By Kehinde Okeowo
Crystal Palace coach, Patrick Viera has said his players were unlucky not to beat Arsenal at the Emirate yesterday.
The Gunners needed a last-minute goal from Alexandre Lacazette, who came off the bench to force a draw against Crystal Palace.
After dominating the first 15 mins, and scoring as early as the 8th minute, through their captain Piere-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal lost their way and conceded two goals from two individual errors.
Crystal Palace outplayed the home side on their patch for most of the game and their gaffer, Patrick Viera, an Arsenal legend, received standing ovations before and after the game.
Patrick Viera, after the match, told BBC the result was harsh on them, and that their performance deserved a win.
He also praised the lads for the personality and character they showed on the pitch.
“It was really tough, I was really disappointed to concede at the end because the players worked really hard and they deserved those three points. I feel sorry for them today.
“I liked the personality and character we showed. In the second half, we had the desire to compete and won the ball quite high.
“This is the part of the game we wanted to improve, being aggressive. lt’s part of the DNA of Crystal Palace,” he said
Arsenal’s correspondent at goal.com, Charles Watts, agreed with Viera that Crystal Palace were unlucky not to win.
He also praised Lacazette, who came on to bring more urgency to Arsenal’s game saying:
“Lacazette had only been on the pitch 23 minutes and was already Arsenal’s man of the match before that goal (thought Auba also played well).
Horrible performance. Palace so unlucky not to win.” he said.
Arteta on the other hand, felt Mike Dean should have issued a red card to Crystal Palace midfielder, James McArthur, for his malicious tackle on Bukayo Saka.
“It’s a clear red card, He had no intention of playing the ball. I don’t know how, with VAR, he hasn’t been sent off.” Arteta said
Crystal Palace were without their star man, Wilfred Zaha, but gave their traveling fans a lot to cheer for and were unlucky not to win.
