Jesus hat-trick takes Arsenal past Crystal Palace and into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup | Carabao Cup

It seems fitting that Gabriel Jesus chose this time of year to end his goalscoring drought. A brilliant hat-trick from the Brazilian striker gave Arsenal a stirring second-half comeback and secured their place in the semi-finals after Jean-Philippe Mateta had given Crystal Palace an early lead.

Oliver Glasner’s well-coordinated side looked poised for an upset until Mikel Arteta’s half-time substitutions changed the course of this tie, although it was Jesus, who has found the net just once in his last 34 appearances, who gave his manager credit Help came in the end despite a moment of shock when Eddie Nketiah scored a late goal.

Arteta previously said 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 here from Saturday’s disappointing draw with Everton, with Kieran Tierney recalled at left-back for his first start since the 2023 Community Shield and Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling also making a rare appearance.

There was no such tinkering from Glasner, who in his pre-match TV interview was incredulous at the suggestion that he would not feature with a full squad and gave 18-year-old Caleb Kporha a full debut 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 pathetic, but the 6,000 fans in the away leg clearly fancied their chances of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since achieving a famous win at Old Trafford against Manchester United in 2011.

Their optimism may have been increased when Jakub Kiwior completely misjudged a long drive from Dean Henderson within the first four minutes. Mateta took advantage of the mistake and got ahead of the Polish defender before calmly moving past David Raya. Arsenal responded with a flurry of attacks and Jefferson Lerma cleared a corner off the line before Leandro Trossard shot over from Sterling’s cutback.

But despite dominating possession, Arsenal looked vulnerable on the counterattack and Raya saved well with his legs from Ismaïla Sarr after a mistake from Jesus. Eberechi Eze also tried his luck with a quick free kick from the halfway line that almost caught the Arsenal goalkeeper napping. Henderson was at full strength to parry Sterling’s free-kick just after the half-hour mark, while the Palace defense withstood the mounting pressure and Kporha settled into his role after being booked for bringing down Trossard. The home crowd’s frustration grew after another corner routine was eliminated just before half-time, with most probably wondering how long Arteta would last in his second appearance.

That question was answered after the break when William Saliba and Martin Ødegaard were both brought off the bench while Kporha made way for Nathaniel Clyne. Suddenly Arsenal had another choice, although only Sterling will know how he managed to hit the woodwork after Henderson parried his first-time shot from Tierney’s cross. But the equalizer was all about Jesus, who came into this game having not scored since the win over Preston in October, but confidently took his chance after being picked out by Ødegaard, casually flicking the ball over Palace goalkeeper shot away.

Glasner turned to old Arsenal player Nketiah, whose name was chanted by the home fans as he replaced Mateta on the hour mark. Jesus appeared to be in the mood to extend his lead when he spun in the box and his shot deflected just wide of the post. The introduction of Bukayo Saka after Tierney had finally run out of steam showed Arsenal were serious.

This fact was made even clearer when the England striker slid into Jesus after cutting in from the right side, even though it looked like he was just offside. With VAR not in use until the semi-final, there was no reprieve for Palace as Jesus provided the goal.

It was left to Jesus to round off his hat-trick and victory after another brilliant pass from Ødegaard, although Nketiah provided a nervy finish by heading Clyne’s cross home.