Arsenal: Raya, Partey, Timber, Kiwior, Tierney, Jorginho, Merino, Nwaneri, Sterling, Trossard, Jesus
Subs: Setford, Saliba, Gabriel, Kacurri, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Arsenal secured their place in the Carabao Cup semi-final after coming from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Emirates Stadium, thanks to a second half hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus.
Mikel Arteta made eight changes to the side that drew against Everton on Sunday, with Raheem Sterling making only his third start for the club and Kieran Tierney making his first start since May 2023.
Declan Rice missed out on the matchday squad altogether due to an ongoing groin issue, although Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba were all named on the bench for emergencies.
Palace took the lead after just four minutes when Jakub Kiwior misjudged a simple long ball upfield, allowing Jean-Philippe Mateta to run through, muscle him off and finish past David Raya. 0-1.
The visitors had barely touched the ball until that point but took their first chance clinically after Kiwior’s error.
Arsenal reacted well and fashioned two quick-fire opportunities, with Jefferson Lerma clearing Leandro Trossard’s corner off the line before the Belgian fired over after Ethan Nwaneri won the ball deep into Palace territory.
Palace settled after those chances though and forced another of their own, with Ismaila Sarr testing Raya after pinching the ball off Gabriel Jesus on halfway.
On the half hour mark, Sterling arrowed a free kick towards the top corner from 30 yards but Dean Henderson did well to scramble across goal and tip over, before Trossard wasted another good opportunity – firing wildly across goal – after cutting inside Mateta.
The game eventually fizzled out to half time, with Arsenal having 71% possession but only three shots. Making eight changes had an obvious effect on fluency but the fringe players did not make their cases stronger for greater first-team involvement.
Arteta clearly wasn’t happy with the first half performance, making two changes for the second half, introducing Saliba and Odegaard for Thomas Partey and Nwaneri.
The Gunners should have been level almost instantly, when Tierney was freed down the left and sent a teasing cross towards Sterling at the back post, whose initial effort was saved by Henderson well before his rebound hit the bar.
But they did get their equaliser minutes later when Odegaard found Jesus through the lines, who did brilliantly to hold off Trevoh Chalobah before dinking beautifully over the onrushing Henderson. 1-1.
It was an audacious finish from the Brazilian who netted only his third goal of 2024 – but it was an important one all the same.
Just after the hour mark, Jesus almost doubled his and the Gunners’ tally after turning Maxence Lacroix brilliantly in the penalty box but his toe-poked effort was well saved by Henderson who was proving difficult to beat.
With 20 minutes to play, Arteta made two more changes with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Saka replacing Tierney (who looked to be cramping) and Sterling who was unfortunate not to score just after the break.
Palace were looking increasingly stretched and the second half pressure eventually told, when Jesus was found in behind by Saka before finishing clinically again(!) beyond Henderson and into the far corner. 2-1.
Replays showed the Brazilian had strayed marginally offside but without VAR being used in the competition, the linesman’s decision was final.
The game looked to be wrapped up when Jesus completed his hat-trick with another fine finish, rifling across Henderson after being found by Odegaard with the whole Palace half to run into. 3-1.
That goal meant Jesus had scored more goals for Arsenal in this game (3) than every other game in 2024 combined (2).
With five minutes remaining, Palace did get one back against the run of play through Eddie Nketiah who directed a perfect header into the far corner after finding himself between Kiwior and Saliba. 3-2.
That goal made things nervier than they needed to be, but Palace didn’t create another opportunity after scoring their second and Arsenal eventually saw out an important win.
After a lacklustre first half, some second half changes and an injection of urgency proved too much for the visitors.