Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez combined to put the Gunners in a comfortable lead 35 minutes in, but they had no answer for what was about to follow. Instead the West Ham striker went on to score an eight-minute hat-trick either side of half-time, to strike a near fatal blow to Arsenal’s title challenge.
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The stunning turnaround was complete just minutes in to the second half as Carroll scored his third of the game with another powerful far post header to make it 3-2 in the 52nd minute.
“We know that Carroll can beat anyone in the air but we jumped and made it a bit not uncomfortable for him”.
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic says Andy Carroll must improve his consistency in order to ensure his career doesn’t go to “waste”.
West Ham United’s English striker Andy Carroll walks from the pitch after the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion at The Boleyn Ground in Upton Park, East London on November 29, 2015. “And since the beginning of the season in some important games that has happened to us”, Wenger told BT Sport.
“[Ospina] has had some outstanding performances”, Wenger said.
“If you look at our defensive record we are third best in the league”, he said. We are disappointed to concede three goals.
Premier League leaders Leicester City have moved even closer to the title by winning 2-0 at relegation-threatened Sunderland.
Wright reckons Arsenal are crying out for a new centre-back to shore up a defence that has conceded 33 goals in 32 games. “We had great deliveries today, more than three times, and it’s flawless for him”.
Had Wenger anticipated Carroll might play, perhaps he would have brought Petr Cech into the side instead of David Ospina.
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The Gunners tore into a 2-0 lead in the back, but the home side struck back through Andy Carroll, who struck a magnificent hat-trick to reignite the Hammers’ Champions League hopes. This is one of the places where you could drop points but you see the game and feel guilty you have dropped points. Then in the second half we were better.
