Derby win leaves Gunners well up four it, says Luiz
DAVID LUIZ believes Arsenal can still gatecrash the Premier League top four after victory over north London rivals Tottenham.
The Gunners saw off ten-man Spurs on Sunday as Alexandre Lacazette’s second-half penalty secured a 2-1 comeback win.
Erik Lamela had come off the bench to open the scoring for Tottenham with a wonderful Rabona finish, but was later sent off.
Martin Odegaard’s deflected strike drew Arsenal level as halftime beckoned before Lacazette won it from the spot.
The victory moved the Gunners four points behind their neighbours but still ten points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, albeit with a game in hand.
‘We have to try and continue in this way, try to improve,’ Luiz said when asked what the win does for Arsenal’s top-four hopes.
‘We are far (off), but we have a great team and we can continue in this way and try to win points every week.’
The hosts were the better side for much of the contest but almost let Tottenham back in as Jose Mourinho’s ten men rallied once Lamela had been dismissed.
Harry Kane saw a header ruled out for offside before the England captain hit the post with a low free-kick, and Luiz admitted Arsenal were playing with their hearts rather than their heads in the closing stages.
‘It is always a big game, a big derby with big history and everybody knows about this game,’ he added. ‘I think we did so, so well in the game – apart from the last ten minutes where we played with a lot of emotion and didn’t use our brains to control the game and use (the extra) player.
‘But that is part of these kinds of games and I am so happy because the team has an identity, we try to control the possession and score all the time but I think we just have to be more efficient up front.
‘It is never easy to play against them but I am so happy with the performance of the team, because we really understood the game before it started, how we had to beat them and I think we did that on the pitch.’