Sunday 10 April 2016 08:05, UK
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic described their 3-3 draw with Arsenal as "a blow" after conceding a late equaliser, claiming his side deserve to be third in the Premier League.
A dramatic encounter at Upton Park on Saturday saw Manuel Lanzini have an early goal controversially disallowed, before Arsenal took a 2-0 lead.
An Andy Carroll hat-trick then saw West Ham turn the game on its head, but Laurent Koscielny restored parity for Arsenal with 20 minutes to go.
"It's a blow," admitted Bilic. "I am so proud of my team to come back like that before half-time and then to be better than them in the second half.
"I'm proud of everything. We were spectacular. The only thing I'm not happy about is the result.
"To be two down against a team that has so much pace, it can be three in no time. Then in the second half to be better than them, and at 3-2 we had chances to be 4-2. I'm proud of everything."
This was the third game in a row that West Ham had dropped points late on in controversial circumstances, and Bilic believes his side should be higher up the league than they currently are.
"We deserve to be third in the league, [and we're] not even fourth," he said.
Bilic also reserved praise for Carroll, who was making his first start since January.
"Now Andy is fit and we hope he will stay fit," said Bilic. "There aren't many players capable of doing what he is doing."
