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Match Report: Oxford United 0 – 3 Arsenal

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Oxford United (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 3

FA Cup Third Round

The Kassam Stadium, Grenoble Road, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4XP

Monday, 9th January 2023. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-3-3) Matt Turner; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhães, Kieran Tierney; Fabio Vieira, Mohamed Elneny, Albert Sambi Lokonga; Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli.

Substitutes: Ben White, Thomas Partey, Martin Ødegaard, Emile Smith-Rowe, (Marcus Vinicius Oliveira Alencar) Marquinhos, Karl Hein, Granit Xhaka, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.

Scorers: Mohamed Elneny (63 mins), Eddie Nketiah (70 mins, 75 mins)

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 64%

Referee: David Coote

Assistant Referees: Lee Betts, Timothy Wood

Fourth Official: Michael Salisbury

VAR and goal-line technology will not be in operation for this match.

Attendance: 11,538

As we may unfortunately recall, having suffered a shock exit at this stage of the competition last season at the hands of Nottingham Forest, it has been twenty-seven years since we last experienced FA Cup Third Round elimination in successive seasons, so we do not wish to leave this illustrious competition tonight, especially as we hold the record for most wins in the FA Cup, of course. The winners of tonight’s match will meet Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Fourth Round at an unscheduled date sometime between Friday 27th and Monday 30th January. Mikel Arteta has made seven changes for this game tonight, with Gabriel, Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli being the only players which retain their places in the side from last week’s draw with Newcastle United at the Emirates. It is also heartening to see Emile Smith-Rowe is back on the bench tonight after four months sidelined due to a groin injury. Arsenal are wearing the all-white kit tonight in support of the No More Red anti-knife crime campaign in London.

The home side got the match underway, and the opening exchanges were quite lively with both teams showing good intent to win on a very wet and heavy pitch. We were finding it a problem trying to play our usual game in the early stages of the match, due to the pitch, but there were odd flashes of brilliance here and there; just after Bukayo Saka showed his unhappiness as the linesman flagged for a foul against him as he was leaning onto Ciaron Brown from a long ball in behind the left-back, we had two corners awarded to us in quick succession as a superb Kieran Tierney cross was blocked and went over the by-line. The initial corner was cleared, before Fabio Vieira’s cross was deflected out of play again. The home side cleared the ball, and after they kicked it out of play, Kieran Tierney dried the ball on a towel before launching a long throw into the penalty area. It almost dropped for Bukayo Saka at the back post but it was kicked clear by an Oxford United defender. Generally, as far as we are concerned, this match is a classic case of one step forwards, two steps back, sadly. So far we have not created a clearcut chance, so much so, that Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are up off the Arsenal bench and are warming up on the sidelines. With six minutes of the first half remaining, we had a shooting opportunity courtesy of Albert Sambi Lokonga, and his left-footed drive was blocked by a sliding Elliott Moore tackle. It did hit his left arm, but he was using it to support his body as he went to the ground, which is allowed in the rules, of course. Our players surrounded referee David Coote, but he is not going to give a penalty here. A few minutes later, David Coote blew the whistle for half time, and although we have dominated the play, we were still unable to score.

We kicked off proceedings for the second half, and almost immediately, Eddie Nketiah had the chance to feed in either Gabriel Martinelli or Fabio Vieira but took the chance himself; sadly the subsequent corner was completely wasted by us. Gabriel Martinelli had a good chance to open the scoring a few minutes later, but Elliott Moore blocked his shot. Ten minutes after the restart, Bukayo Saka whip[ed in a wicked corner, right under Edward McGinty, who was under pressure from Takehiro Tomiyasu, but the Oxford keeper did well to punch it behind for another corner, which went nowhere again. On the hour, Granit Xhaka and Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced Albert Sambi Lokonga and Kieran Tierney, and our pressure on the Oxford goal continued. After sixty-three minutes, we finally took the lead when a Fabio Vieira free-kick from the left was headed in at close range by Mohamed Elneny, which was his first goal since May 2021; a deep sigh of relief went around the Arsenal supporters in the stadium at that moment. The goal certainly zipped us up somewhat, as our passing became crisper and our desire was there for all to see. With twenty minutes of the match remaining, we grabbed our second goal of the night in which Mohamed Elneny and Fabio Vieira were involved again. The former nipped through the defence for the latter, and he threaded beautifully in behind for Eddie Nketiah to gather the ball, go around goalkeper Edward McGinty and slotted it into the empty net for our second of the night. Shortly afterwards, Emile Smith-Rowe replaced an injured Bukayo Saka, to much applause by our supporters. The 22-year-old midfielder has not played since the Manchester United match on 4th September, and it is mighty good to see him return. A minute or so later, Gabriel Martinelli played a really neat ball through for Eddie Nketiah, who just timed his run to perfection, and he simply nicked the ball over Edward McGinty as he came out of his goal to confront the Arsenal man, to score our third goal of the night. We nearly scored another one a minute or so later when Emile Smith-Rowe, who found himself one-on-one at the back post, but his poor first touch was deflected behind for a corner. With eight minutes of the match remaining, Ben White and Marquinhos replaced Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira. The home side started to create one or two chances towards the end of the game, but their chances did not amount to much, really. Oleksandr Zinchenko had an opportunity to score on the ninetieth minute, but his shot went wildly over the bar, and in the two minutes injury time, the match went rather flat, and when the referee brought matters to an end, it was more of a sense of relief for all, really. 

Despite a sluggish and lacklustre first half, our class showed in the second half, and the nature of our goals and the scoreline reflected that. Eddie Nketiah, Mohamed Elneny and Fabio Vieira played exceptionally well, and it was good to see Emile Smith-Rowe’s comeback go through without a hitch. Manchester City lie in wait for us in the fourth round, but before that, there is the small matter of the North London derby on Sunday afternoon against our “friends” from N17. Exciting times ahead!

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Tottenham Hotspur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, 15th January at 4.30pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon

Arteta to rest and rotate in the FA Cup

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Morning all.

Drawn against Oxford United away looked a cracker of an FA Cup tie.

A team who we had not travelled to since 1988 in the old Division One. A side we had not played since 2003. And less than an hours train journey from Paddington.

The buzz was real, but I also foresaw the future, turning to a mate and saying “bet we will be Monday 8pm”.

And as predicted, it was moved.

Instead of it being a cracking away day, it quickly became a a horror show.

Oxford’s Grenoble Road stadium is one of those built next to a roundabout in an industrial park outside the city. Think Reading and Stoke.

It is 4 and a half miles from the station – a 90 minute walk or a bus journey back.

Under these circumstances, we would usually find a pub local to the stadium, let the crowd die down before jumping in a taxi. But with the evening kick off, that is not really an option.

That last train I can get back to mine from Paddington (I live on the London / Essex borders) is 00:17. I would need to get the 22:32 from Oxford and hope there are no delays.

So rather than it being a decent away day – if it happened lunch time or mid-afternoon on the Saturday or Sunday – it is now a horror show. And once again shows that TV companies do not care about travelling fans (and the criticism of the Super League was just content for them!).

With Manchester City away in the next round (if we get through), I would expect a 4:30 Sunday kick off. Will struggle to get a train back from Manchester with that time.

The opening games of the season have already proved a lot of frustration for travelling fans.

With no title in 20 years, the FA Cup has been Arsenal’s safe space.

Since we last lifted the league, we have won 5 FA Cups, including 4 of the last 9 trophies.

But with us sitting top of the league, and inching ourselves towards the “favourite” tag, are we right to now put the FA Cup on the back burner?

The League Cup has often been a place to play a second team. Whilst we are top of the league, the FA Cup should be sacrificed.

The 3rd round tie against Oxford is sandwiched between the home game against Newcastle and next weekends big London derby.

Even a second team should be able to get us through Oxford – the League One outfit sit 13th in England’s 3rd tier.

I expect Matt Turner to be given a run out. He was fantastic at the World Cup and needs to get consistent game time incase something happens to Aaron Ramsdale.

Right back will be Takehiro Tomiyasu. The Japanese international has struggled with injury since joining and lost his starting place to Ben White.

At left back, it will be whoever Mikel Arteta is not playing against Tottenham. Kieran Tierney will probably get the nod for Oxford.

Rob Holding will start. I think he will be partnered by William Saliba.

The Frenchman has made a few mistakes recently and is suffering from a bit of a World Cup hangover. I think that is due to losing a bit of sharpness from not playing. I would start him so that he can continue blowing away those cobwebs.

Thomas Partey is out most important player right now. We need to manage his playing time. Keeping him fit for the Premier League is the priority. Mo Elneny will start in midfield.

Fabio Vieira will also come in for Martin Odegaard.

I actually feel sorry for the Portuguese midfielder. He has become a victim of Arsenal’s success and has barely had a sniff. Some are labelling him a flop, or “jury’s out”, but it is not his fault.

Albert Sambi Lokonga will also start, replacing Granit Xhaka.

If fit, Emile Smith Rowe will come in on the left. He could be an important player in the second half of the season.

The other two attacking positions are up for grabs.

Reiss Nelson is out injured, and surely Arteta will want to give Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah a weekend off.

If he decides to play none of the 3, that will mean Marquinhos comes in on the right and potentially Kido Taylor-Hart up front.

I can see a case for playing Nketiah, who has not played much. But Arsenal can not afford for him to pick up an injury with Jesus out.

The other option could be to give Martinelli an hour down the middle.

We should get through Oxford with the team above. And then it will be interesting to see how we manage work loads as the FA Cup continues (4th round weekend of 28/1) and Europa League restarts (in March).

If we are continue topping the league, both the cups will be pushed aside.

Predicted XI:

Turner
Tomiyasu Holding Saliba Tierney
Elneny
Marquinhos Vieira Lokonga SmithRowe
Martinelli

Keenos

So Toon pegged us back. It’s no nail in the coffin.

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In the aftermath of our admittedly disappointing draw to Newcastle, some have wondered whether our apparently fragile and temporary table position has started to slip. Having missed a chance at going ten points clear, we now sit just eight above City pending their match at Stamford Bridge after which our lead may have shrunk to as little as five. Clearly, we should consider looking to the heavens to see if the sky is falling or, alternately, if pigs are flying. 

It’s easier to suspect the former idiom after we’ve dropped points for the first time since 23 October and just third time all season. Is this then the first wobble that portends a deeper fall? From our point of view, it’s easy to let those old feelings of doubt creep in. After all, for as high as we’re flying, we’ve spent the last decade or dreading what felt like inevitable collapse, be it an unfortunate early goal conceded, a horror tackle, or an epic, disastrous defeat. We’d watch as players on the pitch let their shoulders slump and chins drop. We’ve only had a few precious months to exorcise years of existential dread; it’s normal to feel murmurs of that same dread.

How to dispel them? Let’s drag out that latter idiom. Ever since we rose to the top of the table, various pundits (especially of the Mancunian variety) have held that Arsenal will win the Prem when pigs fly. However, they’re trying to have their cake and eat it while talking out of two orifices at once. On one hand, they’re touting Newcastle as a serious contender for a top-three finish at a mininum. On the other, they’re crowing about how this draw strikes a fatal wound to our own campaign. It can’t really be both. Sharing a point with a top-three rival is…normal if not preferable. If it had been, say, relegation fodder like Everton that came in and snatched a draw, that would be a different story—but that’s such a laughably unimaginable scenario that one wonders why I’d even mention it. 

The reality then is that  this result does offer some legitimacy to Newcastle’s status  but does not much away from ours. Only one club have beaten Newcastle, and that was away to Liverpool. This draw marks the sixth straight clean sheet Newcastle have kept, and they barely did so on Tuesday. Had we been just a bit sharper, especially in those first 15 minutes, or if Madley had remembered that he liked punishing shirt tugs (which he booked Nketiah and Ødegaard for in the first half), we might have come away with a comfy win.

Newcastle played like they were Pulis-era Stoke with a bigger budget. Those are the kinds of tactics that used to intimidate and unsettle us. This squad, however, is made of sterner stuff, greater conviction, and deeper desire. For as young as they are, these players rise to challenges. Conceding a goal seems to anger them. I suspect that dropping points at home with inspire them that much more. It’s almost a pity that we have to wait almost ten days to properly show how we react to setback.

Jon

Jon Shay manages his own blog, Woolwich 1886, and you can find him on Twitter at @LeftLegOLiam