Eddie Nketiah’s pre-match comments about Arsenal are now very interesting after EFL Cup goal 

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Arsenal are in the semi-final of the EFL Cup after coming from behind to beat Crystal Palace.

Gabriel Jesus shone as Arsenal beat Palace 3-2, securing their place in the semi-final of the EFL Cup. 

The Brazilian netted a match-winning hat-trick to fire the Gunners into the final four, ending the North Londoners’ woes from open-play.

Mikel Arteta will be overjoyed that his side got the job done, on what was an evening that was far from comfortable for the hosts.

• READ MORE: Why Jurrien Timber fumed at the referee amid VAR absence in five things missed vs Crystal Palace

Eddie Nketiah scored on Arsenal return 

While it was Arsenal’s number nine who earned the headlines, another striker will be heavily discussed in the aftermath.

Hale End graduate Eddie Nketiah returned to the Emirates for the first time since his summer transfer to Palace.

A player renowned for his lack of conviction in front of goal at Arsenal, it was inevitable that the 25-year-old would find the net against his former club.

Fortunately, Nketiah’s late header stood for merely a consolation however, the striker will savour the feeling of scoring against the side that sold him in the summer. 

Prior to the game, Oliver Glasner spoke about the prospect of Nketiah scoring against Arsenal, stressing that his goal would be rather insignificant if Palace didn’t win.

The Palace boss wrote the story himself as the academy graduate scored in the Eagles’ defeat, with another pre-match statement also unfolding during the 90 minutes.

What Nketiah said about celebrating against Arsenal 

Nketiah netted an admirable header to get the better of David Raya, scoring in the 84th-minute to add some late tension to the fixture. 

To the Gunners’ relief, the game ended in victory, leaving a bittersweet feeling for Nketiah, who spoke about scoring against Arsenal before the game.

“You know what, I don’t think so,” Nketiah said to Sky Sports when asked if he’d celebrate against his former club.

“We’ll have to wait and see but I’ve got a lot of respect for the club and I’m sure hopefully they have the same for me. Listen, I wanna score bad but I might have a smile on my face, but I’m gonna try and keep it tame. Hopefully we get the double victory.”

The former striker stuck to his words as he remained subdued after scoring, showing little emotion besides pointing to his wrist to indicate that there was still time for Palace to get back into the game.

As Arsenal won, Nketiah’s goal can be celebrated to an extent, seeing the academy graduate show his quality in what has been a rather uneventful start to his Palace career.