Fans slam ‘clear offside’ after Gabriel Jesus controversially put Arsenal forward towards Crystal Palace within the Carabao Cup – with VAR not used till the semi-finals

Fans have slammed the decision to allow Gabriel Jesus‘ second goal for Arsenal against Crystal Palace, with the Brazilian appearing to be narrowly offside.

Jesus had entered the match bidding to end a long-standing goal drought for the Gunners.

The Brazilian ended his barren run in stunning fashion, scoring a second half hat-trick to help Mikel Arteta‘s side reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Jesus scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium since December 17 last year to cancel out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early strike for the visitors.

His second goal proved controversial with the forward appearing to be in an offside position when he was played through by Bukayo Saka in the 73rd minute.

Jesus slotted past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson to put the Gunners ahead for the first time, but fans insisted on social media that his effort should have been chalked off. 

Arsenal scored a controversial second goal with Gabriel Jesus appearing to have been offside

Jesus scored a second half hat-trick as Arsenal earned a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace

The Brazilian ended his goal drought in style by claiming the match ball on Wednesday night

The alleged offence was not picked up by the linesman and the goal was allowed to stand with VAR not in operation until the semi-final stage of the competition.

 ‘The linesman had a CLEAR view but STILL couldn’t see that Gabriel Jesus was OFFSIDE!,’ one fan complained on social media.

‘Anyone with eyes can see Gabriel Jesus is clearly offside before he scored. Arsenal can consider themselves extremely lucky here,’ another claimed.

‘It’s almost like these officials forgot how to do their jobs without VAR.’

‘Hahahahah Jesus is miles offside but of course there’s no VAR so Arsenal will go through. Absolutely disgraceful refereeing,’ a third said.

Jesus would go on to claim the match ball by adding a third for Arsenal in the 81st minute.

The Gunners were forced to endure a nervy conclusion to the match after their former striker Eddie Nketiah pulled a goal back five minutes from time.

Arsenal would ultimately seal a 3-2 victory to book a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Arteta’s side will discover their last four opponents on Thursday, with the draw taking place after Tottenham’s quarter-final against Manchester United. 

Three quarter-final ties were decided on Wednesday, with Newcastle and Liverpool joining Arsenal in the last four.

Newcastle earned a 3-1 win over Brentford, while Liverpool earned a 2-1 victory against Southampton.