Alexandre Lacazette grabbed a valuable equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game against Palace on Monday, and it was just reward for the Frenchman's all-action appearance from the bench.
Introduced to the action midway through the second half, his first contribution was to set up a chance for Emile Smith Rowe and moments later he brought a fine diving save from Vicente Guaita.
And just when it looked as though we were about to suffer our first defeat since August, he was in the right place at the right time to score from close-range, and salvage a point.
This is what he said after the game…
on making an immediate impact…
Yes, I wanted to bring a bit of energy to the team. We know when the fans in the stadium are alive and with us, it makes it hard for the opponent. Maybe because of the way we were playing at that moment, they were a bit sleepy, so I wanted to just bring some energy that I know they like, and to change the game.
on being frustrated on the bench…
Yes of course, it's never easy to be on the bench, you always want to play and bring something to the team. This is what I tried to do.
on carrying on to the last whistle…
Yes we spoke about never giving up and always playing football to the last minute. When we were winning we could have done more maybe, but I don't know why that happened, but we managed to come back at the end.
on being patient this season…
It's my first time like this. I am just waiting my time, I work every day in training for this kind of moment when I can help the team and obviously today I scored so I'm really happy.
on extending the unbeaten run…
It's always better not to lose. Of course we wanted the three points today but sometimes when you can't win, make sure you don't lose.
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