Preston North End manager Simon Grayson has said that he has "mixed emotions" after watching his side crash out of the FA Cup at the hands of Arsenal this evening.
The Championship outfit had the better of things in the first half at Deepdale but failed to make the most of a string of chances and only went into half time with a one-goal lead when it should have been more.
That wastefulness came back to haunt the hosts when Aaron Ramsey immediately levelled things up within one minute of the restart before Olivier Giroud struck an 89th-minute winner to break Preston hearts and send the Gunners through.
"We have got mixed emotions tonight. I am very proud of how hard they worked and the quality against a top, top team. We will draw the positives as much as possible and hopefully in the future we will be on the end of a victory, not a defeat," Grayson told BBC Sport.
"We stopped them playing and got on the front foot. We just didn't quite take the opportunities when they came. We have had good chances but you need a second or third goal against a team like Arsenal. We warned the players to start the game quickly in the second half but we let Ramsey have room that we didn't in the first half. It was a kick in the teeth when the goal went in at the end.
"We keep telling the players they are good players and to work hard and have no regrets. The energy and quality levels were fantastic and we will keep working hard. We play Brighton next week - maybe it will be us having a late win, not a defeat."
Preston have now won just one of their last 16 FA Cup matches against top-flight opposition.
