‘Won’t get better than that’: Karen Carney amazed by ‘phenomenal’ Arsenal player after Oxford tie
Karen Carney told ITV (broadcast on 10/1) that the cross from Fabio Vieira for Arsenal’s opening goal in their FA Cup tie with Oxford United on Monday was phenomenal, with the pundit suggesting that the assist was perfection.
Arsenal navigated a tricky trip to the Kassam Stadium, scoring three times to set up a tie with Manchester City in the fourth round of the competition.
And Vieira was crucial to their success. The Portuguese set up the first two goals in the 3-0 victory, with the first assist in particular winning a lot of plaudits.
Karen Carney lauds Fabio Vieira after Arsenal win
Vieira took a free-kick from wide on the left flank. And he managed to curl the ball into that corridor of uncertainty that defenders will always struggle to deal with. It was Mohamed Elneny who got on the end of the ball, with the Egyptian powering home the opening goal.
And after the game, Carney suggested that Vieira could not have improved on his ball into the box.
“The delivery in is phenomenal,” she told ITV. “Every defender is petrified of that. You’ve just got to your head on that. It’s horrible because you the keeper can’t come out.
“You can practice that all day and it won’t get better than that. It’s perfection.”
Of course, Arsenal fans will be wary of getting carried away. Oxford are a League One side. And Arsenal are top of the Premier League. So it would have been an amazing upset had the home side denied the Gunners victory.
But Vieira certainly staked his claim for more game-time with his quality in the second-half. He has taken a little while to get going at the Emirates. It was notable that he was not brought on against Newcastle when Arsenal were looking for a goal earlier this month.
He reminded everyone what he can do in the tie. And Mikel Arteta will surely be keeping that in mind as Arsenal prepare for a huge run of games.
