Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to focus on ‘beautiful opportunity’ to get to League Cup semis

LONDON – With Arsenal at the top of the English Premier League tree heading into Christmas, manager Mikel Arteta will now turn his attention to his side’s League Cup quarter-final clash against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Dec 23.

The Gunners brushed aside Port Vale and Brighton & Hove Albion to reach the last eight, while Oliver Glasner’s Eagles defeated Millwall and clinched a convincing victory over Liverpool to get to this stage.

It has been so long since Arsenal last won the League Cup in 1993 – only the second time after 1987 – that none of their current first-team squad were born yet that year.

But Wembley is now within touching distance again.

“Now the most important one is the Carabao Cup against Palace because it’s the next game that we have,” Arteta said, when asked how essential he views the League Cup amid a Premier League title chase and the busy festive schedule.

“Take it game by game. Winning and performing every game helps you for the next one. So now full focus on that. We are used to it (the quick turnaround following a 1-0 league win over Everton on Dec 20).

“(It) is going to be like this. So we are used to it. Face it, we have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of the competition. So we’ll be ready.”

Arsenal have made it to the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

They won their last two matches at this stage, in 2021-22 and 2024-25.

At the last campaign, they lost to eventual winners Newcastle 4-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Arteta’s men, building on their good form, will aim to go all the way this time. They head into the clash on a three-game winning streak in all competitions, following the win over Everton.

Playing at the Emirates will also be a huge advantage, as the Gunners have won 11 of their 12 home matches this season, including their last nine – one of which was a 1-0 win over Palace in October.

On the injury front, Arsenal are without Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Max Dowman, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White.

However, they will be boosted by the return of striker Gabriel Jesus.

The Brazilian has not started a match since January, when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but has looked impressive in three substitute appearances.

“You can see now, not only in games, every day in training, how much he wants it.” Arteta said. “He’s going to deserve a chance soon.

“The biggest quality of Gabi... bringing people together, connecting with people and generating a lot of uncertainty in the opponent.

“When you see him (against Everton), the amount of spaces that he was involved in, that’s his biggest quality. So we need to exploit that.”

Palace are missing Ismaila Sarr, who is at the Africa Cup of Nations, and the injured duo of Daniel Munoz and Daichi Kamada.

Rio Cardines, Cheick Doucoure, Caleb Kporha and Chadi Riad are also ruled out of this clash.

Palace will gain confidence from their 3-0 fourth-round win over Liverpool, and Glasner will seek to win a third trophy in a year after their FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs.

However, the Eagles will arrive at the Emirates winless in three games in all competitions, including two defeats in their last two Premier League matches.

Defence is also an issue as they have conceded nine goals across their last three fixtures.

Arsenal will be huge favourites for this game, especially as the Gunners beat Palace 3-2 at this exact same stage of the League Cup last season.

The winners will face Chelsea, who beat Cardiff City 3-1, in the semi-finals.