I periodically relay texts I receive during matches, so here’s one sent by one of our bloggers Simon Rose: Bloody Diaby! A tall geezer who doesn’t know when to jump!.

One of my immediate thoughts in the aftermath of Alkmaar’s equaliser was that anyone who had any lingering belief that our number 2 could eventually fill the shoes of Patrick Vieira (a notion based almost exclusively on their both being French and of similar physical stature) could put that one to bed. It was ironic that Tony Adams was watching from the stands, now apparently scouting for Arsenal in the fashion of other of the club’s former employees (Stewart Houston and Gilles Grimandi for starters). It was the kind of ball that would have been bread and butter to him. But Arsenal have changed since those days. The solidity has gone, and matches are generally won in fancy dan style. Easy on the eye, but when tested, as occurred at Old Trafford and Eastlands earlier this season, somewhat brittle. It’s one of the reasons the team may go much of the way in the Champions League, but are usually undone at the business end of the season.

What Arsenal have to do is make their superiority count when they get the opportunity. Which means scoring goals. More than their rivals might be doing elsewhere. For example, last season they scored as many as the Premier League champions. But the fact they conceded far more meant it wasn’t enough.

Still, it’s all about perspective. Far worse results were suffered last night by Barcelona, Inter and Liverpool. Arsenal will still qualify for the last 16, and may win the group if they can win their remaining home matches.

But the inability to deal with a certain type of attack is not a problem that is going to go away. Peter Crouch will play for Spurs at Arsenal’s ground in less than a fortnight and you can bet your bottom dollar there will be less pre-occupation with keeping the ball of the floor for the Lilywhites. As a tall man, Diaby was the in theory right player to be marking the Alkmaar player who won the injury time header that set up the goal (apologies I can’t recall his name). It reminded me of the farce of the so-called strong man midfield Wenger started at Stoke last season, with the idea that they might be more combative.

Unfortunately, Diaby is a liability. I don’t know how far Samir Nasri is from a first team return, but if he replaces our number 2, it can’t come soon enough. Despite his shorter stature he’d probably make a better fist of defensive headers too.

Mind you, I’ll say this for Alkmaar… nice kit.

Kevin Whitcher is the co-author of ‘Arsènal: the Making of a Modern Superclub’. The book can be bought by onlinegooner readers in paperback direct from the publishers with a £1 discount offer on the already discounted price. To take advantage of this offer, Click this link, select ‘buy now’, and on the next page you will have the opportunity to enter a promo code. Enter the word ‘gooner’ here and the amount is recalculated to £4.99. So, a £1 saving. Postage and packing (£2.49 in the UK) will be added before you complete your order.