Morning all.
As anticipated, Mikel Arteta made a few changes for last nights League Cup fixture. Kieran Tierney started for the first time since his summer return, Thomas Partey was at right back with Jurrien Timber and Jakub Kiwior at centre back. Jorginho and Mikel Merino in midfield with Gabriel Jesus ahead of them and Raheem Sterling together with Leandro Trrossard occupied the wings. Ethan Nwaneri was our attacking/creative midfielder.
4 minutes had passed when a long ball up the pitch was misjudged by Kiwior. Mateta pounced on the error before giving Palace the lead. From then on it was pretty much all Arsenal with the visitors continuing to play the long ball up front as and when they could but thankfully, there were no more mistakes.
For all the possession we enjoyed, finishing was again proving to be our Achilles heel. Sterling brought a good save from Dean Henderson from a free kick before spurning a golden opportunity to draw the scores level.
After the break, Mikel Arteta made a string of changes. On came William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Not all at once of course but they made a huge difference. Timber moved to right back as Partey made way, Odegaard replaced Nwaneri and Saka replaced Sterling. Tierney looked knackered by the time Lewis-Skelly replaced him and he looked as if he might have suffered an injury. Gabriel was the final change with Kiwior making way with just 3 minutes of the 90 remaining.
The changes Arteta made made a huge difference to the way the team played. The level definitely went up a gear but the star of the second half was Gabriel Jesus who for 50 minutes played some of the best football he’s played in an Arsenal shirt, if not the best.
His first goal was superb. The Jesus of a few months ago would have gone over in the box when challenged but even though he was caught, he stayed on his feet to dink the ball over Henderson. His second would have probably been disallowed had VAR been in operation but it wasn’t and the linesman kept his flag down. Jesus ran on to the ball, looked up and then smashed it into the far side of the goal. His third was very similar although this time he picked up a pass from Odegaard in his own half before bearing down on Henderson’s goal. Again, he took a look before firing past the Englishman.
Arsenal.com
We had a late scare when Nketiah out jumped both Saliba and Kiwior to head past Raya but then Gabriel came on and helped steady the defensive ship.
Gabriel Jesus came alive last night, certainly in the second half and to score his first Arsenal hat-trick was pretty special. Hopefully this is just the start of him being back to his best, Sterling however will be feeling disappointed I’m sure, especially as he should have put us ahead when Tierney played the across the box into his path. His shot was straight at Henderson, his follow-up hitting the post.
Until the introduction of Odegaard and Saka, Arsenal looked like a team heading out of the cup. We were toothless in the final third and struggled to find a way past Henderson. Yes we saw a lot of the ball but as we’ve found out many times before, it’s what the team does with it which counts. Thankfully both Odegaard and Saka supplied the right delivery and for once, Jesus did the rest.
The draw for the semifinals takes place tonight after Totts have played Man Utd. The two-legged ties will be played in the weeks beginning 6 January and 3 February 2025. The final is on 16 March. Newcastle,
Next up for Arsenal though is another fixture against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. This one is away from home.
Finally, a word for the women’s team who defeated Bayern Munich 3-2 to ensure they finish top of their Champions League group. Bearing in mind that back in October, Bayern won 5-2 in Germany, last nights result was pretty special. Wolfsburg, Real Madrid or Manchester City await them in the quarter-final.
Catch up later guys…