“Not saying they were lucky”: van Nistelrooy reacts to Arsenal defeat | OneFootball

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy claims his side were right in the mix for a result against Arsenal on Saturday, but credits the Gunners for their victory.

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Arsenal won late against Leicester City in the early Saturday kick-off, with Mikel Merino coming off the bench to score a brace and earn his team all three points.

The goals were very welcome, with Arsenal struggling to create clear-cut chances in the absence of injured strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Both centre-forwards are set to be out for the season, and replacement striker Leandro Trossard didn’t have a significant impact until he moved out wide later in the game. Fortunately, Merino was on hand to save the day on this occasion.

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Arsenal fans will probably have few complaints about Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy telling the media afterwards that he felt his team were close to getting a result.

But the manager admitted it wasn’t luck that got Mikel Arteta’s side the win, as they had the better of the game.

“I’m not saying they were lucky,” van Nistelrooy insisted. “We have to give credit to Arsenal as well, but I think the way for 80, 81 minutes we were in the game and defended and on the ball did what we could as well.

“We were in there for a draw. And if you can get a goal yourself at 0-0, which was there… Arsenal had more chances, that was clear, and more possession as well. But I think we were right in there for a result.”

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Van Nistelrooy’s mention of the Leicester chance to take the lead was a reference to the Jordan Ayew cross a few minutes before Merino’s first goal.

Ayew put in an excellent pass to the back post, and it was only the toe of Myles Lewis-Skelly that poked the ball away from Bobby De Cordova-Reid and a tap-in.

The cross and attempted finish wasn’t too dissimilar to the second goal Merino scored on the day, so Arsenal can be very grateful they had someone to cut the chance out.