Arsenal secured their spot in the EFL Cup semi-final against Chelsea, beating Crystal Palace on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
Mikel Arteta made eight changes to the lineup that beat Everton 1-0 at the weekend, with only William Saliba, Ricardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber keeping their place.
Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner started a very strong side, with only three changes from the weekend, as Dean Henderson, Nathaniel Clyne and Will Hughes dropped out of the starting team.
This was a game of two halves, the first half following the pattern many expected, but the second half having some changes which sparked real energy into the game.
In this article, we’ll cover
Expected pattern of play
Despite Arsenal making eight changes, many would have expected the Gunners to dominate possession, looking to probe the Crystal Palace defensive unit.
As was the case, Glasner’s side set up in their usual 5-2-3 shape off the ball, looking to absorb pressure and hit Arsenal on the break.
The first half saw Arsenal hold 79% possession, taking 12 shots and creating three big chances, while Palace struggled to generate anything of note with their 21% share of the ball.
A large part of Arsenal’s dominant first half performance was down to their left side, as Gabriel Martinelli was winning his battle against the makeshift Palace wing-back.
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Martinelli vs Canvot
Martinelli has been described as a “finisher” by Arteta this season, but found himself starting the game against Crystal Palace.
The Brazilian completed three of his five dribbles in the match, making five key passes, creating two big chances and taking one shot.
Jaydee Canvot started the game at right wing-back, despite naturally being a central defender, and he struggled throughout the first half to contain Martinelli, which saw Clyne replace the French defender at half-time.
Martinelli was taken off after 59 minutes, going down injured at the back end of the first half and being unable to run it off.
However, the changes from Glasner at half-time saw a good response from Palace in the second half, which massively stunted Arsenal’s attacking threat.
Palace aggressive changes
At half-time, Glasner made a double change, taking Canvot and Eddie Nketiah off for Clyne and Justin Devenny.
With the personnel changes and a half-time teamtalk, Crystal Palace came out with much more intent to press high in the second half, looking to play more on the front foot.
Arsenal had only 58% possession in the second half, compared to their 71% in the first half, still getting 13 shots off, but only creating one big chance.
Palace on the other hand, managed to show some threat of their own, taking six shots in the second half compared to just two in the first half, creating one big chance and scoring a late equaliser to take it to penalties.
Set-pieces reign supreme
In a game where fine margins were likely expected to separate the two sides, it was set-pieces which ruled once again, as both goals were scored from set-pieces.
The first goal coming from an Arsenal corner, with Bukayo Saka whipping it in and creating chaos in the box, as it bounced between multiple players before going in off of Maxence Lacroix.
But Crystal Palace responded with a set-piece goal of their own, after earning a free kick out wide, which was whipped in towards Jefferson Lerma, who nodded it down for Marc Guehi to slot home with ease.
With the set-pieces cancelling each other out, the game went to penalties, going to sudden death and ending 8-7 to Arsenal, with the only player missing their spot-kick being Lacroix.
Not the best evening for Lacroix, but as one of Palace’s most consistent performers since arriving last season, i’m sure fans wont take too long to get over it.