Wilfried Zaha saw the funny side of Matteo Guendouzi’s cynical rugby tackle on him in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
The Palace winger took to Twitter following the match, in which he was dragged to the ground as he attempted to catch the Gunners on the break.
Alongside a picture of the foul on him, which earned Guendouzi a yellow card, Zaha tweeted: “NFL’s at Wembley…” alongside a shrugging emoji.
Guendouzi was asked about his rugby tackle after the game, and explained he had little choice but to bring down the Ivory Coast international.
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“I had to foul Zaha at the end,” explained the Frenchman. “Otherwise he is through on goal on his own. I’m the last defender but I’m far from our goal as well. I had to do it.”
Arsenal lead Palace by two goals to nil after a storming start at the Emirates.
Sokratis and David Luiz were both on the scoresheet in under 10 minutes, with Arsenal going into the break ahead.
But Roy Hodgson’s Palace battled back in the second half with Luka Milivojevic netting from the penalty spot.
Jordan Ayew equalised on 52 minutes to secure a point for the south London club, with some help from VAR, which ruled out what would have been a later Sokratis winner.
“We really wanted to win the game so we attacked a lot towards the end to get the third goal,” added Guendouzi.
“We allowed spaces [for Palace on the break] but it’s because we really wanted to win.
(Image: Getty Images)
“It’s not a mental issue. We didn’t manage to hold our advantage. We knew they were a good team, with individual quality, and they played well for their goals.
“Zaha did well to get a penalty. It’s down to us to work so we win these kinds of matches after taking the lead.”
