Arsenal 3 – 2 C Palace

Gabriel Jesus put his recent goalscoring woes aside as his second-half hat-trick inspired Arsenal to come from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 and reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

The Brazilian striker came into the game with one goal in his previous 33 Arsenal outings in all competitions, but his treble saved Mikel Arteta's side – who fell behind to Jean-Philippe Mateta's strike in the fourth minute.

It was a poor goal for the Gunners to concede, especially for Jakub Kiwior who was too easily fouled by the Palace striker from Dean Henderson's pass, leaving the Frenchman to finish wide. on David Raya.

It was another night where the quality of Arsenal's attack, particularly their depth, was in question. Their best chances of the first half came from set pieces when Jefferson Lerma cleared Leandro Trossard's corner off the line, before Henderson deflected Raheem Sterling's free-kick into the top corner.

Arteta introduced captain Martin Odegaard at half-time which settled those matters. Sterling should have put the Gunners ahead when he was found by a good cross from Kieran Tierney, making his first Arsenal start in 548 days, but he fired straight at Henderson, then hit the bar from the rebound.

But Jesus finally broke Palace's resistance eight minutes after the break when the prolific Odegaard found the striker in the box and his conversion sent Marc Guehi flying. His chip right over Henderson was even better.

Jesus expected to have a second when he turned well again in the area – but Henderson sent his effort into the side netting.

Arsenal brought on Bukayo Saka in another move when he, like Odegaard before him, brought on Jesus from the bench.

The England winger played the Brazilian into the box and it was another quick turn from the striker before he finished in the far corner – although there was thought to be a tight offside from striker with no VAR in play. “It was upside down,” Palace boss Oliver Glasner told Full Time.

Eight minutes later, Jesus had a third as he broke away with the freedom of the north London side – again finding the far corner to claim the ball – the first his hat-trick since April 2022, when he was playing for Manchester City.

Arsenal thought they were home and dry until Eddie Nketiah – released by the Gunners over the summer – fired in a brilliant header to set up a nervy finish. But the Gunners did enough to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the second time in three seasons.

Watch: Jesus' hat-trick in full

Arteta: Now we can rely on Jesus

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:

“I'm so happy for him (Jesus). It has been a long time without goals for him and today, to score three goals, the three types of goals he scored – and the many actions he was involved in – it looked very similar. sharp

“I think it's a good thing for him and for the team that we can rely on a player like that.

“He has a quality, a way of creating and refining situations that are very special. So Gabi at that level is a big asset for us.

“It's about consistency now. Now this is a moment of momentum that gives so much confidence, not only to him, but to the team as well that we can trust him to change games.

“We have to take him now and give him more games and opportunities. We have to give him more opportunities because when a player is at that point it is important that that continues.”

Analysis: Does this mean Arsenal don't need a new striker?

Sky Sports' Sam Blitz at the Emirates Stadium:

Your number 9 turning up with a hat-trick just in time for Christmas is a real antidote when your attack is being questioned.

As a result of Arsenal's recent open play and reliance on set pieces, they have raised the now annual debate of whether a new striker is needed in January. So what now with Jesus watching in the trenches, for half a football anyway?

Arsenal and Jesus proved in that second half that their issue is not a 'striker' issue. Many claimed the Gunners needed a striker last January and they finished with 91 goals in the Premier League – the most in their history in the competition.

What Arsenal have proven – which needs to be addressed – is whether they trust Saka and Odegaard. It is a problem of creativity more than one attacker.

Arteta's side barely looked like scoring until those two came on as individual substitutes and provided Jesus with an inspired assist within minutes of his arrival on the pitch.

So whether it's improving the left-back position or getting better subs for Saka and Odegaard – Trossard and Sterling failed to impress but Ethan Nwaneri looked promising – that's where it needs to go. Arsenal's focus should be, if they are to move in January.

Glasner: We were too cautious – Arsenal deserved it

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner:

“It was a good start but already in the first half we played with too much respect, far too cautious in finding the moment.

“In possession, we lost the ball too easily, we didn't support each other in possession as it needs to be from their media.

“We need to perform at a high level, then it will be possible to win here. It was not a high level performance. Then you lose here.

“The good thing is that we got two goals, it's not easy to score here. That's why it's difficult because then it should be a penalty shootout. It's a deserved win for Arsenal.

“But we gave them too many chances in the second half where they could score. It was two or three great balls. All the situations were quite similar, how they found the goals and did We made too many mistakes. There wasn't enough pressure – he was too cautious.”

What's up for Arsenal and Crystal Palace?