Arsene Wenger Talks Andy Carroll and More After Arsenal's 3-3 Draw with West Ham

Arsene Wenger was left incensed on Saturday after West Ham United's hat-trick hero, Andy Carroll, rescued a point for the Upton Park hosts despite the fact the Arsenal manager thought he should have seen red.

Carroll was involved in a couple of contentious challenges that might have warranted two yellow cards. When asked in his post-match comments whether he thought the striker should have been sent off, Wenger's message was clear, according to ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery:

Arsenal surged into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but Carroll powered three goals in an eight-minute span either side of the half-time whistle to force an initial 3-2 lead for the hosts.

The injury-ravaged striker will undoubtedly remember this as one of the performances of his career to date, but Wenger will remember it in a wholly different light, per Arsenal's official website:

"

First of all because he is good in the air. We lost a bit of urgency when we were 2-0 up after 43 minutes. We had a good game today but a bad result. We played with a weakness that is redundant in the season. If you look at the goals we have conceded since the start of the season, [most of them] are headers in our box. That happened today.

"

Wenger then went on to touch on the influence—or lack thereof—that he felt referee Craig Pawson had. When quizzed about Carroll's aerial threat, he said: "Yes. But that does not mean we have to concede headers if he stays on the pitch. We have to look at ourselves and we cannot influence the decision of the referee."

The result means the Gunners are now 10 points adrift of Premier League leaders Leicester City, having both played 32 games, effectively leaving any slim hopes of any late title surge in the gutter.

Wenger appeared downtrodden following this latest disappointment and pushed the notion he needed time to digest the six-goal result:

"

It is difficult to go into any assessment of performances. I have to look at it again. I don’t think Koscielny was at fault at the goal. The first goal, when you are 2-0 up with 43 minutes played, with the experience we have and the way we mastered the ball, then at 45 minutes it is 2-2, you [put] yourself [in] a decline. This is because you give hope to the other team, that is where that little moment in the game made us pay heavily.

"

Wenger also made the decision to start David Ospina in goal despite the fact regular No. 1 Petr Cech was fit to feature and sat out the result on the north Londoners' bench.

The Colombian appeared partly at fault for Carroll's third goal owing to the fact his feet were positioned behind his own goal-line, but Wenger defended his decision to start Ospina when speaking to BT Sport:

Sitting third in the division and lacking in form coming into the business end of things, Arsenal's chances of the title are fading, if not gone altogether, and Wenger seemed only too aware of that fate.

Asked whether his side still have a chance at the crown, the Frenchman gave a far-from-confident response:

Carroll's undoing of Arsenal was as robust a display as the former Newcastle United hitman has ever produced in West Ham colours, but the fixture could have told a far different tale had he been sent off.

That would suggest Wenger felt the officials hadn't done their job to the fullest at Upton Park—not for the first time in his Premier League career.