Lacking firepower? Arsenal fired 25 shots without scoring but won the penalty shootout to eliminate Crystal Palace and reach the League Cup semi-finals

At 4 a.m. Beijing time on December 24, the League Cup quarter-final saw a London derby as Arsenal played Crystal Palace at home.

During the first half, Madueke squandered chances for a hat-trick, Jesus threatened, and the score was 0-0 at halftime; in the second half, Lacroix mistakenly scored an own goal in a scramble, and Guey scored a last-minute equalizer.

The match ended 1-1 after regular time, leading to a penalty shootout where both teams scored their first seven penalties; in the eighth round, Lacroix’s penalty was saved by Kepa, and Arsenal ultimately won 8-7 on penalties to advance to the League Cup semi-finals, where they will face Chelsea!

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace,Arteta deployed a 4-3-3 formation with Madueke, Jesus, and Martinelli forming the front three; Merino, Nørgaard, and Eze made up the midfield trio; Timber, Saliba, Calafiori, and Saka formed the back four, with Kepa in goal. The starting lineup’s total market value was €476 million.Glasner set up a 3-4-2-1 formation with Mateta upfront, supported by Pino and Nketiah behind him; Mitchell, Leyma, Walton, and Kamwo formed the midfield four; Guey, Lacroix, and Richards made up the back three, with Benitez guarding the goal. The starting lineup’s total market value was €324 million.

You might say Arsenal was lucky to advance thanks to an own goal and the penalty shootout, but Arsenal did dominate Crystal Palace throughout the match,possessing the ball 69% of the time—nearly seventy percent—and blasting 25 shots, 7 of which were on target; Crystal Palace had just 8 shots in total with only one on target.What does this indicate? It shows Arsenal’s lack of striking power. Although the team is strong overall, they lack a consistently effective attacking unit. Both Jesus, returning to start at number 9, and Madueke, who came on as a substitute, took 5 shots each without scoring. Madueke even missed three clear chances. For Arsenal to contend for the title, Arteta must address this persistent issue of weak attack; otherwise, with Manchester City’s superior firepower and title-winning experience, Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes will be in jeopardy.