Arsenal's two-goal hero Eddie Nketiah has admitted that drawing Manchester City in the FA Cup was not ideal for his side.
The Gunners were initially frustrated at the League One side in the first half as the U's stubborn defensive play prevented Mikel Arteta's team from going in ahead at the break. However just after the hour mark Arsenal found the breakthrough as Mohamed Elneny headed home a free kick from close range.
Nketiah made it two with 20 minutes to go when he rounded Edward McGinty in the Oxford goal. Six minutes later the Gunners were out of sight when the 23-year-old produced a delightful chip for the visitors to seal their place in the next round.
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Awaiting them is Pep Guardiola's City who they are currently embroiled in a title race with. When asked by ITV Sport for his thoughts on the draw, Nketiah said: "Not the best draw but we’re up for it.
"We’ve got a lot of games in between now and then so we want to focus, recover and then go to Tottenham first, then after that we’ll take the next games." Arteta refused to be drawn on the thought of playing the Blues at the end of the month instead insisting that his focus was on the North London derby against Spurs at the weekend.
City secured their passage to the fourth round on Sunday when they beat Chelsea 4-0. Two goals for Riyad Mahrez, a Julian Alvarez penalty and a Phil Foden close-range finish saw Graham Potter's men swept aside.
The clash against Arsenal means that City have yet another tough fixture at the beginning of 2023. Arteta's team will travel to the Etihad Stadium between January 27 and January 30.
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