English-born Ghanaian forward Eddie Nketiah has expressed his disappointment following Crystal Palace elimination from the EFL Cup.
Nketiah scored against his former outfit as Crystal Palace succumbed to a 3-2 defeat in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.
Despite his efforts, Crystal Palace fell short as Arsenal advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.
“Obviously it’s disappointing – we’d have like to have progressed,” Nketiah told Palace TV. “I think the boys gave everything today against a tough opponent.
“But, you know, we’ve got them again in three days, so we’ve got an opportunity to bounce back and hopefully get a result at Selhurst.
“It was a close game. It was fine margins at the end of the day. Obviously, it just went their way. But we’re going to keep pushing, keep fighting, and we have a lovely opportunity to go back to our home place and get three points.”
Crystal Palace took an early lead at the Emirate Stadium when Jean-Philippe Mateta capitalised on a defensive error to score.
Arsenal responded strongly, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus combining to produce a series of goals that swung the momentum in favour of the Gunners.
Gabriel Jesus played a pivotal role, scoring a hat-trick to put Arsenal in control of the game.
Eddie Nketiah, who started the match from the bench, came on in the second half and immediately made an impact. In the 85th minute, he connected with a well-placed lofted pass from Nathaniel Clyne, guiding a close-range header past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
His effort reduced the deficit to one goal, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the results as Arsenal secured a place in the semifinals at the expense of Palace.
Nketiah has now scored two goals and provided two assists since joining Crystal Palace from Arsenal in the summer.
