The Football Association will launch an investigation into suspicious betting patterns surrounding Arsenal’s FA Cup win at Oxford (Picture: Getty)
The Football Association will launch an investigation into suspicious betting patterns surrounding Arsenal’s FA Cup win at Oxford on Monday night.
The Gunners ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at the League One club thanks to Mohamed Elneny’s header and Eddie Nketiah’s brace.
The betting patterns centre around the booking of Oxford defender Ciaron Brown, according to the Daily Mail.
The 24-year-old was shown a yellow card in the 59th minute following a foul on Nketiah. It was the only booking in the match.
The FA is understood to be aware of the matter and will investigate.
An Oxford statement read: ‘Oxford United can confirm that they have been made aware of a specific allegation of irregular betting around our Emirates FA Cup game against Arsenal on Monday evening.
‘The club will co-operate fully with any investigation and while this is ongoing, we are unable to make any further comment.’
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The Gunners, meanwhile, will face Manchester City in the fourth round and have been boosted by the return to full fitness of Emile Smith Rowe.
A groin injury has restricted the England international to a bit-part role this season but he is hoping to make a telling impact in the coming months having made his comeback against Oxford.
He said: ‘The whole team was around me. [Arteta] really helped me and obviously, I had my family back home supporting me. So it was really tough, but I managed to get through it and I’m just happy I’m fully fit now.
“I was pretty much with them from the start after surgery. I was in all the meetings, trying to keep up with the knowledge and learnings every day that we needed to apply in training.
‘It has been much easier than I thought. I am just happy to be back now.
‘Obviously, you always want to play for your country. But at the same time, I had to do what was right for my body.
‘I am still young, so I will keep working hard to get more opportunities for the national team. But right now, I just need to focus on Arsenal and getting some more minutes.’
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The betting patterns centre around the booking of Oxford defender Ciaron Brown.
