Mikel Arteta hopes Gabriel Jesus’ Carabao Cup hat-trick will give the striker the “spark” he needs to rediscover his Premier League goalscoring form.
The Brazil striker scored three second-half goals against Crystal Palace as the Gunners came from behind to reach the semi-finals.
They were his first goals at Emirates Stadium in a year and also only the second game he has scored in this season, following a strike against Preston – also in the EFL Cup – at the end of October.
Jesus has not scored in the Premier League since 30 January and Arteta hopes his treble will spur him to start finding the back of net in the league again to aid Arsenal’s title challenge.
“It’s now about consistency,” said Arteta.
“It’s a moment of spark that will bring so much to the team, that we can rely on him to change games. We need to give him more chances.”
Jesus said after the game that he had been working hard in training to improve his finishing, but knows he must now keep up his scoring form.
“I wear the number nine for Arsenal so I have to be scoring goals,” he told BBC Radio 5 live. “Kai [Havertz] as well, we are the strikers of the team and have a pressure to score.
“If you want to challenge for a place we have to keep scoring. It is not easy, if it was then there would be many strikers in the world, but we keep trying.
“I came here to win the Premier League and my first two seasons we were there but for some details. This third season I want to win.”
This match starts a unique week for both of these sides, who play each other again in the Premier League on Saturday at Selhurst Park.
The eight changes that Arteta made to his side did not work out but Jesus’ hat-trick will make it tough for the Arsenal boss to leave him out of the league game this weekend.
Asked whether he could be in contention for a league start, Arteta said: “Let’s enjoy [this result] and then start to think.
“It’s good that we have players knocking on the door.”
It has been a difficult time for the former Manchester City forward.
After the initial impact he had when he signed, he has struggled to replicate that form and has lost his regular spot in the Arsenal side to Kai Havertz, although last season his appearances were restricted by a knee injury.
There had even been a suggestion that Arteta would be open to letting the striker go in the January transfer window, before the Arsenal manager said that it made “no sense”.
It definitely would not make sense for Arteta to do so following this performance.
Even with this treble, Jesus has scored just five goals in 2024 for Arsenal.
But, with the Gunners desperate to win silverware, a Jesus that is in form could be the added boost that they need to get over the line. Palace looked capable of pulling off a shock on Wednesday when they took the lead with their first shot of the match – Jean-Philippe Mateta getting the better of Jakub Kiwior to score the opener.
Arteta made a raft of changes from the side that started their goalless draw with Everton at the weekend, with Kieran Tierney making his first Arsenal appearance since the 2023 Community Shield, but the players who came in did not largely have the desired effect.
Arteta, sensing that the game was slipping away from Arsenal, introduced captain Martin Odegaard and William Saliba at half-time.
They looked a different team – Raheem Sterling hitting the bar from close range after Henderson saved his initial effort – before Odegaard slipped an inch-perfect pass to Jesus, who controlled excellently before chipping the ball over Henderson to level the match.
Jesus then got his second of the match when he was played into the box by second-half substitute Bukayo Saka and he fired low into the bottom corner.
The forward looked marginally offside when he reacted to get on the end of Saka’s pass but, with no VAR until the next round, the strike stood.
The Brazilian completed his hat-trick when he again was found by Odegaard and drilled his shot past Henderson to win the game.
There was time for former Arsenal player Eddie Nketiah to grab a consolation goal but Arsenal held firm to reach the last four.
By BBC Sport
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