Hugo boss! POCH’S LLORIS PRAISE
MAURICIO POCHETTINO was delighted with keeper Hugo Lloris after his penalty save earned Tottenham a point in a feisty North London derby.
The stopper palmed away an injury-time penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – after he was felled by Davinson Sanchez – to erase the memory of his howler at Chelsea earlier in the week. It meant Spurs crucially kept ahead of their rivals in the fight for a top-four place.
And although a point maybe wasn’t the present Poch would have been wishing for on his 47th birthday, he was happy with the result all the same. He said: “Hugo’s save was massive. I am so happy because we did not deserve to lose the game.
“I am happy after two defeats and we can take a positive attitude now to Germany when we face Dortmund.
“Our first goal was a problem and there were some interesting decisions.
“If you ask me about Kane’s offside then you have to ask about Xhaka’s tackle on Kane earlier.
“In football there are always different circumstances. Sometimes you don’t get the result you deserve, other times you do.” Spurs’ Harry Kane – who netted the hosts’ equaliser after Aaron Ramsey gave the Gunners the lead – said: “It’s a massive save from Hugo.
“It could be a vital point for us. We’ve had a tough week, two disappointing results with Burnley and Chelsea, and it was up to us to bounce back, show some passion and we did that.
“We fought hard, but did not get the result we wanted. Now we focus on getting the job done on Tuesday.”
Arsenal manager Unai Emery said: “VAR is coming but it would have been nice if it were here today.
“The referee only has one pair of eyes. I am proud of my team. We played with big hearts.”