WEST HAM midfielder Jack Collison believes Sunday’s impressive comeback against Arsenal could prove to be a ‘massive’ point in the course of the season and signal a turnaround in the club’s fortunes.

Gianfranco Zola’s men went into half-time a broken team as they faced a two-goal deficit. But they emerged with renewed vigour and were able to salvage a draw thanks to goals from Carlton Cole and Alessandro Diamanti.

Collison, making only his second appearance since August after missing six weeks with a calf injury, looked like he had never been away against the Gunners. And he was adamant that the manner of the result will breathe new life into the team and trigger an ascent up the Premier League table.

“For the first time in a couple of weeks we’ve had a good feeling after the game and that’s what we need now to kick-start our season,” said Collison, who turned 21 last week. “We dug in, worked as a team, and I think that could be a massive point for us and a real turnaround for the season.

“We’ve got a few really winnable games coming up and it’s up to us to pick up points in the next few weeks.”

Zola often refers to the ‘small details’ that have cost his team dear in previous weeks. And it looked as if they were going to fall short again as, first, Robert Green made a hash of dealing with Bacary Sagna’s cross, clattering into team-mate James Tomkins and allowing Robin Van Persie to stab into an open goal.

Another defensive lapse gifted Arsenal their second goal before half-time, Herita Ilunga failing to cope with the threat of William Gallas, and the defender was able to rise above him to power a header into the net from Van Persie’s corner.

Matthew Upson, coming up against his old club, revealed their mild-mannered boss had a few stern words for the players at the interval.

“There were some things he (Zola) really wanted to mention and he put that across,” said the England defender. “Everybody then went out with the attitude that if we were going to lose this game then Arsenal were going to have to work really hard to take it from us.”

In the end, it was the visitors who caught the Hammers’ defensive illness. Substitute Diamanti, who made a major impact after coming on, fired a free-kick towards goal after Abou Diaby had felled Zavon Hines 25 yards out. Vito Mannone, having reached the ball, then inexplicably palmed it back into the danger area, where Cole was able to pounce.

Alex Song’s clumsy challenge on Cole then handed Diamanti the chance to level from the spot, which he did with aplomb.

In an eventful 45 minutes, Scott Parker was then shown a second yellow card for a dubious handball, while Green atoned for his earlier misdemeanour when he denied Van Persie at the death with an instinctive save.

While Collison acknowledged the battling qualities of the side, he knows that they will have to extend their second-half performance into the full 90 minutes if they are to escape the clutches of relegation.

“We know as a team we haven’t been playing at a standard where we want to be,” he added. “It’s up to us to start putting in more performances like that and pick up some more points because we’re still in a sticky situation.”