Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic had no doubts over his penalty-taking ability after hitting two against Arsenal

  • Luka Milivojevic stepped up to convert two penalties and seal draw with Arsenal
  • The Crystal Palace captain missed a crucial spot-kick against Everton last week
  • Milivojevic says the missed penalty did not knock his confidence from the spot 

Luka Milivojevic insists his confidence from the spot never waned as he scored two penalties to earn Crystal Palace a deserved draw against Arsenal on Sunday.

The Gunners looked on course to extend their winning run to 12 matches until the Eagles captain netted a late spot-kick to seal a 2-2 draw.

Milivojevic, who missed from 12 yards in defeat at Everton the previous week, had put Palace in front in first-half stoppage-time after Shkodran Mustafi fouled Cheikhou Kouyate.

Luka Milivojevic celebrates with a knee-slide as Crystal Palace take the lead over Arsenal

Luka Milivojevic celebrates with a knee-slide as Crystal Palace take the lead over Arsenal

Granit Xhaka's superb free-kick and a controversial strike from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw the Gunners turn things around after the interval, only for Xhaka to upend Wilfried Zaha with seven minutes left.


Milivojevic stepped up to beat Bernd Leno for a second time - his goals the first scored at home by Palace in the Premier League this season.

Despite missing at Everton when the game was goalless and seeing the Toffees go on to secure a 2-0 win, the Serbia international never intended on shirking the responsibility from the spot.

'I'm very happy after this game,' he told Palace TV.

Milivojevic scored the first goal from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time

Milivojevic scored the first goal from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time

Bernd Leno of Arsenal failed to stop a penalty from Milivojevic just before half-time

Bernd Leno of Arsenal failed to stop a penalty from Milivojevic just before half-time

Season at a glance

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'It is not easy when you miss and straight away in the next game you have penalties but as I said, I had confidence to take them and that I was sure I was going to score.

'I just decided where I wanted to go, where I want to shoot. I put pace into it and thank God I scored. Before the game I decided where I wanted to go.

'The second one was very hard to take, it was in the 83rd minute and we were very tired because we pushed a lot.

'I think I shot very accurately with the second one as well and I think from this game we deserved at least a point.

'When you feel a lot of pressure on your back and then you score, your pressure goes down.

'From the beginning of the season we played many good games and in the end dropped the points and lost the game.'

Unai Emery's Arsenal had appeared to turn the game in their favour, equalising through Xhaka's effort and going in front as Aubameyang turned home after Alexandre Lacazette had handled the ball.

The Gunners had won their previous 11 matches heading to Selhurst Park but have been starting games slowly in recent weeks.

He fired in his second penalty of the afternoon to bring Crystal Palace back on level terms

He fired in his second penalty of the afternoon to bring Crystal Palace back on level terms

That pattern continued in south London and defender Rob Holding conceded after the game that Arsenal need to be at it from the start from now on.

'We've come out in the second half in our past few matches and really turned on the style and scored some goals,' he said.

'We just need to start a bit faster and play how we do in the second half. That's something to work on for the next game.

'It's the end of the winning run and we're disappointed with that, but as long as we don't lose, it's one of them.

'It was an entertaining game for the fans I suppose, but we're disappointed not to keep that winning streak going.'

Milivojevic celebrates his second goal of the afternoon with the Crystal Palace fans

Milivojevic celebrates his second goal of the afternoon with the Crystal Palace fans