Key events
18 min: Palace continue to target Kiwior, by sending long balls his way and hoping he’ll crumble under more pressure from Mateta.
16 min: Eberech Eze plays the ball out wide to Caleb Kporha as Palace try to clear their lines. The teenager advances confidently and tries to cut into the Arsenal box but runs into traffic.
14 min: Gabriel Jesus gifts possession to Ismaila Sarr in midfield and the Palace winger rampages forward. His low, diagonal rasper from the edge of the Arsenal penalty area forces a smart save out of David Raya.
13 min: Jurrien Timber plays the ball over the top from deep trying to pick out Trossard. His pass is overhit and Henderson gathers under no pressure whatsoever.
10 min: Trossard shoots over the bar as Arsenal regroup and try to find an equaliser.
9 min: Tierney tries to cross the ball from the left edge of the Palace penalty area but has to settle for a corner. With no Rice or Sakha on the pitch, Trossard is on duty and his delivery almost creeps through at the near post. The ball is cleared off the line by Lerma and recycled, before Gabriel Jesus has a low shot from distance saved by Henderson.
7 min: Kiwior is almost bamboozled by another long ball from Henderson but manages to avoid further embarrassment.
5 min: It’s a good finish from Mateta, who had plenty of work to do after Jakub Kiwior had failed to deal with a routine long ball booted down the middle by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Having misjudged the bounce of the ball, Kiwior was outmuscled by Mateta, who held off the Polish defender as he advanced into the Arsenal penalty area and slipped a low shot past the advancing David Raya. We have a potential upset on our hands!
GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Crystal Palace (Mateta 4)
Crystal Palace lead! A dreadful mistake from Jakub Kiwior allows Jean-Philippe Mateta to fire Palace in front.
2 min: Another Tierney throw-in is headed clear by Maxence Lacroix, who has been excellent for Palace since signing for them in the summer.
1 min: Arsenal win an early throw-in, which is taken by Kieran Tierney. He gets his first touch of the ball in a game at the Emirates for well over 500 days.
Arsenal v Crystal Palace is go …
1 min: Palace get the ball rolling, their players wearing yellow shirts, shorts and socks. Their hosts wear their usual home kit.
Not long now: Led by Andrew Madley and his team of match officials, both sets of players march out on to the Etihad turf with a place in the semi-finals of this season’s Carabao Cup up for grabs. Kick-off in north London is just a few minutes away …
Meanwhile in Hampshire: Southampton host Liverpool at St Mary’s in a quarter-final that kicks off at 8pm (GMT). Scott Murray will be providing updates from that one …
Oliver Glasner: Asked if his team could beat Arsenal, the Austrian said he thinks it’s possible but added a caveat. “They have been struggling a few weeks ago but now injured players are coming back and their form has got better and better,” he said.
“Of course,” he replied, when asked if he’d be fielding a full-strength side. “It’s the quarter-final of a cup competition. Every single game we call up the fittest team and tomorrow will be the same. If somebody is tired, they will get a break to rest.”
On Eddie Nketiah, who has scored just one goal for Palace this season: “I’m pretty sure he will get minutes in his old stadium,” said Glasner. “He’s very ambitious and he’s working hard. He had a very positive impact at Brighton – we got the game in more control. He wants to score and I see that every day in training.”
Mikel Arteta: “I think it is really helpful,” said Arsenal’s manager, upon being asked what winning the Carabao Cup would mean for his team. “It brings belief, trust and positive energy. Touching a cup generates that energy and I think it creates the right path.”
Kieran Tierney: The Scottish defender makes his first appearance for Arsenal since the 2023 Community Shield, having spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad and been laid low this season with a bad hamstring injury he suffered during Scotland’s draw with Switzerland during the European Championships.
Tonight’s match officials
VAR: A reminder that this season’s Carabao Cup does not use video assistant referees until the semi-finals.
Caleb who? Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner hands Caleb Kporha his first senior start for the club. The 18-year-old English defender’s only previous appearance for his club came as a late substitute in his side’s defeat at the hands of Fulham in November. Congratulations to him on a milestone night in his fledgling career.
Arsenal v Crystal Palace line-ups
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Kiwior, Partey, Tierney, Nwaneri, Jorginho, Merino, Trossard, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.
Subs: Setford, Saliba, Gabriel, Kacurri, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi, Kporha, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta.
Subs: Turner, Ward, Nketiah, Schlupp, Clyne, Kamada, Richards, Doucoure, Devenny.
This just in …
While we wait for the line-ups in full, I can reveal that Mikel Arteta has made eight changes to the side that started against Everton at the weekend and hands Kieran Tierney his first start for the club in almost 18 months. Raheem Sterling also gets a rare starting opportunity for the Gunners.
Early team news
Arsenal find themselves in something of a defensive crisis, and with Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ricardo Calafiori all sidelined tonight could mark the return of the lesser-spotted Kieran Tierney for his first appearance of the season since being stretchered out of the Euros with a hamstring injury.
Having been substituted on the hour mark of Arsenal’s weekend stalemate with Everton with a niggle, Declan Rice has been passed fit but may be rested as a precaution. Fringe players Raheem Sterling, Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri all seem likely to see some action tonight.
While Joel Ward and Adam Wharton are reported to be on the verge of full fitness after injuries, tonight’s match could come too soon for the Crystal Palace duo, while there are also slight concerns over the availability of Eberech Eze, who shipped a bang to the foot in his side’s win over Brighton.
Palace striker Eddie Nketiah and reserve goalkeeper Matt Turner could face their former club, although the former Arsenal defender Rob Holding remains in exile for reasons his manager, Oliver Glasner, refuses to specify.
Carabao Cup: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
While Mikel Arteta’s focus may be on more prestigious prizes, the Carabao Cup is not a competition he can afford to take lightly now his team has gone over four years without lifting a trophy. Tonight’s game is the first of back-to-back games against Crystal Palace and if he could only win one of them, the Spaniard would almost certainly prefer to take the three Premier League points on offer at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.
Two-times winners of this competition, it seems remarkable that Arsenal last won it as far back as 1993, when they beat Sheffield Wednesday in a Wembley final most memorable for Ray Parlour’s perm and the post-match celebrations which left their match-winner Steve Morrow with a broken arm after being unceremoniously dropped on the pitch by Tony Adams.
Never having been further than the semi-finals, Crystal Palace have endured no such ignominy and while they travel to the Emirates as underdogs, their recent upturn in form means they are entitled to fancy their chances.
Unbeaten in five matches after a dire start to the season, Palace go into this game on the back of an impressive away win against their most bitter rivals, Brighton and with their relegation fears eased, if not completely quelled, this is a competition they should be going all out to win. Kick-off at the Emirates is at 7.30pm but stay tuned for team news and build-up.
