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I saw £9m Crystal Palace player prove why he would be a great signing for Arsenal in Carabao Cup clash

Crystal Palace posed Arsenal a few problems during the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.

A goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta put the Eagles 1-0 up after just three minutes following a misjudgment by Jakub Kiwior, while a late Eddie Nketiah header made for a nervy ending inside the Emirates Stadium.

Ultimately, a clinical hat-trick by Gabriel Jesus saw Arsenal reign supreme and progress into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Despite progressing to the last four, it seemed Mikel Arteta was fairly unhappy with the weakened starting XI he deployed, needing to call upon Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka to ultimately conquer Crystal Palace.

Therefore, the Spaniard may seek some improvements in the January transfer window to bolster the depth of his squad, and we feel Mateta made a great impression.

Jean-Philippe Mateta would be a solid addition to Arsenal

Arteta is lacking a striker like the Frenchman – who towers over most defenders with his gangly 6ft 5in frame.

Mateta still possesses a deceptive amount of pace despite his build, and shows a real efficiency in front of goal – he only had one chance against the Gunners on Wednesday, but dispatched it with ease after impressively holding off Kiwior.

Far too often, as seen during Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Everton in the Premier League, Arsenal create chances that are wasted. 13 shots were taken against the Toffees, with eight of those missing the target.

In contrast, Mateta, who Darren Bent prefers to Darwin Nunez, is ruthless, ending the 2023/24 campaign with the best conversion rate of any player in the Premier League – finishing off a whopping 63% of his chances, scoring 16 goals in 35 Premier League outings.

That tally would have seen the Crystal Palace No.14 finish as Arsenal’s top scorer alongside Saka – on a day where the likes of Kai Havertz and Jesus are struggling to find joy, a wildcard option like Mateta would provide Arteta with a brand new attacking dimension.

Crystal Palace might be forced to cash in on Mateta

Some Arsenal fans will probably be questioning this suggestion, wondering why Crystal Palace would willingly sell the 27-year-old.

However, Mateta wants UEFA Champions League football, and is currently at loggerheads with Crystal Palace over a new contract with his current terms expiring in 18 months.

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

It leaves Steve Parish with a decision to make should contract talks fail to progress – sell the Frenchman while his stock is high, or keep him until his value drops significantly.

If Arsenal come calling with a genuine bid and the promise of European football, we doubt it will help Crystal Palace get these contract discussions back on track with their striker.