Arsenal slip up as West Ham dig deep

West Ham Utd 2 Arsenal 2:WEST HAM United have cried out for a period in a match like this for what has seemed an age, a spell in which everything, finally, falls in their favour. Booed off at half-time and staring at yet another defeat, Gianfranco Zola's players refused to accept what appeared to be the inevitable.

Dredging up a collective resolve from somewhere, they rallied to send shivers down the spines of their supporters and suggest that, to the giddy relief of everyone connected to the club, a corner had been turned.

What was it about forcing your own luck? Arsenal had been closer to scoring a third goal than West Ham had been to a first but when Carlton Cole halved the deficit, after Vito Mannone could only parry a rasping free-kick from the substitute Alessandro Diamanti, Upton Park sensed its moment.

Scott Parker might have had a penalty following a reckless challenge by William Gallas but West Ham were not to be denied. The irony that their second penalty appeal was less convincing than the first was lost on most of the home fans but the joy when the referee Chris Foy pointed to the spot was not.

Alex Song had unwisely nibbled at Cole’s heels but he cannot have expected the big striker to crumple as he did. Diamanti kept his cool to beat Mannone low to the goalkeeper’s left.

The drama continued to pulse. Parker was sent off for a second bookable offence – the erratic Foy harshly ruling that he had deliberately handled, after sliding back to halt Cesc Fabregas – and, at the very death, Robert Green produced a heart-stopping block with his legs to keep out Robin van Persie’s header from point-blank range.

To Arsenal, who had been in control from the outset, this felt like a defeat. The memories of Van Persie’s opening goal, following a mistake by Green, and Gallas’s second, from a Van Persie corner, appeared distant.

“Green’s save in the last minute was unbelievable,” enthused Zola. “It was like a goal scored for us. That was the goalkeeper of the national team.” The Green of the early going, though, was a long way from England status and there had been no hint of the fightback to come, as West Ham were second best in all areas.

They have laboured under a veil of apprehension for some weeks and their attempts to express themselves were undermined by the concession of a soft goal.

Arsenal felt they ought to have had a ninth-minute penalty for handball against Matthew Upson, after Van Persie had burst into the area – Upson did challenge with his arm outstretched – but any sense of injustice did not linger long.

Bacary Sagna exchanged passes with Abou Diaby and, having fashioned the crucial yard, whipped across his centre. Green came to collect, even though James Tomkins appeared better placed to clear and the goalkeeper succeeded only in pawing the ball to Van Persie.

The striker reacted instinctively to steer home on the volley for his sixth goal in eight games.

The home crowd teemed with frustration at half-time, having seen their team fall apart under another high ball to concede the second goal. Gallas sidestepped Herita Ilunga inside the area to rise and head home Van Persie’s corner.

Parker’s effort to clear from the line was in vain. Arsenal’s centre-halves have now contributed nine goals in all competitions; Gallas has four and Thomas Vermaelen five.

It looked too easy for Arsenal in the first part of the second half. Fabregas sent a 30-yard fire-cracker just wide and Andrey Arshavin forced Green into a sprawling save.

“We complicated our game a little bit,” said Wenger. “We had five or six chances in the second-half but we missed the final ball as we wanted to be a bit too complicated. We want to finish these games off which is basically the most important lesson of the day.”

Wenger was “disappointed” at Mannone’s parry from Diamanti’s free-kick, although he recognised how viciously the ball had swerved. Wenger reserved most of his ire for referee Foy, whom he accused of making “extremely generous” decisions for the home team.

The Frenchman could not understand how Foy could have penalised Abou Diaby for a challenge on the West Ham substitute Zavon Hines, which produced the free-kick that led to West Ham’s first goal. And, after Foy had waved away strong penalty appeals for a tackle by the Arsenal defender William Gallas on Scott Parker, Wenger complained at the penalty that Foy did award.

“Frankly, look at how many times he [Cole] went down in the game,” said Wenger.

“I think Cole played very well but do you expect him to go down then? No. We were in control but as long as we didn’t score the third goal, the game was not over.”