Eric Lichaj gets his dog and names him Gunner after FA Cup heroics

Nottingham Forest defender Eric Lichaj has got his dog after a social media campaign convinced his wife to give in.

And the American has named his new pet Gunner after he scored twice to help Forest to a 4-2 win and knock holders Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the City Ground on Sunday.

He told BT Sport after the third-round tie his wife Kathryn had promised him a dog if he scored a hat-trick this season.

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 against Arsenal when Lichaj was keen to take it, posting a GIF of a beagle flying on a magic carpet.

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

And on Tuesday, Lichaj took to Twitter to reveal the campaign had been a success and thanked those involved.