Arsenal 1-1 Crystal Palace: Player ratings as Kepa Arrizabalaga saves Gunners' skin

Arsenal (just about) made it back-to-back Carabao Cup semi-finals on Tuesday night as they saw off Crystal Palace 8-7 on penalties after a 1-1 score-line in normal time.

Mikel Arteta rang the changes from the win over Everton last weekend, with Christian Norgaard and Eberechi Eze accounting for two of his eight new names while Gabriel Jesus earned a first start in red & white since January 12th.

Despite their new-look feel, the Gunners stormed out of the blocks and ought to have taken an early lead when Noni Madueke raced through on goal; his tame shot rolled into the grateful arms of Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

Then the visitors blew a great chance of their own. Tyrick Mitchell had the freedom of north London to bear down on Kepa and had options in the middle if needed. Instead, the left-back went alone and fired a wild effort over the bar.

What followed could be best described as the silkiest football that Arsenal have shown since the win against Bayern Munich. It featured wave after wave of home pressure and some excellent work from Benitez between the sticks, his save to deny Gabriel Jesus being the clear standout from his first-half workload.

How it remained 0-0 at half-time is a mystery.

Oliver Glasner’s men had much more about them in the second 45 and almost took the lead prior to the hour mark as Adam Wharton sent a shot just wide. Palace took control for a time and put Arsenal on the back foot momentarily, something which would only serve to further annoy the restless home support.

‘Normal’ service later resumed but still the breakthrough would not come. Again, Jesus could not put his team ahead on two glorious occasions while a series of corners threatened to undo the away side late on.

Penalties loomed until, at long last, the Gunners found a way via their second-favourite route to goal: own goals. This time Maxence Lacroix was the unfortunate soul as he failed to sort his feet out quick enough and his tame stab at the ball proved enough to finally breach the great Benitez resistance for Palace.   

But then the penalties happened anyway, as Marc Guehi slid home in the 95th minute to break hearts across n5. It mattered not, though, as Lacroix came to the home rescue again by missing his penalty which secured Arsenal their safe passage to the semi-finals.

So, the Gunners are through, and here are the player ratings from a successful – if infuriating – night in the Carabao Cup.

Player ratings as Arsenal dump Crystal Palace out of the Carabao Cup

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK): 7 – He looked on as a mere spectator for long spells, though his enthusiasm to conduct each restart quickly was nice to see – not so quick though when he received a yellow card for time-wasting. Bumped up to seven for his match-winning save in the shootout (after he FINALLY went the right way…).

Jurrien Timber (RB): 6 – Caught horribly out of position for that early Mitchell chance. However, Timber was his usual steady self thereafter in a defensive sense, even if his heading left a bit to be desired at the other end. One of his quieter outings and it perhaps owes to tiredness; he never seems to get a rest.  

William Saliba (CB): 8 – The Frenchman put in a good tackle to stop Jean-Philippe Mateta during a Palace breakaway, while he did his utmost to sustain the Arsenal attacking pressure as the first half drew to a close. Did so well to make the crucial tackle and deny Mateta near the end but his cheap free-kick concession in injury time gave Palace the chance to level things at the death, which they duly took.  

Riccardo Calafiori (CB): 7 – Calafiori loves to get up and down the pitch and he did try to make impact in an attacking sense, but to little meaningful effect. Still, he was as smooth as ever on the ball and frightened the Palace defence with his constant movement. He got outjumped by Jefferson Lerma for the equaliser though and that will haunt him until the weekend.     

Myles Lewis-Skelly (LB): 6 – He is a fabulous player to watch under pressure; he simply glides past the opposition. The Hale End man sometimes holds onto the ball too long but the bigger concern may be his lack of impact in the final third when opportunities present themselves – perhaps one can blame it on rustiness.

Midfielders

Christian Norgaard (CM): 6 - Very much part of the set-piece armoury when on the pitch via throw-ins. Besides that, Norgaard was solid and unspectacular (exactly what fans would expect from him), going about his business quietly in the engine room.

Mikel Merino (CM): 6 – Merino popped up in all sorts of areas but his best contribution was a lovely pass which split the Palace defence to find Eze in the first half. For all his awkwardness and physicality, he is silky on the ball and certainly adds something different to the Arsenal midfield – maybe it should not be quite a surprise given his Spanish blood.

Eberechi Eze (CM): 4 – A bit harsh, maybe, but Eze flattered to deceive again. He regularly gave away the ball which killed any attacking momentum and failed to make the most of his chances when they came his way. Summed up his night when the boss subbed him off even as the game remained very much in the balance.

Forwards

Noni Madueke (RW): 5 – Only slightly better than Eze, and that is because he was more involved in the action. However, Madueke was also guilty of spurning glorious chances from close range and had none of the clinical touch fans witnessed in Bruges; not what you want in a team full of players who underperform in front of goal.

Gabriel Martinelli (LW): 8 – Where has this Martinelli been for the last three years? Absolute livewire down the left flank, running Jaydee Canvot ragged the entire time he was on the pitch. Unfortunately that time was cut short as a first-half tackle left him stricken and he made way for Leandro Trossard early in the second half.

Gabriel Jesus (ST): 6 – Just a joy to watch, but his inability to take chances would manage to take years off anyone’s life! A world-class Benitez save was all that denied him a comeback goal in the first half and his own poor finishing denied him further after the break; his unpredictability in possession almost makes the rest worth it.

Substitutes

Leandro Trossard (59’ for Martinelli) - 6

Martin Odegaard (67’ for Eze) - 5

Bukayo Saka (67’ for Madueke) - 5

Declan Rice (85' for Jesus) - N/A

Player of the Match: Gabriel Martinelli and Maxence Lacroix