Arsenal made it through to the 4th round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Oxford United.
The first half was drab, but the Gunners came to life in the second, with Mohamed Elneny opening the scoring, before Eddie Nketiah grabbed a brace to put the game out of the home side’s reach.
Here’s how the players rated this evening.
Read the Oxford 0-3 Arsenal report and see the goals here
Oxford 0-3 Arsenal – Player Ratings
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Viera definitely had a game of two half’s. I was calling for to get off after 45.
And then..
I guess that’s why I’m not the manager.
His ability with the ball is not in doubt. I’m not to sure hes going to get over his physical limitations or even the mental ones. I remember when Saka and Gabi first started playing and they were lightweight but also tenacious fighters going against the bigger guys with no fear, now they are filling out physically. Hopefully im wrong but i don’t see that transformation happening with Vieira.
Would be very helpful to the rest of us if you could share your insights into his physical and mental limitations
Pretty sure the people in charge at the club wouldn’t have bought him if they didn’t think he could improve physically enough to hold his own in the Premier League, it’s one of the basic requirements at this point. He’s barely older than Saka and Martinelli, give him time, I’m sure he’s in the weight room and training ground working on it and the way he managed to assert himself tonight eventually can only be a positive sign for the mental part of his game
Like i said i hope he proves me wrong as i can see the potential.
I think he’s going to be a winger at best for us. Someone like Smith Rowe who can decide games from the flanks. Because he’s a moments man and on the flanks, you can ghost around and provide key moments but in the center, you have to provide consistent quality by demanding for the ball and fighting for it even when you’re not providing key moments. It’s a key difference between Ødegaard and Vieira that I don’t think will change. They could end up with similar g/a tallies by the end of the season but you would know who solidifies… Read more »
I’m certain that young Fabio has noted both of your concerns and has determined to work really hard on addressing them.
Because David Silva needed to bulk up to drive Man City to championship after championship…
🙄🙄🙄
Strange comment. A 22 year old kid in a new team, in a new league, in a new country and you’re writing him off just months into the season.
He does need to bulk up or smarten up (which I’m certain he will) and he did have a bad first half – but so did the rest of the team, including our current Premier League starting front 3!!!
However his improvement and 2 assists in the 2nd half were absolutely brilliant. I’m not sure how much more of a fighting spirit he could’ve shown???
Same ilk of Arse ‘supporter’ who complained the Odegaard was a ‘dud loan’… that Martinelli was ‘too young and impetuous’, that Ben White was an ‘overpayment for an average defender’.
As Blogs said, he looked small, but grew into the game. In my day, we called this, “a grower, not a show-er.” I’ve had to use that line myself many times in the change rooms over the years, thankfully without ever having to prove the first part of the statement, which I could never do anyway.
I wonder if the introduction of Xhaka and Zinchenko is what made the difference for him.
Elneny playing a forward pass through the lines also.
Definitely better with Xhaka & Zinchenko on the field providing a more stable base in midfield.
You could be Chelsea’s manager. Anyone could be.
Sambibis a real worry. You expect him to come into games like this, when given the chance, and prove his worth. But he underwhelmed everytime. That’s why I am worried we are not talking about adding someone in midfield from the market.
Zinchenko’s ability on the ball is insane. He just strokes that round piece of leather with such supreme confidence, it is beautiful to watch.
I think the whole team drank a fee too many Sambibis in the first half
Few even 😀
Agreed on Sambi. He is underwhelming because he is. Not that he is shit he just has no extras to his game. He is a poorer version of Elneny so what use does he have to the squad other than just being a body. Its harsh but i can see him gone this summer. Were okay if Partey can stay fit. and Clearly Arteta knows this because he is the only player never risked.
I love Zinchenko, absolute technician…But i thought he was very slack when he came on.today.
Poorer version of elneny?
He cost double
Is Elneny the flagship version of a dinghy?
I get the impression that he cannot play with his back to goal etc. I think he needs the game in front of him s a holding midfielder. Certainly not convinced but Kompany really rated him and he seems a good judge I think it’s more a case of does he want to stay and work or does he feel “ entitled “ to be a first team regular and sulks. If it’s the latter he should go. If the former let him stay What last night confirmed is we need an experienced back up to Partey and Xhaka –… Read more »
I believe Sambi is a goner. Gotta be ruthless.
I would not be surprised if Burnley would try to get him cheap
Spare a thought for Nuno (now smacking ’em in across the Channel) who was sent to the naughty bench, rather than Sambi. I know who I believe has more potential…
we could have started Zinchenko in midfield and Tierney at LB, but we have to find minutes for Sambi somewhere…
I wonder if he will be loaned out next year or even sold in the summer. Clearly he is low on confidence.
As long as Xhaka and Partey are available, there will be few minutes for Elneny and Lakonga. But we need both.
Good point – Ziiiiiinch is a more than half-decent midfield back-up. Certainly better than this current Sambi iteration.
Vieira was tough to rate – found it hard to impose himself, but two lovely assists. I gave him a 7.5 in the end as ultimately he swung the game.
The difference between lokonga-viera was not huge in 1st half. It’s just that viera gave us the glimpse of obvious talent which needs to be roughened/polished while sambi just went on wasting his chance.
Good way to put it. I was so disappointed in Sambi. and i think most fans have been really patient with him but his isn’t showing anything that tells me there is some hidden player in there. Vieira simply has to work on his physicality. Sambi has to be replaced. I would keep Elneny over him even at his age which says everything about what we have seen from Sambi.
I also feel like the drop in quality from their first team counterparts doesn’t help either.
Xhaka has been playing really well for us don’t get me wrong but odegaard is on another level completely.
It definitely does but i take that into consideration. All our new/academy players go through the league cup>fa cup> europa league gauntlet with the rest of the players that are not considered first teamers but still find a way to shine to put themselves in position to ply with the better players. I think Vieira is simply struggling with the roughness so to speak and he is used to waay more time on the ball in portugal. Now he is getting closed down quicker and does not have the strength to hold people of for that split second more. His… Read more »
He is going to struggle and taper off if he does not improve physically. Its just that simple. For better or worse the days of a no.10 who does not aid the team in everything is over. Ozil was probably the last 10 of this type. Hope he can because his left foot is special.
Xhaka swung the game IMO
I though the energy Xhaka brought changed the game, the first two goals came from him winning the ball with his pressing.
1-11 we are the most complete TEAM in the league. Xhaxa is the heart/energy component.
As soon as he came on, the whole team looked determined to do something positive whenever we had the ball. (And Zinchenko played a big part in that as well.) I think we would have gotten the same boost by bringing on Odegaard or probably Partey. For now, we can’t play without a least one of those three.
The ‘handbrake on’ first half performance also had a lot to do with the hapless, energy-deficient Sambi being removed from the scene.
It meant that Mo-Nenny was finally able to play, rather than having to double on Sambi’s shaky presence, he also began to drive us forward… and break the deadlock.
I think Gabriel is our best player at the moment.
Which one?
The injured one?
(William) Gabriel Saliba?
The Brazilian one mate
Here here, I know Saliba has gotten a lot of plaudits this season, but Gabriel has been fantastic and is getting better and better
And he’s still quite young even, especially for a cb.
People tend to forget that part, as he’s viewed as the experienced of the Saliba-Gabriel pair
So happy to see Smith Rowe back with his low socks and a half chance to score!
Pat Rice in the stands. True Arsenal Hero!
There were a few heros in that crowd.
Yeah oh yeah
and David Platt….
The scouting report on Fabio Vieira (from Porto fans) was: Promising player, a tendency to flit in and out of games but provides decisive moments of quality. So it has come to pass.
In a way, he’s like the reverse Odegaard (pre-this season): O was always a fantastic game manager, but sometimes struggled to find a cutting edge — Fab is all cutting edge, but lacks something in his all-round play.
What’s easier to develop: productive output, or high-level general game sense? I don’t know. But Vieira’ end product excites me very much.
glad we have two bites at an odegaard/viera hybrid on our squad
The new Arshavin?
Let’s hope he’s less hit or miss than that…
Yes a definite Ozil like ability to provide that final ball and his left footed set piece deliveries remind me so much of Ozil. However his pressing from the front is potentially on a par with Jesus. Look at the way he understands Eddies runs. Imagine he has the game time with those around him that Xhaka and Oartey have had. That chance to develop understanding of other players. You can see he must have been practising with Eddie a lot when they weren’t making the match day starting eleven. That’s why I would be excited to see more squad… Read more »
He clearly has technical ability and talent but can’t afford to be invisible for an hour in games he starts. Plus….You could knock him over passing wind
Eddie now with 5 goals, same as Gabriel Jesus. Great to see, keep it up Eddie.
Mo Elneny: what a professional.
Side note
How does Rob Holding only last about 70mins before cramp kicks in?
The bloke never plays!
I think you just answered your own question with the last sentence.
That new hair is heavy man….
Yeah – diamond geeza but NOT PL top 3 or CL level (downvote as you need to, lads!).
His sluggish step out played that Oxford fella on side and Turner had to spare his blushes. He always seems just that half-a-yard off the top flight pace.
I love Holding and always have. To me him taunting Costa years ago is legendary.
Anyway I sometimes wonder what the trajectory of his career would have been if he had not come to Arsenal, got lots of game time at lower levels and worked his way up. He has the mind for the game, just is a little short athletically in the EPL.
How are they singing boring boring Arsenal while they are losing 3 goals to nil 🤣
Ah, leave it out, it was just a bit of fun! Not sure there was any need for that bonus rating.
It was actually 0-0 at the time, and Arsenal were taking an age to take a throw-in (went back and forth between 3 players and then Tomiyasu took an eternity to throw it in).
In any case, I don’t think their fans were being serious – it was just them taking the opportunity to enjoy themselves.
I thought it was funny and it certainly endeared me to Oxford’s support. Too many paranoid Gooners round these parts y’all
Takes an Oxbridge master’s degree to gain that level of ironic supporter sophistry, mate.
Perhaps what we lacked in the first half was on-field leadership – I thought that changed when Xhaka came on and rated him higher for that reason. Gabriel was a rock at center back and I thought Tomi deserved more than 6.5. Eddy continues to deliver and great to see Mo score.
Agree with everything apart from Tomi. He had an evening to forget.
Turner 10/10 for rushing out to block the Oxford goal chance early in second half. If they’d gone 1-0 up?
Bumpy pitch and rustiness x2 in first half … until Mo headed home and Eddie rounded the keeper it was squeaky bum time here in NZ at 8.55am kickoff.
Xhaka was class even setting up the goal free kick from right in the corner.
Bring on Spurs with MO and T Partey at it with Xhaka and Zinny.
Yes, pivotal moment in the game when it was still very tight. I thought Turner performed admirably.
To each their own but I thought holding was better than 6, he was unusually proactive on the ball, played 3 or 4 really good attacking passes and hit great a half space crossfield ball that reminded me of TAA. Also won all his aerial duels that I saw.
He almost handed a battling Oxford their dream opener with his trudging back from the by-line 2 metres behind the rest of our high line! Lovely lad but he just ain’t CL or PL top 3 level, unfortunately.
😂😂😂 bonus rating
Irony is lost on some people and there’s nothing worse than an inverted snob
Let’s break the narrative. I thought Sambi had a better game than viera first half and thought he was unlucky to be subbed first. He showed more bite in his tackles and started showing some impressive passes. And this is the tax that comes with bedding in young players. Sambi has a lot less career minutes than everyone else. It’s understandable if he’s a little slower developing than the rest and is frustrated. I believe he’ll go supernova soon and have a breakout season this season or next. All that frustration will be borne out somewhere. Check Eddie.
I reckon a loan to Burnley after they inevitably get promoted is in the offing. Kompany rates him and he’s not going to improve by sitting on the bench at Arsenal. Plus, I can’t see anyone paying what we paid for him at this point. Maybe Burnley will if he helps keep them up.
Our whole midfield sucked until Xhaka came on
Grossly unfair to Super Mo, who basically covered for Sambi’s shakiness throughout that first hour. As soon as he had a midfield partner he could rely on… well… guess what?
Mo’s greatest asset is that he doesn’t complain at being a sub
Zinchenko changed the game, not because he was especially good, but because of his positioning. At a number of points he was playing right sided midfielder. We suddenly could play through the midfield. It is also why I think viera looked better once he came on.
Spot on. Viera with Elneny and Lokonga providing base wasn´t working.
I love to watch Zinchenko his passing and technical abilities are insane
I wonder if there’s been any consideration to loan Sambi Lokonga to Burnley. They’ve got a manager he knows in Company, who Arteta has good rapport with, in a tough, analogous league in which he could get some quality time and experience.
10/10 Rob Holding’s hair. It’s magnificent.
Nketiah is one of the most underrated strikers in the EPL
Agreed, he is very much a penalty box player, and as long as you feed him, he will score.
That pre-assist by Elneny though. Woke up this morning still dreamy about it.
Lokonga needs to go on loan. I’ve yet to see him have a good game for us and I think he needs the regular playing time. I think Burnley would be good, Kompany is always stumping for Sambi, so prove it to us.
What seemed like a game we never looked liked controlling for at least 60 minutes we collared, muzzled and neutered our opponents for the last 30. Weird game full of stark contrasts e.g. Vieira was invisible and utterly hopeless until his sublime set piece delivery led to two assists and a stellar half hour. Xhaka changed the game when he came on IMO as finally we had a midfielder who could win the ball back with interceptions and match Oxford’s physicality. Tomiyasu had an evening to forget, full of bad decisions throughout with the first one being him getting out… Read more »
And you could tell it was a university town cunt club. The Oxford fans got overexcited very quickly calling “handball” every time the ball kicked up and “foul” when challenged. Almost like they have never watched football in their lives. Fucking toff wankers.
Do you think everyone that lives in Oxford is rich?
Not to over flog the dearly departed horse, but giving Guendouzi away for a song and replacing him with Bambi Lokonga looked daft at the time, but it looks way worse with each non-performance he turns in. He does not aid in the control of midfield, he does not appear to be a defensive beast, and he adds nothing going forward. I know Matt had his disciplinary/attitude issues, but we have seen him blossom at Marseille thanks to a different managerial approach. And I cannot help feeling like he could have been doing that for us, and spared us the… Read more »
You just described Guendouzi when you said “does not aid in the control of midfield, he does not appear to be a defensive beast and he adds nothing going forward”.
Add in his toxic attitude and low football IQ he is the antithesis of what we have on our squad now. Never more glad to see the backside of a player.
Oh… but how swiftly we forget! Guendon’t-zi was a prime-donna-sized twat, never a team man, and not a Gooner at heart.
We’re well-rid of him.
Any dropped point could be said to be responsible for Arsenal not finishing the 21/22 season in the top four. But the weak performances in the last matches stand out. White was injured, and Holding stood in. Holding is not good enough, and although we now have Saliba, I would rather buy another central defender than more strikers. Or even bring back Pablo Mari.
Blogs’ refusal to rate Super Mo-Nenny anything more than the aboslute, most extreme, once-inna-blue 7, persists…
The bloke doesn’t put a foot wrong all night, covers the hapless Sambi for an hour, then breaks the deadlock with a stonking header (despite his team mate doing level best to put him off!)… and Gabriel still gets a higher rating – for basically just doing his job!