Gabriel Jesus put in a solid shift to send Arsenal through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals while Liverpool survived a late scare at St. Mary’s Stadium to overcome Southampton on Wednesday night.
At the Emirates Stadium, it took only three minutes for the drama to unfold after Jakub Kiwior mistimed his attempt to clear Dean Henderson’s goal-kick, allowing Jean-Philippe Mateta through on goal to open the scoring.
Still down by that goal at the break, Mikel Arteta brought on Martin Odegaard and William Saliba, and the it took the Arsenal captain eight minutes to show his class with a defence-splitting pass that set up Jesus for the equaliser.
Arsenal then took the lead 20 minutes later, with another substitution key to the goal as Bukayo Saka, just three minutes after coming on for Raheem Sterling, set up Jesus for his second of the game.
Jesus completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes to go, running on to a ball out from the back by Odegaard, as Arsenal passed their way out of a tight situation on the edge of their box to go 3-1 up at the other end.
However, former Arsenal striker, Eddie Nketiah, ensured a nail-biting end to the game with a powerful header past David Raya in the 85th minute. But Arsenal held on to book their spot in the last four of the competition.
Title holders, Liverpool, as well as 2023 finalists, Newcastle United, are also through to the semi-final, with the Reds edging out Southampton in a 2-1 win while the Magpies cruised to a 3-1 win over Brentford.