The Frenchman believes the Gunners were fortunate when the referee offered him the opportunity to take the derby on the spot.
Alexandre Lacazette acknowledged that winning Arsenal’s deciding penalty against Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium was “lucky.”
In Sunday’s derby, Arsenal defeated their arch-rivals 2-1 thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette, with Eric Lamela scoring a consolation goal for the visitors.
Lacazette’s winner, however, was not without controversy, as the Frenchman had already fluffed his lines while in on target when Davinson Sanchez was penalised for a late tackle.
WHAT’S BEEN SAID?
“I think we were fortunate to get the penalty, so I’m pleased,”
Lacazette told reporters after the game.
“I took a lot of penalties against him [Hugo Lloris] back in the day, but I was sure.”
ARSENAL PAINT NORTH LONDON RED
Tottenham had won five games in a row in all competitions previous to their meeting with Arsenal, with all-star attacking trio Harry Kane, Gareth Bale, and Son Heung-min shooting on all cylinders.
Arsenal, on the other hand, took the game to Spurs from the start, and Jose Mourinho’s side were dealt a big blow when Son was forced to leave the game early due to a hamstring injury.
It looked like it would only be a matter of time before the hosts scored, but Tottenham struck first in the 33rd minute when Eric Lamela scored with an impressive rabona end.
The momentum did not shift in the visitors’ favour, however, as Arsenal’s deflected equaliser came from Real Madrid loanee Odegaard just before the break.
In the second half, Arsenal started to win, and Lacazette was awarded a penalty just after the hour mark, with Sanchez receiving a yellow card for slipping in on the striker after he miscued his original attempt when one-on-one with Lloris.
Spurs eventually started to press ahead after Lamela was sent off for abusive behaviour, but Arsenal rode a late storm that saw a Harry Kane free-kick cannon off the post to secure all three points.
“It’s a frustrating situation. This is our issue “Lacazette described the tense conclusion to the proceedings.”
We fail to play the game at the end when we are winning. We must change, so we will succeed. It is critical to succeed in this style of game.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Both teams will now focus on the second leg of their respective Europa League round of 16 games, which will take place on Thursday night. When Arsenal hosts Olympiacos at Emirates Stadium, they will be defending a 3-1 lead, while Tottenham will go to Dinamo Zagreb with a 2-0 lead.
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