Gabriel Jesus defied a lot of his Arsenal critics during his mesmerising second half performance against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.
For a tricky quarter-final on paper, Mikel Arteta still decided to make eight changes to his Arsenal team, installing Jesus as his number nine.
In the first half, not much was working for any Arsenal player in truth, and when Arteta decided to make two substitutions at the interval, the Brazilian striker may have even been lucky to keep his spot.
However, with a chance to remedy his recent poor finishing at the Emirates Stadium in the second 45, Jesus was on fire.
The striker dispatched a chip past Dean Henderson that the likes of Bukayo Saka would even be proud of.
Thereafter, Jesus was pulsating with confidence when he fired two more strikes past the Palace keeper, finishes he no longer seemed capable of.
Gabriel Jesus says Crystal Palace hat-trick was because of his ‘hard work’
After his hat-trick and Player of the Match award, Jesus spoke to Sky Sports and explained that his ‘hard work’ was paying off.
Arteta has often referenced Jesus’ brilliant attitude off of the pitch, even when things haven’t been going well for the Brazilian on it.
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And in fairness to Jesus, he was the first person to recognise that his goal scoring has become a ‘problem’ when speaking in his interview after the game.
Jesus said: “I have scored a lot of goals but sometimes I have this problem with a lack of goals.
“I can create, I can make assists, I can run and help the team defending. When I score everyone sees, but when I don’t they want their striker to score goals and I agree with that.
“That is why I am working a lot in training, finishing more, putting myself in a good position to finish the action.
“I think my hard work has paid off.”
Kieran Tierney also deserves credit on Arsenal return
In addition to Jesus, Kieran Tierney also had something to prove when he was named on the teamsheet against Palace.
Many supporters in N5 may have thought that they’d seen the last of Tierney in red, but the Scot provided a throwback performance under the lights at the Emirates.
The defender might be destined to leave, but Arsenal fans loved Tierney’s performance, regardless of whether it was a one off.
Arteta admitted his Tierney mistake recently, and it was superb to see the left-back able to operate as an overlapping full-back, a role that gets the best out of him.
A feel-good night for the Gunners, who will now need to refocus for another tough test against Palace, this time at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.
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