Arsenal arrange a fourth-round match with English Premier League title rival Manchester Metropolis within the FA Cup by beating third-tier Oxford United 3-0 on Monday.
Eddie Nketiah scored twice after Mohamed Elneny’s opener, with all the league chief’s objectives coming within the area of 13 second-half minutes at an atmospheric Kassam Stadium.
Arsenal will head to Etihad Stadium on the weekend of Jan. 28-29 for the match towards Metropolis within the final 32 of the well-known previous competitors. It will likely be the primary of three video games in a three-month span between the highest two golf equipment within the nation this season, with league conferences scheduled for February and April.
Metropolis, the defending league champion, is in second place and trails Arsenal by 5 factors approaching the midway level of the season.
With 4 objectives in as many video games, Nketiah is impressing because the substitute up entrance for Gabriel Jesus, who was injured taking part in on the World Cup with Brazil.
His objectives got here within the seventieth and 76th minutes, including to a header from Elneny within the 63rd that broke Oxford’s cussed resistance in a match between groups separated by 57 locations in English soccer’s pyramid.
“We had to stay patient, we had to up the level as it wasn’t good enough from us in the first half and we did that in the second,” Nketiah mentioned.
“Every player wants to play whatever the competition. I am grateful for the opportunities and I just want to keep working and keep helping the team.”
Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta fielded quite a few fringe gamers, together with Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira — who arrange two of the objectives — and American goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Nketiah rounded the goalkeeper and slotted into an empty internet after operating onto Vieira’s move for his first purpose, then supplied a deft chipped end for his second off Gabriel Martinelli’s through-ball.
Arsenal averted turning into the ninth Premier League group to be eradicated within the third spherical, after Everton, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Brentford, Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa had been ousted over the past three days. 4 of them had been knocked out by lower-league groups.
Arsenal performed in an all-white uniform as a part of the membership’s “No More Red” initiative. It’s designed to present younger folks extra alternatives and deal with the basis causes of violent youth crime.
