Arsenal get disappointing draw against Crystal Palace
A last-second Alexandre Lacazette equaliser prevented the Gunners from slipping to a defeat in their first game back from the international break.
An early Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goal, after Guaita saved Nicolas Pepe’s initial shot, proved to be the brightest spark of the first half that lacked quality and that Arsenal waned throughout.
This trend continued into the second half, and two mistakes from Thomas Partey and Sambi Lokonga respectively handed the Eagles a 2-1 lead, which they held heading into the final ten minutes.
However, a late strike from Lacazette, after Ben White saw his effort saved, proved enough to rescue a point for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Lokonga speaks out on his and Lacazette’s performance
Speaking to BT sport after the game, Sambi Lokonga was full of praise for Lacazette, revealing the impact that the Frenchman had on the side. The Belgian midfielder said:
“He backed me, he backed the team. I think when we come on we have to bring this mentality that Lacazette did.”
“I think he brought fire when he came on and that’s what we need to try to do every time somebody comes on.”
Speaking on his own performances, Lokonga was keen to take the blame for his mistake, and vowed to improve next time out, saying:
“It is difficult to say that we started the game well because we only had the goal. I think after that we relaxed too much because we had to look for the second goal, we had to put more pressure on them and we didn’t.
“I want to play the next game as quick as possible. When you play a game like this, you are hungry inside because I made a mistake. I want to play the next game as quick as possible to change everything.”
Arsenal fans will be happy to hear that Lokonga is keen to rectify his mistake on the pitch, and will hope to see that in action when they take on Aston Villa on Friday night.