Arsenal are set to face Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round after cruising to a comfortable 3-0 victory over third-tier Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium on Monday evening.

The Gunners failed to break the deadlock in the first half as Mohamed Elneny opened the scoring with a header in the 63rd minute to make it 1-0.

Eddie Nketiah put the game past Oxford after he completed his brace with goals in the 70th and 76th minute to take his goal tally up to four goals.

“We had to up the level as it wasn’t good enough from us in the first half and I think we did that in the second,” said Nketiah.

“It’s not the best draw but we’re up for it.”

Mikel Arteta picked a strong team with a front three of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who played on either side of Nketiah in attack.

The Gunners dominated possession in the first half but failed to produce many clear-cut chances but they were left frustrated after they were denied a penalty for handball when Elliott Moore blocked Albert Sambi Lokonga’s shot.

Fabio Vieira, who doesn’t usually start for Arteta, was given a chance to shine, and the Portuguese made his mark by setting up two goals after the break.

Elneny scored with a strong header from a free kick taken by the former Porto midfielder. It was Elneny’s first goal since 2021.

Nketiah then kept making the most of his longer time in the team after Jesus got hurt.

The player who has scored the most goals for England’s under-21 team all time took a through ball from Vieira and calmly went around Edward McGinty to put the ball into an empty net.

“Every player wants to play,” added Nketiah. “I’m grateful for the opportunities and just want to keep helping the team.”

Saka was then taken off after getting hurt, which was upsetting for Arsenal, but Emile Smith Rowe came back for the first time since September, which was good news.

Nketiah scored his second goal of the night 14 minutes from the end when Martinelli passed the ball to him and he dinked it over McGinty. This was his second sneaky goal of the night.

In the next round, the top two teams in the Premier League will play each other at the Etihad on the last weekend of January. This will be a much tougher test.

Photo by EPA/Vince Mignott