joshua Johnson are both introduced into the fray against the Premier League leaders. Both side’s have now used all five subs with minutes left in the encounter.
Arteta is happy to ring the changes with his side now comfortably in front as Fabio Vieira and Tomiaysu both make way. On comes Ben White and Marquinhos.
Eddie Nketiah gets his second goal and Arsenal are home and dry with a three-nil lead. Nketiah is as calm as you like and produced a brilliant chipped finish that find its way past the Oxford keeper and into the back of the net.
He’s on his hattrick now and will fancy getting it with over 10 minutes left in this FA Cup clash.
MIkel Arteta decides to bring Bukayo Saka off in order to protect him for the weekend’s North London derby as he introduces Emile Smith Rowe back onto the pitch for the first time since September.
Make that two-nil Arsenal and another assist for Vieira. Oxford get caught on the counter-attack, Vieira picks the ball up midway inside the hosts half before slipping a perfectly-weighted pass into Eddie Nketiah who rounds the keeper coolly before finishing into an empty net. Victory is now surely wrapped up for the Gunners.
It hasn’t been an Arsenal performance that Premier League fans have become accustom to this season, but the Gunners finally get their breakthrough and have the tremendous delivery off Fabio Vieira to thank for that. The 22-year-old knows as soon as he hits it that the ball is a good one and Elneny couldn’t miss.
Arsenal finally get their breakthrough as Vieria’s quality free-kick delivery from the left-wing finds the head of Elneny who does well from close-range to direct the ball past the keeper and give Arsenal lift off. That was Elneny’s first goal since May 2021.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has seen enough as he makes a double substitution with just under 30 minutes left in the match. Off comes Kieran Tierney and Sambi Lokonga with Premier League title-winner Oleksandr Zinchenko and Granit Xhaka being introduced into the fray.
Oxford left-back Ciaran Brown is the first name in the referees book as he wrestles with Eddie Nketiah off the ball. Things are getting feisty and that can only be a good thing for this match that has lacked much of a spark.
Finally Arsenal kick into life as Bukayo Saka twists and turns on the edge of the Oxford box before cutting inside and firing an effort goal-bound.
Oxford midfielder Lewis Bate does tremendously well to track back and is in the right position at the right time to clear the ball off the line and out for a corner. Four Arsenal corners then fail to produce any type of chance.
Arsenal are living life on the edge here as Matty Taylor finds himself onside and in acres of space.
His chest control lets him down as he sprints through on goal with an onrushing Matt Turner doing well to smother the ball on the edge of Arsenal’s box. What a chance that was. Will Oxford regret not taking it?
Vieira is on corner duties tonight but so far hasn’t impressed. This corner like many of Arsenl’s tonight fails to beat the first man as Oxford clear their lines with ease.
Arsenal get us back underway and will need to produce a massive improvement to that first-half showing. Here’s a stat for you, Arsenal have never won away at Oxford.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has been praising his former side’s League One opposition for their first-half performance that has seen the Premier League leaders yet to register a shot on target.
Speaking at half-time Wright said: ‘Oxford have done exactly what they need to, they’re putting Arsenal under so much pressure in midfield that they’re having to pass backwards.
All square at the halfway stage with Oxford deserving of their place in the game after an impressive defensive display against the Premier League leaders. The Gunners are lacking quality and a famous FA Cup upset is still very much on the cards.
A deep throw-in into the Oxford boss almost forces an opening goal as the ball somehow makes it’s way to Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah at the near-post. He tries to lift the bouncing ball into the net but gets too much on it and watches the ball sail over the bar.
The visitors have largely dominated proceedings – albeit Oxford have played well – but they can’t find the final ball needed to create a clear sight of goal.
Arsenal are focusing most of their play down the wing and look well short of ideas in the final third. The absence of Martin Odegaard is evident for all to see and it would be no surprise to see the Gunners captain introduced at half-time.
Arsenal venture into a dangerous area on the edge of the Oxford boss with Lokonga’s powerful strike blocked behind for a corner. However, the visitors have surrounded the referee demanding a penalty is given as a sliding Moore see’s his hand block the effort.
The centre-back was supporting his body as he was sliding to the ground, which is allowed and the referee waves play on. Oxford fans will be breathing a sigh of relief that there is no VAR here tonight.
Mikel Arteta must have instructed his player’s tp tru and create chances with overlapping runs down the right-wing because almost every time they have got the ball, Arsenal have tried to find openings down that side through Saka and Tomiaysu.
Oxford holding firm so far but one or two openings are starting to appear in their defence.
Bukayo Saka is clattered by a strong but fair challenge by Bate and is in some discomfort on the ground. The referee blows his whistle to stop the match but it wasn’t a head injury so no idea why he has done that. Saka gets up and we play on.
The League One outfit have been largely starved of the ball so far but are starting to establilsh themselves against the Premier League leaders.
The midfield battle is really interesting with Arsenal’s trio of Elneny, Lokonga, and Vieira struggling against the physicality of United’s Brannagan and Bate.
The visitors don’t look comfortable in midfield and Arsenal need to learn quickly how to live with their opposition.
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We’re 15 minutes in and there is very little to split the two sides. Oxford look comfortable out of possession, while Arsenal are failing to do much with the ball.
The visitors have begun to show promising signs as Tomiaysu’s cross is claimed by the keeper as chants of ‘boring, boring, Arsenal’ echo around the ground.
Arsenal get the first corner of the match that Vieira strides over to take. His ball is cleared away before Arsenal play around the Oxford boss results in another corner that eventually comes to nothing.
The home side won’t be expecting to get much of the ball tonight, but when they do their players are flooding forward. A ball out to the right-wing is controlled well before a weak cross is hit straight into Turner’s hands.
Positive signs that clearly show Oxford’s approach to attacking this game is to attack with balls into the box.
It was never going to take long for the Premier League leaders to find their footing and have started to string together some neat passing moves.
Fabio Vieira is making some positive runs into open spaces, all he needs is his teammates to look up and he would be in.
The visitors have barely touched the ball yet but there energetic high-press is penning Oxford back inside their own half with the visitors eventually having to boot the ball long to ease the pressure.
The hosts get us underway inside the Kassam Stadium against the Premier League leaders.
This is your five minute warning until kick-off, so grab your cuppa, take a seat and get ready for an action-packed 90 minutes that many of us will be hoping see’s another magical FA Cup upset!
Oxford manager Karl Robinson has been speaking pre-match and told his players to enjoy the occasion as they come up against some of the Premier League’s best attackers.
Previewing the game, Robinson said: ‘I think when the draw was made we wanted a team here, you want to capture the community the young kids, and we’re playing the best team in the country in our own stadium.
‘We need some fluidity. We do like to dominate possession of the ball, we might not be able to do that tonight! I want these players to be the best versions of themselves, whatever the quality of the opposition.
‘We want to play against the best players. The Man City team that came here with strong on both occasions. Enjoy it. Its football at the end of the day. Its something we all love. Tonight is an opportunity to be challenged by the best team in England.
The FA Cup magic is well and truly alive this season with England’s oldest club competition up to its old tricks once again.
There have been plenty of thrills and spills already just three rounds into the FA Cup. Here’s the upsets so far that Oxford United fans will be optimistically looking to replicate tonight.
Aston Villa 1-2 Stevenage: League Two Stevenage pulled off the shock of the tournament so far as they clinched a last-minute winner to send Unai Emery’s side walking.
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Newcastle United: Eddie Howe may have got it right in the Premier League this season, but against Sheffield Wednesday his team of stars got it all wrong.
Coventry City 3-4 Wrexham: Championship side Coventry played out a seven-goal thriller against National League Wrexham with the Welsh outfit managing a historic win.
Tonight’s clash marks a first meeting since 2003 when the duo met in the same competition as Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners at Highbury.
Back then a certain Dennis Bergkamp got onto the scoresheet for the Gunners. Eddie Nketiah leads the line for the Premier League leaders tonight and will be hoping to replicate the feats of the legendary Dutchman.
Now this may catch you by surprise, but Liverpool and England legend Robbie Fowler has been spotted at the Kassam Stadium for tonight’s clash.
The 47-year-old isn’t there working on press duties but could be lending U’s boss Karl Robinson a hand. Both from Liverpool, Fowler has worked with the Oxford coaching staff at various stages throughout the season.
Commenting on Fowler’s involvement earlier in the season, Robinson said: ‘It’s not a consistent thing, he’ll come in every now and then if he’s free – he’s got a very busy lifestyle, as you’d imagine.
‘Sometimes it’s not so much what he does, but what he says.
Mikel Arteta names a strong side to take on Oxford in the FA Cup third round as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli both start while Emile Smith Rowe returns and is on the bench.
The hosts are first out with their team news as manager Karl Robinson names his starting squad that he hopes will be able to pull off an FA Cup miracle tonight.
Arsenal attacker Emile Smith Rowe is in-line to feature tonight as the 22-year-old is welcomed back from injury and deemed fit enough to play after several training sessions back with the first-team.
The playmaker last featured for the Gunners in their sole Premier League loss against Manchester United in September and had to go under the knife to fix a groin injury.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta talked up Smith Rowe saying: ‘He knows he has to jump on the train fast enough to have the impact on this season that we all hope he can have.
‘He knows he has the space in the squad to return and fulfil his potential. He knows that I really like him and he is a very important player for us.’
The FA Cup simply loves an upset, just ask Aston Villa after they came unstuck against League Two side Stevenage yesterday with the Premier League side exiting the competition at the earliest opportunity after their shock defeat.
So is there any reason for Oxford fans to be optimistic tonight? On the face of it, sadly not.
The League One outfit have struggled for form this season, sitting 15th in the league standings and recording just one win in their last five league games. That being said, prior to their New Year’s Day defeat against Exeter, Karl Robinson’s side hadn’t lost at home since October.
Unfortunately, Arsenal will most likely prove just too much to handle tonight. The Gunners have been in scintillating form all season and don’t look likely of letting up tonight against an opposition they should have the better of.
Good evening and welcome to Sportsmails live commentary of the final FA Cup third round match as League One Oxford United host Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be hoping for an easy route to a fourth round clash against title-chasing rivals Manchester City, while third tier Oxford will be hoping some famous FA Cup magic is able to find its way to the south-west tonight.
Kick-off is at 8pm and we will have the all-important team news for you shortly.
Ryan Walker
Host commentator