It seems fitting that Gabriel Jesus chose this time of year to end his goalscoring drought. A brilliant hat-trick from the Brazilian striker gave Arsenal a stirring second-half comeback and secured their place in the semi-finals after Jean-Philippe Mateta had given Crystal Palace an early lead.

Oliver Glasner’s well-coordinated side looked poised for an upset until Mikel Arteta’s half-time substitutions changed the course of this tie, although it was Jesus, who had scored just once in his last 34 appearances, who came to his manager’s rescue In the end, it came despite a moment of shock when Eddie Nketiah scored late against his former club.

“I’m so happy for him,” Arteta said of Jesus. “It’s been a long time without a goal for him and the three goals and the type of goals he scored couldn’t be ignored. “He looked really sharp. It’s a great thing for him and the team that we can rely on a player with so much quality – he has a quality that is unique.”

Arteta said Arsenal could use this competition as a springboard to winning bigger trophies, but his team selection showed where his true loyalties lie. There were eight changes here from Saturday’s disappointing draw with Everton, with Kieran Tierney recalled at left-back for his first start since the 2023 Community Shield and Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling also making a rare appearance.

There was no such tinkering from Glasner, who gave 18-year-old Caleb Kporha his full debut in place of the suspended Daniel Muñoz. While Arsenal have surprisingly only won this trophy twice in their history and not since Steve Morrow’s heroics in 1993, Palace’s recent record has been pathetic, but the 6,000 fans in the away leg clearly fancied their chances for the first time in a year reaching the last four famous win at Old Trafford against Manchester United at this point in 2011.

Their optimism may have been increased when Jakub Kiwior completely misjudged a long drive from Dean Henderson within the first four minutes. Mateta took advantage of the mistake and got ahead of the Polish defender before calmly moving past David Raya. Arsenal responded with a flurry of attacks and Jefferson Lerma cleared a corner off the line before Leandro Trossard shot over from Sterling’s cutback.

Henderson was at full strength to parry Sterling’s free-kick just after the half-hour mark as the Palace defense withstood the mounting pressure. The home crowd’s frustration grew after another corner routine was eliminated just before half-time, with most probably wondering how long Arteta would last in his second appearance.

That question was answered after the break when William Saliba and Martin Ødegaard were both called up from the bench, while Kporha made way for Nathaniel Clyne’s experience. Suddenly Arsenal had another choice, although only Sterling will know how he managed to hit the woodwork after Henderson parried his first-time shot from Tierney’s cross. But the equalizer was all about Jesus, who came into this game having not scored since the win over Preston at the end of October, but confidently took his chance after being picked out by Ødegaard, casually flicking the ball over shot past the advancing Palace goalkeeper.

Glasner turned to old Arsenal player Nketiah, whose name was chanted by the home fans as he replaced Mateta on the hour mark. But it was Jesus who looked in the mood to extend his lead when he spun in the box and his shot deflected just past the post. The introduction of Bukayo Saka for Sterling showed Arsenal really meant business.

This fact was made even clearer when the 23-year-old England striker slid into Jesus after cutting in from the right side, even though it looked like he was just offside. With VAR not in use until the semi-final, there was no reprieve for Palace as Jesus provided the goal.

“I saw it and I think it was offside, but there is no VAR and everyone knows that,” said Glasner, whose team face Arsenal again in the league on Saturday. “We gave them too many chances in the second half and if you do that, it’s only a matter of time before they score.”

It was left to Jesus to complete his hat-trick after another brilliant pass from Ødegaard, although Nketiah provided a nervy finish by heading Clyne’s cross home.