Gabriel Jesus put his recent goalscoring troubles aside as his second-half hat-trick inspired Arsenal to come from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 and reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The Brazilian forward came into the game with one goal in his previous 33 Arsenal outings in all competitions but his treble rescued Mikel Arteta’s side – who fell behind to a fourth-minute Jean-Philippe Mateta strike.
It was a poor goal for the Gunners to concede, especially for Jakub Kiwior who was outmuscled too easily by the Palace forward from Dean Henderson’s route-one punt, leaving the Frenchman to finish past David Raya.
It was another night where Arsenal’s attacking quality, particularly its depth, was in question. Their best first-half chances came from set-pieces as Jefferson Lerma cleared Leandro Trossard’s corner from off the line, before Henderson palmed Raheem Sterling’s free-kick away from the top corner.
Arteta brought on captain Martin Odegaard at half-time which fixed these issues. Sterling should have put the Gunners ahead when he was found by a good cross from Kieran Tierney, making his first Arsenal start after 548 days, but he fired straight at Henderson, then hit the bar from the rebound.
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Raheem Sterling had a moment to forget after a great save by Dean Henderson denied his first shot and the woodwork foiled his second
But Jesus eventually broke the Palace resistance eight minutes after the break when the influential Odegaard found the striker in the box and his turn bamboozled Marc Guehi. His deft chip over Henderson was even better.
Jesus thought he had a second when he turned well again in the area – but Henderson palmed his effort into the side-netting.
Arsenal brought on Bukayo Saka in a further momentum shift as he, like Odegaard before him, set up Jesus off the bench. The England winger played the Brazilian into the box and it was another quick turn from the forward before his finish into the far corner – although there was a hint of a tight offside from the forward with no VAR in play.
Eight minutes later, Jesus had his third as he broke away with the freedom of north London – again finding that far corner to claim the matchball – his first hat-trick since April 2022, when he was playing for Manchester City.
Arsenal thought they were home and dry until Eddie Nketiah – let go by the Gunners over the summer – put in a superb header to create a nervy finish. But the Gunners did enough to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the second time in three seasons.
Analysis: Does this mean Arsenal don’t need a new striker?
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz at the Emirates Stadium:
Your No 9 turning up with a hat-trick just in time for Christmas is the perfect antidote when your attack is being questioned.
Arsenal’s recent open-play slackness and their reliance on set-pieces brought up the now-annual debate about whether a new striker is needed in January. So what now with Jesus looking in the groove, for one half of football at least?
Arsenal and Jesus proved in that second half that their issue is not a ‘striker’ one. Many claimed the Gunners needed a forward last January and they ended up on 91 Premier League goals – the most in their history in the competition.
What Arsenal have proved – which needs addressing – is a reliance on Saka and Odegaard. It is a creativity problem more than a striker one.
Arteta’s side barely looked like scoring until those two came on in separate substitutions and provided incisive assists for Jesus within minutes of arriving on the pitch.
So whether it is improving the left-winger position or getting better understudies for Saka and Odegaard – Trossard and Sterling failed to impress but Ethan Nwaneri looked promising – that is where Arsenal’s focus needs to be, if they are to move in January.