“We knew that today was very important for us to win because we have a derby in the next game, and we go there with the confidence to win away from home and we are into the next round,” Elneny said in an interview with Arsenal’s official website after the Oxford game.

He also expressed his great delight after scoring his first goal of the season against the League One side.

Arsenal will be hosted by Tottenham on Sunday in the 20th matchday of the English Premier League.

“We know it is a special game for all of us in the derby and we go there full of confidence; we will go for three points,” the 30-year-old player added.

The veteran Pharaohs midfielder scored the opener for Arsenal against Oxford from a header in the 63rd minute, guiding his team to set up a clash against Manchester City in the fourth stage of the prestigious tournament.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game today because for [Oxford] it is one game of the season and it is something big for them. That is why they gave everything in the game, and we had to manage this and come here to win to go through to the next round,” the Egyptian player explained.

“I think we were frustrated because we knew we were playing good but we just missed out on scoring a goal,” the former Arab Contractors player added.

“We dominated the game and everything, but we just could not score. We corrected some things and then in the second half, we did it and won the game.

“Of course, I am happy to score and help my team to win the game. For me it is special because this club means a lot to me and to score for this club is something really, really good,” he concluded.

Elneny, who joined Arsenal on the winter transfer market of 2015-2016 season coming from the Swiss club FC Basel, has scored just one goal [the Oxford game goal] in eight appearances so far with the Gunners in all competitions. 

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