Arsenal will see the last four. This Wednesday evening, the Gunners qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup, after overthrowing Crystal Palace (3-2). At the Emirates Stadium in London, Gabriel Jesus put on a show, with a hat-trick (54th, 73rd, 81st), while the Eagles scored thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta (4th) and Eddie Nketiah (85th). Mikel Arteta’s men will therefore compete in the semi-finals of this competition, in two-legged matches.
In 2024, Gabriel Jesus had never scored at the Emirates Stadium. The Brazilian erased this “anomaly” in style, since he even scored a hat-trick in just 27 minutes of play. The center forward, who had only one goal at the start of the season, already in the Coupe de la Ligue, first stood out with a small ball (54th, 1-1), before a right-footed cross shot (73rd, 2-1).
Winning coaching for Arteta
His third goal was just as good, with a raid from the right side to go up the opposing half, before deceiving, once again, Dean Henderson (81st, 3-1). The striker tried to improve his statistics a little more, but his other shots on target were stopped by the opposing goalkeeper (10th, 63rd). On each of his goals, Jesus was able to benefit from magnificent assists. Two were the works of Martin Odegaard and the third was delivered by Bukayo Saka. Both men were substitutes at kick-off.
Their coach had chosen to rotate, making no fewer than eight changes to his starting lineup. This notably caused defensive problems. From the 4th minute of play, Jean-Philippe Mateta took the opportunity to open the scoring, with a cross shot at ground level, after taking advantage of a poor intervention, with a header, from Jakub Kiwior (0 -1). Mikel Arteta did not wait long before reacting, bringing in, at the same time as Odegaard, at the break, William Saliba, to provide stability.
Nketiah reignited the suspense
Freed from this defensive feverishness, Arsenal took the opportunity to gain strength in front, also monopolizing the ball (71% possession). Raheem Sterling, after a first attempt on target in the first act from a direct free kick (31st), missed an incredible double opportunity, just after the break, by coming up against Henderson then finding the bar, at close range (51st). For their part, Leandro Trossard (51st) and Mikel Merino (71st) were not more successful.
The main thing was still done for the Gunners, despite some dangerous counterattacks from Crystal Palace. If Ismaila Sarr (15th) and Jefferson Lerma (62nd) came up against David Raya, Eddie Nketiah managed to reduce the gap, with a header, against his former club, at the very end of the match (85th, 3-2). Oliver Glasner’s men were then never able to confirm. The two teams will meet again this Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m., in the Premier League, this time at Selhurst Park.
