Arsenal are in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after one 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium, but it took a much-improved second-half performance after initially falling behind.
Jean-Philippe Mateta struck early for the south London visitors and the Gunners were largely subdued and lackluster during the opening 45 minutes. Indeed their best chances came from set-pieces and it looked like a continuation of recent problems.
But a double first-half change, followed by the introduction of Bukayo Saka midway through the second half, made all the difference. With Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Saka on the pitch, it laid the foundations for Gabriel Jesus to go on and score a decisive hat-trick.
Eddie Nketiah pulled one back to narrow the scoreline near the end, but it was Arsenal's night in the end.
How the game played out
It was only the fourth minute of the game when Palace broke the deadlock. A long overhead kick from goalkeeper Dean Henderson caught the entire Arsenal side offside and, when Jakub Kiwior missed his header, Mateta was on target. The Frenchman held his nerve and held off the Kiwi's onrushing attention to finish below David Raya in the far corner of the goal.
The Gunners continued to dominate and had half chances through Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard, while almost a goal from a corner when Jefferson Lerma cleared the line. But a mistake in his own half by Gabriel Jesus let Ismaila Sarr drive into defense and sting Raya's palms.
Another contest after half an hour and presented Arsenal's next big chance. Raheem Sterling stood over a free-kick and tried to pick out the top corner, but Henderson was there to deny the well-struck effort from a corner.
Mikel Arteta wanted more from his team and turned to Martin Odegaard at half-time. Within minutes of the restart, a resurgent Gunners properly opened Palace up for the first time and the collective Emirates crowd couldn't believe Sterling didn't equalize with a glorious double chance. He was denied by the outstretched Henderson when he met Kieran Tierney's far cross, before somehow turning the rebound onto the crossbar.
In the ensuing melee, Leandro Trossard struck from distance to force an unconventional save from Henderson, while Mikel Merino shot narrowly wide from a similar distance. But the pressure paid off when Odegaard made a perfect pass to Jesus. The Brazilian fended off a sliding challenge from Trevoh Chalobah and then confidently flicked the ball over Henderson.
Henderson kept Palace level when Jesus rounded Maxence Lacroix and dived towards goal, but he was powerless to stop Jesus putting Arsenal ahead with just under 20 minutes remaining. Played by substitute Bukayo Saka between the lines, he had all the time in the world to pick his spot, requiring great power to beat the keeper and ripple the net.
There was a slight question of offside during the second, although without VAR in use in the Carabao Cup it didn't matter, but Jesus' third was definitely in. The already-confident striker was in his own half when Odegaard's pass was played into the empty Palace side of the pitch. Sitting on goal, there was no doubt that the end would hit the net.
Palace looked to have given up on the tie going into the closing stages but then threatened to make it a nervy finish for the hosts when Nketiah strained every muscle in his neck to produce a powerful header from Nathaniel Clyne's cross.
Mikel Arteta believed in the depth of the squad here. Arsenal started with six of their usual starters on the bench, with Declan Rice ruled out as a doubt in the build-up.
But with Gabriel and William Saliba following, and with injuries to other defenders in the squad, there was a settled feeling in the back four – Jurrien Timber moved into the middle, Thomas Partey back into the right wing and Kieran Tierney. made his first Arsenal appearance in 16 months.
The Gunners only started to perform when Arteta returned from the bench in the first half to deploy Martin Odegaard in midfield and William Saliba in central defence. The last switch allowed Timber to move back to the right and he could do a lot more than Partey on the ball.
Within ten minutes of the start of the second half, Arsenal had scored more than they had in the entire first half and were level. Then, when Bukayo Saka came on with about a quarter of the game to play, he had set up the go-ahead goal inside three minutes.
For Gabriel Jesus, this game was a year and a day since he last scored at the Emirates Stadium – that goal came against Brighton & Hove Albion eight days before Christmas 2023.
Given that length of time and his overall poor form so far this season – his only goal anywhere was against Preston North End in the previous round of the Carabao Cup – he took his equalizer with the confidence and composure of exceptional.
Jesus could have been forgiven for going to ground looking for a penalty when Trevoh Chalobah flew in, as there was certainly enough contact to justify the question. But he saw that the goal was at his mercy and chose to stand. It meant taking an extra second to stay steady, but the end result was magnificent.
Of course, after waiting 367 days for a goal, another followed in 19 minutes and the third came just eight minutes after that. A hat-trick in less than half an hour.
Had VAR been in use in the Carabao Cup, there would likely have been an intensive review of Jesus' second goal and it could easily have been overturned. It was a close call, but it felt perfectly fine for the decision to be made with the unaided eye of the assistant referee. If it was wrong, it certainly wasn't wrong, and Palace would have had no complaints if they had benefited from something similar.
When VAR scrutinizes every centimeter, a more natural approach was refreshing.
Whether you think Arsenal have won one or three trophies during Mikel Arteta's five years in charge – he thinks it's the latter, the Gunners are genuine contenders to lift the Carabao Cup.
Arsenal last won the trophy in 1993, when it was called the Coca-Cola Cup. They have reached the semi-final stage on just one other occasion since 2018 and have reached just one final since their shock Wembley defeat to Birmingham City more than 13 years ago.
When every cup counts, this one has real merit.