Harry Kane did not try and con the referee during the north London derby, the Tottenham striker insists.
The captain had already scored from the spot to put his side 2-0 up against Arsenal in a 2-2 draw and went down in the box under a challenge from Sokratis Papastathopoulos in injury time at the Emirates Stadium, but referee Martin Atkinson gave nothing.
“I think it was that stage of the game where [Sokratis] makes a tired tackle,” Kane told Sky Sports afterwards.
“I think if I am on the halfway line I get it, if I’m in the box it’s 50-50. The ref probably thinks I am looking for it but all I’m trying to do is shield the ball.
“But it is what it is. It’s one of them. It could be given in some games but it wasn’t today. You get on and move on.”
Christian Eriksen scored early for Tottenham, but the hosts fought back to claim a point through Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Breakfast Show, former Premier League manager Ian Holloway thinks Kane did fall over too easily.
“That shove was not strong enough to put him over,” he told Laura Woods.
“He does it time and time again when Tottenham are under the cosh. He was falling too quickly, too early.”
In scoring his goal, Kane joined Emmanuel Adebayor and Bobby Smith as the derby’s top scoring player with 10 goals in all competitions.
We all know how much it means and it’s always nice to get on the scoresheet, it just would have felt a lot sweeter if we’d have won,” Kane told tottenhamhotspur.com.
Eriksen, meanwhile, looks to be staying put for the time being and manager Mauricio Pochettino joked he will pop the champagne when the European transfer window closes and no club can pinch his playmaker.
“Finish the transfer window after tomorrow, I think Tuesday we are going to make a big party and celebrate,” he told talkSPORT.
“Because I think it was my worst period after five years in Tottenham.”
