Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal has acknowledged that their difficult weekend fixture against Tottenham Hotspur took its toll on Arsene Wenger’s men as they struggled to impose themselves on Leicester City last night.
The Gunners went into the break two goals ahead courtesy of strikes from Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott. Andrej Kramaric pulled one back for Leicester City with 30 minutes still to play to bring the visitors back in the game. But Arsenal hung on to come away with a 2-1 win.
On Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur won the north London derby bragging rights with a 2-1 win in an energy-sapping contest. Monreal admitted that the derby defeat took its toll on Arsenal’s players as they struggled to defeat the Premier League’s bottom dwellers Leicester City at home.
“It was a difficult game for us”, he told Arsenal Player.
“I think we were not feeling 100 per cent, because we played a very hard game against Tottenham three days ago.
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“I think the team felt it. The most important thing is that we won and three points are here at home.”
The Spaniard admitted that they took their foot off the gas after going two goals ahead in the first half and it almost cost them a crucial win. But in the end they managed to get the three points which propelled them to fourth in the league table.
“I think we didn’t play [our best] game. In the first half we scored two goals and were 2-0 up at half-time.
“Maybe we thought that in the second half it was going to be a [bit] easier but they scored a goal and it was difficult.”
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