Sunday 2 October 2016 20:16, UK
Laurent Koscielny said he "did not know" if he had touched the ball with his hand as his controversial late goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.
The Frenchman got on the end of Theo Walcott's flick on at Turf Moor in the third minute of stoppage time, touching the ball with his right boot before it hit his arm and went over the line.
Burnley felt aggrieved, with the initial effort seemingly heading over the bar, but Koscielny says he respected the decision of referee Craig Pawson.
He told Sky Sports: "I don't know. I tried to smash the ball with my right foot and after I couldn't see where the ball was going.
"I don't know if I touched the ball with my hand but the ref gave us the goal and we need to respect the decision.
"It was a hard game. We pushed on the pitch to win this game, and it arrived at the end."
Substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who also stretched for the ball with Koscielny, said the manner of the goal was irrelevant, and that the three points could be Arsenal's biggest come May.
"I think it has hit both of us at some point, but it doesn't really matter, we've managed to squeeze it in at the end and that's one of the biggest wins we'll have this season.
"The longer that games goes on, and they kept it 0-0, the tougher it got. We always try, no matter what, to try the same way. At the end we went a little bit more direct, and it paid off with the cross at the end.
"Credit to them, they played excellently and defended well."
