Six scintillating snippets we witnessed as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace to reach Carabao Cup semi-final | OneFootball

A packed away end and some seasonal stormy weather made for a great atmosphere in a London derby that will be remembered for many years. Arsenal made a game of it by starting with their reserves and the match went down to the wire. Our Arsenal reports Nick Callow gives his thoughts on the game…

JESUS BACK FOR CHRISTMAS

Hat-trick hero Gabriel Jesus started this match on a run of just one goal in 33 matches. What a transformation! He took his second-half equaliser as if he chips keepers and scores for fun every week. Is the Brazilian back to form for good? A quality stop from Dean Henderson denied him a second soon after and he was always looking to get on the ball in the penalty area. His match winner was one of a goalscorer supreme as he smashed a shot across Henderson with a low right foot effort. His third was similar and possibly even better.

TEAM CHEMISTRY

Mikel Arteta took a punt on making eight changes (including all four of his defence) to his starting line up while Oliver Glasner played a full-strength Palace lineup, confident after a good weekend win. And it showed. The new look Arsenal side looked disjointed, nervous, unfamiliar with each other and unable to recreate Arsenal’s regular patterns of play. Defensive uncertainty gifted Palace a lead inside three minutes and did not let up until Arsenal made changes at half-time. They knew how and where to find each other while Arsenal miscontrolled and played as individuals. The sight of subs Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli all warming up with just over 25 minutes gone showed Arteta wanted to send a warning to his team to up their game.  Only when he made his half-time changes did Arsenal look like a team again.

STERLING STILL VALUABLE?

This competition has been the only one Mikel Arteta has been prepared to start his Chelsea loan signing regularly and the England international was better than might have been expected for someone who has played so rarely. But he was still no more than passable in the right-sided attacking role usually performed by Bukayo Saka. He looked much better, however, with the ball at his feet on set pieces and it took a wonder save from Henderson to deny the 30-year-old a first half equaliser. He also missed an open goal from close range in the second half. Unlikely to start again for a while.

MATETA IS BETTER (than many Arsenal strikers)

Most football fans know Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta is more than a big 6ft 4in lump. The France Olympic international was Palace’s player of the Year last season and could well retain his award with more performances like this. His sheer presence forced an early error from Jakub Kiwior that sent him clear on goal and his finish was quality. Jurrien Timber almost gifted him a second and he was a constant worry to the arsenal defence.

ODEGAARD MAKES ARSENAL BETTER

Martin Odegaard came out to warm up during the half-time break and his appearance was greeted with a cheer like Arsenal had scored an equaliser. Their captain was back to save the day, or so they hoped, and he did not let them down. The Norwegian international immediately set the tone for a higher-tempo Arsenal attack and Palace wilted under the pressure. It came after eight minutes of second-half play but could and should have come earlier.

TIERNEY IS BACK

Scotland international Kieran Tierney started his first match for Arsenal since the 2023 Community Shield win over Manchester City and was one of Mikel Arteta’s best players on the night. He got a huge cheer when his name was read out before kick off a and standing ovation when he was exhausted and replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly with just over 20 minutes to go.