It was only a matter of time before they scored a deserved equaliser and I was certainly not at all surprised when it came. It was no smash and grab goal either, Manuel Almunia, in goal for the first time since West Brom at home made an amazing flying save to deny Lee moments earlier

I am in an unusual position of writing thoughts on a game that I have only seen once. I didn’t get the chance to see Match of the day or any highlights so excuse me if I make any bad judgements on the game.

I felt rather strange watching the match, I must say. An FA Cup tie at home and one that we won should have left me feeling jubilant but the feeling of joy was completely dampened by the hamstring strain of Samir Nasri. As soon as he hobbled off the pitch, my attention span had practically disappeared. The team stuck the gear stick into neutral and decided to cruise after Bendtner deflected his shot off a defender and into the net. That annoyed me but the thought of losing Samir Nasri, our player of the season, our match winner for up to three weeks was a massive concern. While many are giving us no chance of beating Barcelona over two legs, I felt that as long as we had Nasri, Cesc and Van Persie playing together along with the pace of Theo then we could pose them serious problems.

Today, I have told myself that Nasri is a quick healer and he might just make a miraculous recovery and could still have the task of turning Dani Alves inside, out.

I expected the team to start the game a little disjointed, a little bit as they did against Leeds United at the Emirates. Squillaci had been out for a few weeks, Abou Diaby hadn’t played since hobbling off against Wigan at the end of December. The rest of the team would be packed with players who have had bit part roles so far this season.

Instead the team had started pretty brightly and the passing was quicker and sharper than expected. Bendtner, probably buoyed by his lovely goal against Ipswich was our best attacker in the early stages, coming in from the right and linking well with his team mates. He had a great chance before he scored when he swung his right foot and caught air instead of the ball. Moments later he had opened the scoring with a lucky deflection.

That goal should have sparked us into life, instead it was almost the killing of us. We pulled our foot dramatically off the accelerator and slowed the game down to almost walking pace. No desire to carve open chances, no determination to wrap up the game and it became another training session.

These players have been here before, they have seen what happens when you do not capitalise on the massive amounts of possession. The opposition started to get back into the game. League one side Huddersfield fought their way into the game and started to put the Arsenal defence under pressure.

I thought Squillaci’s red card was harsh, especially when Emmanuel Eboue and perhaps even Koscielny were in close attendance. It was a foul, a clear foul and Squillaci has a habit of being caught square on and then beaten for pace but a red card?

Gary Neville and Rafael are allowed to get away with those, especially in the penalty area but I suppose an Arsenal player cannot take that gamble.

Wenger must be a little frustrated with that dismissal as he had been waiting for Squillaci’s return to rest Koscielny and Djourou. It is only a one game ban so not all is lost.

Song replaced Chamakh who hadn’t really been at the races and I wonder if he has in fact fallen from first in the pecking order to third behind Nicklas Bendtner as the weeks have gone on. He has had a fantastic debut season and was so important to us at the start of the season but nothing is quite coming off from him now.

Alex Song partnered Koscielny at the back whilst Bendtner moved into the center on his own to lead the line.

It was only a matter of time before they scored a deserved equaliser and I was certainly not at all surprised when it came. It was no smash and grab goal either, Manuel Almunia, in goal for the first time since West Brom at home made an amazing flying save to deny Lee moments earlier.

Cesc replaced Abou Diaby late on and once again he made the difference in the final third, his low ball into the box was heading towards Bendtner before the Dane fell to the floor. Penalty and yellow card. I have only seen the penalty incident from a stream and couldn’t tell you how much contact was given but I would love someone to explain to me how their defender received a yellow card. Inside the penalty area, last man and all he got was a yellow.

I have nothing against the guy and don’t wish for cards to be dished out willy nilly but Clattenburg, why you being so silly? Squillaci sent off with Arsenal players on the cover but a yellow when the offence was much more obvious.

Cesc once again came to the rescue from the penalty spot in the FA Cup and the draw has once again been pretty kind to us as the biggest team in Leyton, the Orient face what is likely to be another second string team, therefore yet another tough clash if previous rounds are anything to go by.

Almunia (7)
Eboue (6)
Squillaci (5)
Koscielny (6)
Gibbs (5)
Denilson (5)
Diaby (6)
Nasri (6.5)
Bendtner (7)
Chamakh (5)
Arshavin (6)

Please note that ratings are only my interpretations of the game and that others will have differing opinions