Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes Eddie Nketiah is getting better after helping the Gunners to an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Manchester City by beating Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.
After Mohamed Eleni’s opener, Nikitia scored twice in six second-half minutes to secure the Gunners’ progress.
He now has five goals in his last six games for Nikita, who have stepped up in the absence of injured striker Gabriel Jesus.
“He showed great patience,” Arteta said. “He’s a great finisher with the timing of his runs.
“He showed his quality and his work rate is getting better and better. I’m really happy with him.
“We only have one [striker] and it’s not easy to go several months before Gabi comes back, but we have to make the most of the players we have at the moment.”
The Premier League leaders were let down by a well-organised and disciplined Oxford side in the first half before overwhelming their League One opponents.
Fabio Vieira was Arsenal’s supreme creator, sending Elaine a superb free-kick past Oxford goalkeeper Eddie McGuinty in the 63rd minute, before calmly slotting home a pass for Nikita seven minutes later. I finished.
Oxford, who had fought so hard, were now struggling to deal with Arsenal’s attacking threat and Nikita was on the mark again after 76 minutes with a delicate chip past Gabriel Martinelli over McGuinty to put the Etihad Stadium on target. Powerhouse meeting with City can be confirmed.
There was a concern for Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s north London derby with Tottenham when Bukayo Saka went off with an injury, but Arteta downplayed the seriousness.
“He’s fine,” he told JEE News. “He’ll be fine.”
Arsenal get the job done
Arteta may have been disappointed by the Gunners’ sterile first-half performance but once he clicked into gear he inevitably had too much for Oxford.
Nikitia and Vieira were the two stars of the show, with the latter struggling to show his quality in first-half deliveries and the Premier League side finally exercising their authority.
Vieira’s free-kick was the perfect invitation for Elneny to break the deadlock with a powerful close-range header and his pass was equally good for Nketiah to put McGuinty through.
Nikitia showed his class in front of goal with his third after deputizing so well for the injured Issa.
Arsenal weren’t exactly flashy but that’s not the priority in these games. It’s going to the next round and they got it with a few saves, Oxford not creating a serious moment of danger in the game.
The visitors increased the pace and urgency after the break and never wavered once Elaine put them in front.
Oxford can take heart despite defeat
Oxford’s hopes of causing an FA Cup shock were dashed with Stevenage’s win at Aston Villa on Sunday, but Karl Robinson’s side could still go a long way despite defeat.
They were untroubled in the first half but the biggest problem for Oxford was that they had no real threat of their own in attacking areas and Arsenal goalkeeper Matthew Turner had a quiet night for Aaron Ramsdale.
To Oxford’s credit, they tried to maintain their passing style and were well drilled in the first half when Arsenal could not make a move.
It was also a night for Oxford fans to send a message off the pitch with a large banner behind the goal reading “SOS Support our stadium. Save our future. 24/01/23”.
It was a reference to plans to build a new stadium and move away from Kassam, which will be discussed by Oxford council officials on January 24 and which the club sees as vital if they are to have a prosperous future.
