The Eagles took the game to the wire by finding a late equaliser and forcing spot kicks but it just was not to be and it is an exit at the quarter final stage to the same opponents for the second consecutive season.
MATCH INFORMATION
| 23 December 2025 – 8pm |
| Arsenal 1-1 Crystal Palace (Arsenal win 8-7 on penalties) |
| League Cup |
| Emirates Stadium |
PLAYER RATINGS
| 44 | Walter BENITEZ | 6.3 |
| 23 | Jaydee CANVOT (17 Nathaniel CLYNE 46 mins) | 6.5 (6.5) |
| 6 | Marc GUEHI © | 7.4 |
| 5 | Maxence LACROIX | 5.9 |
| 26 | Chris RICHARDS (19 Will HUGHES 75 mins) | 7.2 (6.8) |
| 3 | Tyrick MITCHELL (24 Borna SOSA 90+10) | 6.7 (6.5) |
| 20 | Adam WHARTON | 7.6 |
| 19 | Will HUGHES | 6.8 |
| 9 | Eddie NKETIAH (55 Justin DEVENNY 46 mins) | 6.1 (6.3) |
| 10 | Yeremy PINO (12 Christantus UCHE 86 mins) | 5.9 (6.5) |
| 14 | Jean-Philippe MATETA | 7.4 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 1 Dean HENDERSON, 21 Romain ESSE, 42 Kaden RODNEY, 86 Joel DRAKES-THOMAS
| 13 | KEPA Arrizabalaga | 5.2 |
| 49 | Myles LEWIS-SKELLY | 6.6 |
| 33 | Riccardo CALAFIORI | 7.5 |
| 2 | William SALIBA | 6.9 |
| 12 | Jurrien TIMBER | 7.4 |
| 16 | Christian NORGAARD | 7.0 |
| 11 | Gabriel MARTINELLI (19 Leandro TROSSARD 59 mins) | 7.2 (6.6) |
| 10 | Ebere EZE (8 Martin ODEGAARD 67 mins) | 6.7 (6.7) |
| 20 | Noni MADUEKE (7 Bukayo SAKA 67 mins) | 7.0 (6.9) |
| 23 | Mikel MERINO | 6.8 |
| 9 | Gabriel JESUS (41 Declan RICE 86 mins) | 7.1 (6.5) |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 1 David RAYA, 14 Viktor GYOKERES, 22 Ethan NWANERI, 36 Martin ZUBIMENDI, 89 Marli SALMON
POST GAME QUOTES
OLIVER GLASNER
“The way we played in the second half, the way we matched them, everybody is telling us “So many games, you’re fatigued, you’re tired” but if that is the case you can’t come back like we did. Not in the second half with this performance and not in the second half after going a goal down. If we build on the second half performance we will play a very good season.”
MATCH STATISTICS
| Star Man | Jefferson LERMA (8.5) |
| Goals | Maxence LACROIX (OG, 80), Marc GUEHI (90+4) |
| Assists | Jefferson LERMA (90+4) |
| Most shots | Noni MADUEKE, Gabriel JESUS (5) |
| Most tackles | Tyrick MITCHELL (4) |
| Most dribbles | Jurrien TIMBER, Gabriel MARTINELLI (3) |
| Team rating | 6.79 – 6.75 |
| Total shots | 25 – 8 |
| Shots on target | 7 – 1 |
| Yellow cards | KEPA Arrizabalaga (89) |
| Red cards | None |
| Possession | 68.7% – 31.3% |
| Pass success | 82% – 66% |
| Passes | 549 – 255 |
| Dribbles | 9 – 2 |
| Aerials won | 16 – 22 |
| Tackles | 9 – 19 |
| Fouls | 9 – 12 |
| Corners | 8 – 2 |
| Saves | 0 – 7 |
| Dispossessed | 9 – 6 |
TEB VERDICT
It is anyone’s guess how Palace went in at the break level other than an inspired performance by number two goalkeeper Walter Benitez. The Argentinian stopper pulled off several top saves to frustrate the hosts, but he could not find one final stop in the shoot-out.
The Eagles struggled throughout the first half but a staunch defensive performance was a huge step up from what we saw at that on Saturday evening. It took the hosts to find a goal and an own goal at that from the unfortunate Maxence Lacroix. It did not deter the visitors though, as Marc Guehi popped up to net and cap off a much better second half performance.
It was not the night form Lacroix as he was the unfortunate player to miss from the spot and ensure Arsenal meet Chelsea in the semi-finals in February.
This performance perhaps proved to us that the Leeds result was a blip, an oddity, as the usual solid defence turned up at the Emirates and it was needed in that first half. There is a concern that Chris Richards will join both Daniel Munoz and Daichi Kamada on the long-term absentee list after being stretchered off in the second half, but we will have to see.
One thing this result does is avoid an even more hectic February and while it would have been a lot of fun, Oliver Glasner just does not have the squad for it. This does not mean though that new recruits are not needed in the January window, it perhaps proves that is exactly what is required.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
| DATE | TEAM | LOCATION | COMPETITION | KICK OFF TIME |
| 28/12/2025 | Tottenham Hotspur | Home | Premier League | 4.30pm |
| 01/01/2026 | Fulham | Home | Premier League | 5.30pm |
| 04/01/2026 | Newcastle United | Away | Premier League | 3pm |
