It seems fitting that Gabriel Jesus should have chosen this time of year to end his goalscoring drought. A brilliant hat-trick from the Brazil striker sealed a stirring second-half comeback for Arsenal to book their place in the semi-finals after Jean-Philippe Mateta had fired Crystal Palace into an early lead.
Oliver Glasner’s well-drilled side looked capable of springing a surprise until Mikel Arteta’s half-time substitutions changed the course of this tie, although it was Jesus – who had only found the net once in his last 34 appearances – who came to his manager’s rescue in the end despite a scare when Eddie Nketiah pulled one back late on against his former club.
“I’m so pleased for him,” said Arteta of Jesus. “It’s been a long period for him without goals and to score the three goals and the type of goals he scored as well. He looked really sharp. It’s a great thing for him and the team that we can rely on a player with so much quality – he has a quality that is quite unique.”
Arteta said that Arsenal could use this competition as a springboard to winning bigger trophies but his team selection showed where his true loyalties lie. There were eight changes from the disappointing draw against Everton here on Saturday, with Kieran Tierney recalled for his first start since the 2023 Community Shield at left-back and the Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling also making a rare appearance.
There was no such tinkering from Glasner, who handed a full debut to 18-year-old Caleb Kporha in place of the suspended Daniel Muñoz. While Arsenal have surprisingly only won this trophy twice in their history and not since Steve Morrow’s heroics in 1993, Palace’s recent record has been woeful but the 6,000 supporters in the away end clearly fancied their chances of reaching the last four for the first time since a famous victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United at this stage in 2011.
Their optimism will only have increased when Jakub Kiwior badly misjudged a long punt forward by Dean Henderson inside the first four minutes. Mateta seized on the mistake, outmuscling the Poland defender before calmly picking his spot past David Raya. Arsenal responded with a flurry of attacks and Jefferson Lerma cleared off the line from a corner before Leandro Trossard fired over from Sterling’s cutback.
Henderson was at full stretch to tip over Sterling’s dipping free-kick just after the half-hour mark as the Palace defence stood firm under growing pressure. The home crowd’s frustration grew after another yet corner routine was cleared away just before half-time, with most probably wondering how long Arteta would persist with his second string.
That question was answered after the break when William Saliba and Martin Ødegaard were both summoned from the bench, while Kporha made way for Nathaniel Clyne’s experience. Suddenly Arsenal were a different proposition, although only Sterling will know how he managed to strike the woodwork after Henderson saved his initial shot from Tierney’s cross. But their equaliser was all about Jesus, who came into this game having not scored since the win over Preston at the end of October but took his chance with aplomb after being picked out by Ødegaard by casually dinking the ball over the advancing Palace goalkeeper.
Glasner turned to the Arsenal old boy Nketiah, whose name was chanted by the home supporters when he replaced Mateta on the hour mark. But it was Jesus who looked in the mood to extend his tally when he turned inside the area and his shot was deflected just past a post. The introduction of Bukayo Saka for Sterling showed that Arsenal really meant business.
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That fact was underlined when the 23-year-old England forward slipped in Jesus after cutting in from the right-hand side, even if it looked like he was marginally offside. With VAR not in use until the semi-finals, there was to be no reprieve for Palace as Jesus made sure of the finish.
“I’ve seen it and I think it was offside but there is no VAR and everybody knows this,” said Glasner, whose side face Arsenal again on Saturday in the league. “We gave them too many chances in the second half and when you do that then it’s just a question of time until they scored.”
It was left for Jesus to round off his hat-trick after another brilliant pass from Ødegaard, even if Nketiah ensured a nervy finish when he headed home Clyne’s cross.
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