Gabriel Jesus hat-trick could prove turning point as Arsenal keep trophy bid on track | OneFootball

Arsenal’s strength in depth off the bench helped prove difference as Jesus returned to form

Arsenal booked a place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup after beating Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium.

Captain Martin Odegaard came on at the break and helped inspire a second-half performance that led to Arsenal winning 3-2.

Former Gunners striker Eddie Nketiah struck late on to set up a nervy finish, but Arsenal held on to secure a place in the final four of the Carabao Cup.

Simon Collings was at Emirates Stadium to see Arsenal in action…

Jesus enjoys a dream night

Watching the way Jesus took his goals, you could not believe this was a player that before tonight had scored just twice this year.

There was the run for his first, with Jesus curving his line before cutting across Palace defender Trevoh Chalobah. Odegaard spotted him and the Norwegian’s pass was perfect. Jesus didn’t have to break stride and after riding Chalobah’s challenge, he just had Dean Henderson to beat.

The Brazilian could have lashed it given his woes this year. Jesus scored against Nottingham Forest in January, but since then has found the net just once in 33 games - and that was against Preston in the fourth round in October.

But no, Jesus stayed cool and dinked the ball over Henderson with such nonchalance you wondered what all the fuss was about.

Gabriel Jesus was mobbed by his team-mates after firing Arsenal into the semi-finals

AP

Suddenly, he looked like a different player. The confidence was flowing through him and 19 minutes later, Jesus had a second.

Once again, it was a brilliant finish. This time it was Saka who found him with a disguised pass and Jesus arrowed the ball into the bottom corner past a sprawling Henderson.

By that point, the hat-trick felt inevitable and it eventually came with just nine minutes of this game left.

Odegaard was, again, the supplier and this time Jesus had half a pitch of empty space ahead of him. The outcome was the same, though. Another confident finish, another goal.

Could this be a turning point for him?

Tierney makes most of a rare start

Before tonight, you had to go all the way back to May of last year to find the last time Kieran Tierney started a game for Arsenal.

The left-back spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad and he would have been sold in the summer had a hamstring picked up at Euro 2024 not kept him out for months.

Arteta has spoken glowingly of Tierney since then and said he was ready to use him if needed.

The Spaniard had also spoken about how he would use Tierney as a conventional left-back after his struggles trying to invert into midfield - and that was the case.

Indeed at times you wonder if we had suddenly gone back in time, with Tierney overlapping down the left flank and causing problems, like he did in the early days of Arteta’s reign.

The Scot created a great chance for Raheem Sterling with a ball to the back-post, but the winger’s effort was saved and then he hit the crossbar.

Kieran Tierney impressed on his first Arsenal start since May 2023

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Substitutes make the difference

Trailing at half-time, it was always going to be interesting how Arteta responded. Did he really care that much about the Carabao Cup and the chance of a trophy, or would he prefer to rest his big guns?

The answer was made abundantly clear when Odegaard and William Saliba were introduced at the break.

Saliba brought some calm to a shaky defence, which had been bullied in the opening exchanges as Mateta put Palace in front.

But it was Odegaard that made the real difference. The Norwegian created two goals and lifted the tempo. It was a captain’s performance and a timely one, too.

Arteta celebrates his five-year anniversary in charge of Arsenal on Friday - and he is targeting more trophies. The Carabao Cup is in his sights this season.