Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were full of praise for Gabriel Jesus after his second-half hat-trick secured a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace and booked Arsenal's place in the semi-finals of the League Cup.

The Brazilian, part of a much-changed side that took on the Eagles, scored his first goals at the Emirates Stadium in 2024 after a difficult 12 months in north London.

Jesus, who arrived from Manchester City in 2022, has started just two Premier League games this season, finding opportunities hard to come by for the Gunners.

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But following his impressive showing on Wednesday night, Jesus was the subject of praise from his team-mates.

On Instagram, Rice, who was not part of the match-day squad, uploaded an image of Jesus celebrating one of his three goals, writing: "You deserve this, brother! So happy for you.

Saka, on the other hand, replied to the 27-year-old's Instagram picture with a flame emoji, emphasising the prolificacy of the forward's performance.

Speaking after his side booked their place in the semi-finals, Mikel Arteta said he was hopeful it would be a night that provided Jesus with a "spark" and changed the course of his season.

"It's now about consistency," said the Spaniard. "It's a moment of spark that will bring so much to the team, that we can rely on him to change games. We need to give him more chances."

Meanwhile, Jesus added: "I wear the number nine for Arsenal so I have to be scoring goals. Kai [Havertz] as well, we are the strikers of the team and have a pressure to score.

"If you want to challenge for a place we have to keep scoring. It is not easy, if it was then there would be many strikers in the world, but we keep trying.

"I came here to win the Premier League and my first two seasons we were there but for some details. This third season I want to win."