Arsenal defeated Oxford on Monday night to advance to a thrilling FA Cup fourth-round match at Manchester City.
The Premier League leaders were forced to work hard for a 3-0 triumph at the Kassam Stadium thanks to Mikel Arteta's seven substitutions from the most recent goalless draw with Newcastle.
After a completely boring first 45 minutes, Mohamed Elneny scored his first goal in 617 days to break the tie, and an elegant Eddie Nketiah brace sealed the victory.
On a night when the final scoreline favored Arsenal, Bukayo Saka hobbled off as well. As a result, Arsenal now travels to their closest title rivals City. Arsenal controlled the ball throughout a balanced first half hour, but Edward McGinty in the Oxford goal was not tested.
Even though the visitors' starting lineup had five full-fledged internationals, there was a glaring lack of team togetherness that has allowed them to build a five-point lead over Pep Guardiola's defending champions at the top of the Premier League standings.
With no VAR in use, referee David Coote rejected Arsenal's strong penalty appeal after Elliott Moore's flailing arm stopped an Albert Sambi Lokonga shot. The first shot on goal was seen by the large crowd 10 minutes after the break. Saka cut inside before having his attempt cleared off the line by Lewis Bate.
In order to break the tie, Arteta brought on Granit Xhaka and Oleksandr Zinchenko from the bench. However, it was another pair that combined to score the game's first goal.
Fabio Vieira, who was arguably the most ineffective player on the field in the opening hour, sent a free-kick into the area that Elneny powerfully headed home just moments after the substitutions.
Again, Vieira was there to set up Arsenal's second goal. He slipped in a lovely through-ball, which was collected by Nketiah, who displayed composure by dodging McGinty and scoring.
Nketiah would add another goal to his tally for the night with a skillful finish from a Gabriel Martinelli ball, despite the fact that it appeared he was offside and the absence of VAR went in Arsenal's favor.
Emile Smith Rowe, a fellow England international and graduate of the Hale End academy, took Saka's place after the player went down injured seconds earlier and hobbled around the side of the field.
Even though the outcome was already known at that moment, he came close to capping his comeback with a goal but saw his shot deflected just inches wide of the post. When Arteta leads his team against neighbors Tottenham on Sunday after this arduous triumph, Saka's injury will be his biggest worry.
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