Andy Carroll made an excellent return to the West Ham line-up on Saturday lunchtime as he scored three goals while sporting Nike Tiempo Legend VI football boots.
It could have been a very different afternoon for him though, as a rash challenge on Laurent Koscielny in the third minute prompted him to see yellow; where further retribution may have been justified.
Following that, Carroll was again involved in controversy. He headed through to Lanzini, who finished coolly from close range, only for it to dubiously be ruled out for offside.
Mesut Ozil then opened the scoring after Alex Iwobi poked the ball through to the German. Ozil showed composure to slot home. Sanchez doubled the visitor’s lead after 35 minutes when he found himself one-on-one, and again comfortably finished.
Carroll’s first came in the 44th minute, when a cross from the wing was met powerfully by Carroll. From ten yards out, the Englishman headed home passed a helpless David Ospina in the Arsenal goal.
Just one minute later and the big man doubled his goal tally in spectacular fashion. After the ball fell fortuitously to him in the area, his initial shot was blocked at close range. However, he acrobatically volleyed a second effort that flew into the net.
Shortly after the break, Carroll could have again found himself dismissed by the referee when he was adjudged to have elbowed Gabriel Paulista. The striker was spared a red card, despite the foul being awarded.
In-form Dimitri Payet then had a goal harshly disallowed when (you guessed it!) Andy Carroll was prosecuted for a push of Koscielny. The ball was not dealt with by Opsina and came to Payet, who finished into an empty net, but the official had already blown his whistle.
Frustration turned to sheer delight, though, five minutes later as Carroll finally secured his hat-trick. Antonio’s cross wasn’t dealt with by a shaky Arsenal defence and there was the Geordie to bundle in at the back post and unleash an unstoppable header into the net.
After seemingly failing to get any points from a promising 2-0 position, Arsenal did manage to salvage a point when Koscielny fired home after 70 minutes. It came as a result of a cross from the right wing in which Danny Welbeck could only flick on. However, it luckily fell to the centre-back five yards out who instinctively placed it into the roof of the net.
But the controversy was incredibly not over there. Two minutes after the equaliser, Paulista was guilty of dwelling on the ball. The hat-trick hero looked to have nicked it off him and been clean through on goal, only for the referee to bring it back for a foul on the Brazilian.
The game ended 3-3, with Andy Carroll deservedly receiving man of the match.
He was wearing orange, white and green Nike Tiempo Legends. So why not be like the man himself and get yourself a pair as well. They will cost you around £90. Not sure whether you should invest? Why not read our review on the boots?
