Players dedicate hard-fought draw with Arsenal to Gianfranco Zola

Proving a point: Alessandro Diamanti celebrates scoring the equaliser against Arsenal
11 April 2012

Matthew Upson today claimed West Ham's battling display against Arsenal proves the team are united firmly behind manager Gianfranco Zola.

The Hammers came back from 2-0 down at half time to earn a draw through Carlton Cole's header and a penalty from substitute Alessandro Diamanti.

Zola has been under fire owing to West Ham's failure to win a League match since the opening day of the season but Upson believes the Italian will survive his most testing period in charge.

"Everyone is behind the manager," said the 30-year-old. "We have been penalised for every mistake we have made this season and it has cost us.

"It was nice to get back in there against a class team like Arsenal — and we possibly could have won it.

"Criticism is going to come your way, especially as a manager, and I am sure he is used to dealing with it. We'll take the criticism on the chin, do something about it and come back in a positive way for him."

Robin van Persie and William Gallas had given the Gunners a comfortable lead before the home side rallied but the Hammers needed a stunning late save from goalkeeper Robert Green to keep Arsenal at bay.

Upson hailed Green's resilience after his red card for England in Ukraine.

He said: "It was really tough for him because he has waited a long time to get the England jersey, come in and had a disappointment.

"That's what tests you and asks questions about your character but he answered them."

Arsenal defender Gael Clichy criticised referee Chris Foy for awarding a penalty when Alex Song felled Cole, saying: "On the penalty, I am really sure it is not a foul. The referee is just in front of it and sometimes the decision goes against you. For me it wasn't a foul."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in