3 minute read
9/1/2023 | 10:45pm
Arsenal progressed through to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Monday night as they beat League One outfit Oxford United 3-0 away from home.
The third tier opponents were no pushovers as they gave Matt Turner a scare at times in the first half and held the Gunners to 0-0 heading into half time.
However, the Premier League quality of Mikel Arteta’s side eventually came through and they scored the opener through Mo Elneny, who powerfully headed home from a corner.
Eddie Nketiah then added to his season’s goal tally by racing onto a through ball and rounding the Oxford goalkeeper before slotting it into an empty net.
Most Read on FootballFanCast.com
The England under-21 international then scored his second and Arsenal’s third to put the tie to bed by brilliantly dinking the ball over the goalkeeper at an awkward angle.
Whilst the centre-forward got himself on the scoresheet twice and ultimately won the match with his strikes, the real FA Cup hero for Arteta on the night was central defender Gabriel.
Was Gabriel MOTM?
Yes
Vote
No
Vote
The hosts played 53 long balls and 10 crosses in the match and this shows that they were direct and willing to put pressure on the Premier League side in the hope of causing an upset.
They were not there to be easily beaten and put up a good fight but Gabriel’s performance at the back played a large role in Arsenal overcoming their efforts to cause a stir in the first half, particularly.
Defensively, the centre-back was almost faultless for the Gunners. As per Sofascore, the Brazilian colossus won ten of his 11 individual duels (91%) at the back as he won 100% of his ground battles and seven…
..
