Football: Nottingham Forest's FA Cup hero Eric Lichaj has paws for thought after heroics against Arsenal

Nottingham Forest defender Eric Lichaj celebrating after scoring against Arsenal during their FA Cup match on Jan 7, 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON (AFP) - Nottingham Forest defender Eric Lichaj has been rewarded for his goal-scoring exploits in the FA Cup win over Arsenal with a pet dog.

The 29-year-old American scored twice as the second-tier Championship side won 4-2 at the City Ground on Sunday to eliminate the holders in the third round, and said after the game that his wife had promised him a dog if he scored a hat-trick this season.

She was then hounded on social media to get the dog despite Lichaj falling one goal short, and has allowed her husband to have a French bulldog.

The animal has, appropriately, been christened "Gunner".

"Wanted to show everyone the newest member of the Lichaj family... Gunner. Thank you everyone for pushing @KatPerko in the right direction! #erichasadog," tweeted Lichaj on Wednesday.

He tweeted on Monday, asking "anyone who is bored" to send "dog pics, memes, gifs" to @KatPerko - his wife's Twitter handle - and plenty of users joined in using the hashtag #GetEricADog.

Team-mates also got involved, with Kieran Dowell, who scored the penalty for Forest's fourth when Lichaj was keen to take it, posting a GIF of a beagle flying on a magic carpet.

Various other team-mates waded in, with Ben Brereton, Zach Clough and Matty Cash among those to post dog-related videos on Monday.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.