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Abou Diaby is back at the right time. In fact we could have done with him a few days earlier. With Cesc and Song out, the leggy Frenchman could be a very important player from here on in

Speaking of Koscielny, I didn't actually see the slap on his head until yesterday as I turned the game off pretty much bang on the final whistle. Watching Koscielny not react because of the sheer disappointment made my heart sink and it was a total lack of class from Barry Ferguson. He is just lucky that he doesn't have another game against Arsenal this season. I would be awfully disappointed if one of his team mates didn't seek some sort

Our response was very good and within ten minutes we found the equaliser, Wilshere struck the crossbar from distance with a great strike from outside the box. The ball ended up at the feet of Andrey Arshavin who rolled his man very well but his cut back was top class. He didn't just put the ball into the box, he measured his cut back to perfection and Van Persie who can finish equally well with both feet executed a fantastic volley on his

If Arsenal had won I would have been ecstatic saying 'get in! what a great day, we've finally won a trophy!' and I would have been delighted at the achievement, but at the end of the day we have just missed out on a consolation/ bonus prize. Not one of the biggies

Perhaps apart from Tomas Rosicky we do not have the same type of player who depend on their passing and vision more than anything else. Whilst the likes of Nasri, Wilshere and Ramsey are all good passers of the ball but none of them have the same level of vision and can pick a pass in the

In my eyes our season changed after we lost 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. We came out the next Monday against Chelsea a totally different animal. Our work rate increased, our desire and commitment had shot through the roof. We no longer looked like a talented yet inconsistent side

I was thinking about the implications of missing our captain in the next couple of games. There is a stat going around about Arsenal's win percentage this season with and without Cesc. Something like 70% with him in the side and 40+% without him. On the face of it, that sounds quite remarkable but I think those statistics are a little bit mischievous when you consider that we have often played our second string side when Cesc hasn't been

A mixture of the goal as well as Cesc being off the pitch meant that we yanked up the handbrake and just kept the ball. We totally eased off the pressure and turned it into a training exercise. We slowed the game down too much to score anymore goals. Stoke were absolutely shameful

If Bendtner continues from where he left off then I expect the Dane to flourish in a more creative and fluid team around him. I have a good feeling that he will score if he plays this evening

Perhaps the young Catalan has been taking strides forward in front of Arsene Wenger during training sessions. He looks very assured on the ball and he gave the defence a nice balance due to his preference to use his left foot. It was very hard to gauge his defensive attributes as he just wasn't tested until the 88th minute but he looks very calm and is certainly an Arsenal defender in the making