Antonio
Conte says Alvaro Morata is "not lucky in this period" after the Chelsea
striker missed a hat-trick of chances in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
Morata spurned a great chance to open the scoring in the first half, but
sent his effort wide when one-on-one with Petr Cech.
The Spaniard then blazed over at 1-1 before missing a brilliant opportunity
to steal it at the death, just moments after Hector Bellerin scored a
dramatic injury-time equaliser.
On this final occasion, Morata could only fire straight at Cech - with
Davide Zappacosta smashing the rebound against the bar - and Conte admitted
it was a "pity" the forward could not fire Chelsea to all three points.
"He's not lucky in this period," Conte told Sky Sports after the match. "He
has to continue to work and improve.
"In this case, it's a pity because he had many chances to score. But at the
same time, I am very happy for his effort and commitment.
"It's a pity because when you have so many chances to score, you must win
the game. But instead we are talking about a draw.
"It's a good draw against a good team, but in this game, we deserved to
win."
It was Arsenal who opened the scoring in an enthralling tie at the Emirates,
with Jack Wilshere rifling past Thibaut Courtois, who had earlier
brilliantly kept out Alexis Sanchez's strike with the help of both posts.
Chelsea were level four minutes later after Eden Hazard converted from the
spot - a decision which Arsenal boss labelled "farcical" - while the Blues
were ahead when Marcos Alonso slotted home from Zappacosta's cross in the
84th minute.
However, Chelsea could not hold on, and Bellerin's well-taken effort secured
a point for Arsenal, but only after Morata made a hash of his final attempt
and Zappacosta hit the woodwork with the follow-up.
"I think we must be disappointed; me and my players," Conte added. "Today we
had a good chance to win. This is football, and we must accept the final
result.
"When you see you are missing a great chance to win the game, for sure there
is a bit of disappointment, but it's only the same disappointment as the
players.
"We work together, we win together, we draw together, we lose together. I
repeat, it's a pity because we deserved to win the game."
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