Arsenal progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-final after defeating Crystal Palace on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time this evening.
The result underlined Arsenal’s determination to compete for silverware this season, with pressure moments such as this providing a clear measure of their ambition and resilience.
Strong Start and Relentless Pressure
Despite numerous changes to the starting eleven made by Mikel Arteta, Arsenal began the match with confidence and intensity. Crystal Palace selected a strong side of their own but initially focused on limiting Arsenal’s attacking threat rather than asserting themselves going forward.
The Gunners dominated possession and territory, attacking with variety and pace. Gabriel Martinelli was particularly influential in the opening exchanges and repeatedly troubled Jaydee Canvot, stretching Palace’s defensive structure. Arsenal created several promising chances and looked capable of breaking the deadlock at any moment.
Palace survived the early onslaught through disciplined defending and a series of outstanding saves from Walter Benitez. Arsenal continued to apply pressure from multiple angles, but despite their dominance, they were unable to find a breakthrough before the interval. Palace reached half-time level, a situation that felt fortunate given the balance of play.
Late Drama and Penalty Success
After the restart, both sides emerged with renewed intensity, although Arsenal remained the more dangerous team. Their persistence was finally rewarded after 80 minutes when a Maxence Lacroix own goal gave the Gunners a deserved lead. While the manner of the goal was unfortunate for Palace, Arsenal were content to protect their advantage while continuing to search for another opening.
Arsenal defended resolutely until the closing moments, but an extended period of added time allowed Palace to equalise through Marc Guehi, silencing the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal attempted to regain the lead, yet another late save from Benitez forced the contest into a penalty shoot-out.
Following a dramatic and lengthy sequence of spot kicks, Kepa Arrizabalaga saved Palace’s eighth attempt, and Arsenal booked a semi-final meeting with Chelsea.
Good win. Good first half not so second. Saliba had a real dodgy game again but we won. It is becoming a worry (for me at least) we are struggling to score from open play. We did last season and we are this. BUT we are (at the moment) through in the cup, top of both leagues and so far, it hasn’t been too much of a thorn. But it has to change.
Yes. Saliba’s needless foul in dangerous territory led to Palace’s goal via the free kick.
He gave the ball away twice dangerously as well. I was told, i didn’t know what i was talking about by, someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about 🤣 but as good a player he can be he make far too many silly mistakes. And he is doing again, that wasn’t the first time, or second or third. He has to cut the sloppyness out.
Wasn’t Saliba awarded man of the match?
I very much doubt it😂
I wonder what match you were watching that Saliba was making mistakes after mistakes, why am I not surprised? It’s Reggie after all.
Another person who hasn’t a clue what they are talking about.
Oh and Lee Dixon, in commentary said Saliba had a bad game, gave away a silly free kick that led to a goal and made a couple of errors. What game were you watching?
I thought it a soft free kick tbh, the eaglet was desperately looking for it and ref bought it. Just because ref gives it don’t make it a free kick,. Ref couldn’t even see who had blatantly put ball out for our corners we weren’t given.
Reg, you proper proper geezer, Saliba got man of the match.
Speedy Gabi was brilliant first half, that 45 minutes could have got him man of the match. Just as our players get back to fitness and form, they get crocked. I thought Ricky was fantastic at centre back. I want to see more of him there. Arteta may have already cost us a title all these games filling a big hole with the inconsistent Romero wannabe, rather than Ricky.
Wow!!!!
Lacroix had to be MOM for us.
You are proper naughty, Reg
Chelsea angrier than Palace. Obviously Chelsea prefer Palace to Arsenal. In the SF first leg is at Chelsea. Maybe Arsenal have a tough game v Liverpool before the semi final v Chelsea.
For me we worry about the 3 points against Liverpool first. And I am sure thats what Arteta will do. The league is THE most important.
Kepa will go there and show them what a proper sensible and reliable keeper is. Experience of two legged cup ties will be useful too.
Would have preferred not to have watched a penalty shootout especially after the dominant first half. Credit to Glasner who made changes and Arsenal knew they were in a much closer game.
I thought Jesus did well and Norgaard too. In the interview after Saliba owned his error and hats off to all the penalty takers who held their nerve
Thank goodness for Lacroix,i wonder what would’ve happened to us without him,perhaps Lewis-skelly would’ve ballooned his penalty sky high&send us parking from the League cup.
Matthew,
Lol exactly that. Bad day at office for the double jeopardy victim Crouix. Football historians hopefully will tell us who else did before like him: own goal and tame pen.
Lol,i hope he will be sent a winners medal if we go on to win the trophy.
Matthew,
Will he Crouix keep the sent medal at his home or resend it with thanks but no thanks? The list of recent decisive own goal scorers is growing and they may collect this month’s bonuses from AFC. Who next for the own goal from the Brighton game, Dunk may dunked it like NBA? Lol
Hahaha,but i think Lacroix contributed more because after realising his own goal wasn’t enough to send us through,he waited for the perfect opportunity to finish the job by being the only one to miss a penalty.
Matthew,
Funny yeah. If retaken due to prior moves of Kepa, La Croux may not refrain from completing his hattrick.
Football always gives second chances so who knows in the EPL 2nd round at Selhurst he may come out hero
The poor finishing and lack of open play goals is still of great concern. At least Arsenal created chances in this game. Maybe Arsenal needs a finishing coach; Ian Wright may be available?
Giving up late goals in matches is a concern, as it appears to show a drop off of concentration, which exacerbates the inability to score the second goal buffer.
I cannot fathom why an experienced, highly competent, EPL proven midfielder as Christian Norgaard can be ignored by Arteta for EPL selection, to rest Rice or Zubimendi. He was very impressive in his full game against Crystal Palace, as well as performing well in every minute he has played.
Martinelli was also in good form.
Instead of Ian Write, check for Henry
Going into the Christmas period and here we are top of the PL, having lost just two games – top of the CL – into the semi final of the Carabo cup – things are looking good.
What a great game Martinelli had and to think some of our own wanted him gone because he didn’t have a footballing brain.
He was my MOTM by far and, hopefully, this scapegoating of him will now stop.
Same goes for Jesus, who was excellent in his first time back starting a game. He was so unlucky not to have scored.
Eight excellent penalties and a great penalty save by the way.
Really impressed with Palace and their manager as they gave us an almighty scare.
Also their great supporters, they back their players 100%.
In the first half we played in the same attacking way that had us on our feet two seasons ago and that was with, mainly, our “second string” so I’m hoping that’s a sign Mikel will carry this forward.
May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Just read that Hincapie thinks Martinelli is a more skillful player than Saka.
That’s something I have thought for quite a while, but I’m sure I’ll get a lot of fellow Gooners disagreeing with Hincapie and me.
Oh Ken, how old are you? NA NA NA NA NA😂😂
Martinelli had a very good first half. And Hindcapie is entitled to his opinion.
Have I touched a nerve Reggie my friend? 🤔😂😂
81 next year and still have a good memory….. sometimes 😂😅
Merry Christmas to you and yours and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our debates this year.
Nerve? YES MERRY XMAS KEN. And lets hope Arteta can finally lift one of the big ones this year and if Martinelli scores the winner in the CL final, I will say out loud, He has a br………. 🤣
👍
Reggie,
With the returnees in Havertz and Maghales we can effectively handle both Pool and Blues. Btw even against Everton Saka did needless foul then a free kick awarded to Everton at the 95th minute that could result in a draw but thankfully the free kick delivery was poor. Conceding late free kicks have become routine and need to be worked on. I remember during Wenger time PSV eliminated us from UCL knock out stage at Emirates when Hleb did needless foul around the corner area which the PSV’s Alex scored in the dying minute.
👍
Concerned about the fact our strongest back 4 available started the game and none subbed. Guess arteta really is really going after a trophy.
Concerned given upcoming fixtures about timber he needs a rest.
He may well sign some defender in January because of growing injury list at the back
Who could he have subbed on m. Wr are down to bare bones and only 1-0 up ?
Really need to get Hincapie and Gabriel.back to give rest to Timber especially
Nwaneri starts Norgaard back Calafiori on for Timber at HT, back 3 or even Saka at full back for 45 mins. There are many options. Even play reserves. Quarter final league cup against a team with little attacking threat, at home. Glad for the win, but we are one injury away from disaster at the back now with huge games over a busy period coming up. Midfield and forward line rotated very well thou.
Christmas Eve in Australia. Wishing everyone on Just Arsenal compliments of the season and a safe, healthy and prosperous 2026.
May 2026 bring success to the Arsena!
Merry xmas Ozzie. And Merry xmas all and heres to lifting the league 🍻
👍
Man what a first half, great to see what our players can do when the shackles are taken off. You could see the regression in our game the more first team players came on, not because they are bad players but they are so used to playing a specific way
This was the epitome of a Jesus performance. A menace, fantastic play and does everything right but no goal. Not slagging him off at all, just the way it’s been for him at Arsenal. Good to have him back still
Martinelli’s slump over the past few years has been 100% due to the slow methodical approach with zero support or runners more and more. See what a player he is when he has players around him making positive runs.
Norgaard was brilliant, positional play and intercepts and tackles against a very good team were top notch. Personally I think he tops Zubimendi in almost every important DM category, I doubt it but would like to see him get a run with Rice in the 1st team
Credit to MLS and Calafiori too
Still very concerning about our lack of goals, 3 own goals and a penalty being our last 4 goals. Results been papering over the cracks but we can only hope MA is taking note and working on being more flexible.
Merry Christmas to everyone tomorrow that celebrates!
I’d almost forgotten what proper cup tie football was like. Palace really wanted that and went at us with such ferocity that I was expecting broken bones, and the guy who scored the OG and missed the penalty was as bad as any. Attwell was his usual awful self, but it looks as though we’ve avoided injuries. TBH, I think we could do without that sort of game, but am very pleased with the deserved win. We have some terrific penalty takers.
I think Martinelli has gotten a slight knock to his knee that’s why he was subbed off for Trossard.
Hopefully it is nothing serious because the injuries are becoming very frustrating and annoying.
Me too,i have always been outspoken here about Saka being over-rated,remove his penalty goals&his goal contributions will significantly drop or on the other way round put Martinelli/Trosaard on penalty duties&their goal contributions will sky rocket.If Arteta knows his work,he should already be preparing Dowman who is much better in that position and sell Saka as soon as a willing buyers knocks on the door.
Merry Christmas Maththew
You didn’t pull that line out of a Christmas cracker
I would say If Saka wont sign his new contract then we would be forced to consider selling him but me and probably 99.9% of Afc fans would dread that day as we all know he is a top top top players and he is one of our own
Not many clubs can boast about that
MD will hopefully be as good or even better in the future but he is still very young and has a lot of time on his side
Everyone is entitled to there opinion but imo I think you are far of the mark when it comes to Saka
Think he lost his light up smile on face at times but we cant argue about his ability and can skin most players and delivers when called upon
Onwards and upwards…oops can’t go upwards as we are top of the.league
Lets hope we can maintain and stay top come the end of the season
Merry Christmas all 🎅 🎄 ❤️
This is meant as a reply to Ken1945 above
👍 Matthew, that’s three of us 😅😅😅
Actually, I think some of you are taking Saka far too much for granted.
Saka is one of the best right sided players in the world because of his all round game. There may be other players who might have a particular skill (e.g dribblers such as Kudus) or speed (e.g. Neto), but Saka is a whole package combining skill, pace, delivery, combination play etc. at an elite level. His consistency is also remarkable.
I think Kepa before saving the 8th pen couldn’t even guess right the directions of the 7 pens as he fell every time on the wrong sides. 8th time perfectly lucky!
I think Kepa had an infamous story at Chelsea as he was not trusted for the pen job when the Italian coach wanted to replace him in this Carabao Cup.
think Norgard had a good game, eze non existent
Rice rested for the weekend game .. Calafiori was my
man of the match..
Saka hasn’t been great over the past two games, Mathew, I grant it but I think you are being too unkind . He has been play like someone who has started to believe the hype around him and as a result some of his decision making has been head scratchingly over ambitious.. In his defence, Arteta and Odegaard are placing too much weight on his shoulders directing too much of our play towards him so that the onus is on the lad to make something happen with ever ball. And of cause the opposition is very much aware of this.
We’re halfway through another lackluster season with Odegaard. Though he’s been unlucky with injuries I realize. But it’s completely fair to say if he doesn’t step up the 2nd half of this season we need to start looking for new attacking midfield options. Arteta keeps trusting underperformers in this squad. I love Martinelli but I’m not totally sure how he’s still here. He’s a player that clearly hasn’t fulfilled his potential, and another one having another bang average season. if Trossard were to get injured reason of the season how confident would we be that Martinelli could perform at LW? I dont think anyone would expect us to win anything with him as starter anymore.
Had it not been for the terrific saves from the Palace keeper we would have been home and dry after a very goor first half performance where Martinelli excelled.Palace battled hard in the second half, but overall i thought we were deserving winners with Norgaard and Calafiori outstanding throughout.As for the debate surrounding Saliba, he really is his own worst enemy in terms of complacency, which sets in because the game comes easy for him.Basically he is a terrific CB and i would not swap him for any other in the EPL.Finally how pleasing to see Jesus emerge unscathed after buzzing about for 100 mins.Sure to be a confidence booster for the whole team.
Wow!, why do they keep doing this to us fans. Arsenal don’t do things the easy way do they😂.
After a pedestrian first twenty minutes, Arsenal started to find their rhythm, and Martinelli was taking their right back to the cleaners. That’s more like the Martinelli of the 2022/2023 season. Apparently, at half time the palace medical staff were checking their right back for twisted blood😂.
The second half Palace were a bit bolder, and were a bit more in Arsenal’s face. But that said they didn’t really threaten our goal. Finally we got another own goal, all Christmas gifts gratefully excepted.
Then Saliba shows both the good and bad, in the space of a few minutes. First his block when the palace striker was about to pull the trigger. But then Saliba gives away a needless foul. And we concede a late leveler.
Thankfully after a high class Penalty shootout by the way, Kepa finally guessed right and we’re through. But I suggest, they will have to take it up a couple of notches in the semi-finals.
And I hope that they all get a Christmas book, on how to finish chances, these close finishes is not good for my health😂.
Anyway, to all my fellow poster’s on this forum. Can I wish you all a very happy Christmas in whatever way you’ll be celebrating it. 👍
Merry Christmas Alanball08,wishing you all the best for the season.As you stated,it’s my opinion&i respect your opinion too but Saka has failed to make progress over the years because of his unserious attitude(which is probably caused by being overhyped by fans&Arteta)
I share. Saka even being fit can’t become 50% of Salah of the previous seasons by the crude measurement of the number of goals and assists.
Idk what the reason is, but more should be expected of him. He should be carrying games for us and earning 3 pts for the team solely from his performances. I dont think he’s the same type of player like Salah and won’t ever put up numbers close to his, but he should be in and around 15 league goals a season at this point espescially if we want to win things. His performances have been a mixed bag. Really need him to have a 10/10 2nd half of the season I think if we are to win the title. Because Odegaard is certainly not going to be the one to step up. And thats another discussion that needs to be had. Think Mikel needs to see whats not working here
A good team performance, the final score flattered Palace,
The two Brazilian were outstanding, but the script was written, Jesus return to life.
problem with Arsenal is , in the last few games (7-8) , their attack is not doing well & none of the summer signings have done well in that area. You expect more goals from new attacking players .
Thos is the season of good will but I still don’t understand some of the comments
The.lroblem with Arsenal
But here we are top.of both leagues
Semi final of a cup
Hate to think what is going to happen when we start to.motoring
Onwards and upwards
Problem is Alan you have said the same for the last 2 previous seasons .
Rinse and repeat kind of thing .
Anyway wish you a good one for Xmas and good health for the new year and hope you are finally right for a change ,that’s all some of us want no matter how negative we are .
Dk
We may differ on certain things and at times we have both got under each other’s skin but never doubted anyone on here wanted us a club to be top dogs ome the end of the season
Rinse and repeat is that i do believe no matter how painful it has been at.times.
I believed there was a change in us the day we went to wolves many seasons.back.
We had 2.sent.off and.lost the game but we did look like a team at moments.
Merry Christmas To you and your family DK
Look forward to many more arguments with you in the future and may i have the final word when we lift the big one
Onwards and upwards
Look forward to it Alan 👌