Arsenal head coach Unai Emery was in no mood to blame Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette for their wastefulness in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Lacazette had already missed one golden chance before he set up Aaron Ramsey for the opener at Wembley, and the Frenchman skewed horribly wide from another gilt-edged opportunity early in the second period. He was soon withdrawn for Aubameyang who, after Harry Kane had equalised for Spurs from the spot, saw a weak stoppage-time penalty saved by Hugo Lloris.
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"I spoke with him [Aubameyang]. He had 35 minutes to help us for the victory," Emery told a media conference. "He did this action and got the penalty. After, you can score or not. It's not a mistake, it's one action.
"The same with Laca. He had good chances, but no problem. Today we create some good chances but today it's not enough."
'It's very difficult for referees'
Emery refused to criticise the match officials after Harry Kane's controversial penalty. Replays showed Kane had been offside before Mustafi's transgression, but Emery was not pointing any accusatory fingers at referee Anthony Taylor and his team.
with VAR set to be introduced in the Premier League from 2019-20, Emery acknowledges the officials' jobs should become easier.
"For us it is not a good result because we can win. But I think it can make us stronger in our mentality for the next matches," he told BT Sport .
"One month ago I said to everybody my opinion. VAR is coming for the referees. It is very difficult for the referees. You can analyse with the TV and it is very easy. VAR is for them and, with it, maybe the match is different. For me the referee had a big personality for two teams. I like this man here to be the referee."
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Emery was also full of praise for Sokratis Papastathopoulos after another assured defensive display from the Greece international.
"His progress is very important," Emery added. "Today he played well, but the last matches he has come with confidence in himself to use his skills and capacity to help us. He also has experience to continue his process with us."
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