3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Oxford United

After a shaky start, Arsenal cruised into the next round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Oxford United.

A great team is able to win even when playing poorly or in a challenging situation, and that is precisely what we saw from them on Monday night.

3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Oxford United

So after a poor first half and a great second, let’s talk about some positives and negatives from the match.

Positive #1: Vieira & Nketiah

Two assists from Fabio Vieira and two goals from Eddie Nketiah helped Arsenal put the tie beyond Oxford Utd and the pair combined beautifully for the second goal.

After a slow start from the Arsenal midfield as a whole, Vieira grew into this match like he often has this season. His free-kick to Mo Elneny was sublime, but his through ball to Nketiah for the second goal was even better.

Nketiah scored his third and fourth goals since Christmas, again proving how great he can be in covering for Gabriel Jesus.

Negative #1: Poor first half

It felt like deja vu at half-time of this match to the Nottingham Forest match a year ago. Arsenal looked underwhelming yet again in the ‘No more red’ kits, barely accumulating any xG in the opening period.

They looked dull, uninspired and were unable to get control of the match. The lack of VAR also hurt the Gunners, with Rob Holding being pulled down in the box and Sambi Lokonga’s shot being blocked with a hand in the first half.

Nevertheless, the Gunners bounced back for a roaring second 45 minutes.

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