Alexandre Lacazette says Arsenal “did not respect the game plan” drawn up by Mikel Arteta during the opening 35 minutes of Sunday’s 3-3 draw against West Ham.
The Gunners produced a dreadful opening spell to find themselves 3-0 down to the Hammers as Jesse Lingard and Jarrod Bowen scored within two minutes of each other before Tomas Soucek added a third after the half-hour mark.
Arsenal rallied, Lacazette’s strike deflecting in off Soucek to pull one back before the break, and Arteta’s men were much the better side in the second half as Craig Dawson’s own-goal made it 3-2 before Lacazette himself rescued a point.
“My feeling is mixed between [being] proud of my team because we came back in the second half and disappointed because in the first half in the first 35 minutes we didn’t respect the game plan from the coach and gave them three goals,” Lacazette told Sky Sports. “This is not what we wanted but we have to think about it for two weeks.
“I don’t know [why]. Perhaps we felt the pressure because we knew it was a big game. This is where we have to improve. We have to work a lot on this to be ready for the end of the season.”
