A blow. Six wins on the spin had temptingly teased us into thoughts of title celebrations come May. Such hopes have not been extinguished just yet, but St Andrews remains a place of regret and wasted opportunity.

Walcott was given a starting chance but the important occasion passed him by. He briefly threatened in the first half when a decisive lob, rather than the tentative effort offered, might have seen us take an early lead. Aside from that moment, he sadly did nothing and we simply cannot afford to carry players at such a critical stage. Cesc was another player carried for the final ten minutes of the first half, following what Arsene has described as "one more" bad tackle, this time from Gardner who went in with rather more force than was needed to win the ball he'd already got to. Cesc surprisingly reappeared for the second half, no longer limping, but understandably not at his imperious best.

Chances were few and far between until the introduction of Arshavin and Nasri. The two combined well with the Russian cutting back for Sammy, who placed the ball softly straight at the goal keeper. We were starting to look more dangerous and you have to question if the subdued first half performance might have been different had they both started.

Despite the improvement, the best chance of the afternoon then fell to Birmingham after a flighted free kick into our area was not dealt with, the ball bouncing off the post from Johnson’s effort for Dann to somehow knee over from a yard out. After such a miss, you started to feel it might be our day, if we could only get that goal.

The impressive Diaby then drilled a great strike past Joe Hart, having held off a Birmingham defender in similar fashion to which he had done all afternoon. The shocking Howard Webb decided, eventually, that such strength was no longer permitted, and cancelled the goal. The fact Howard Webb is England's refereeing representative at the upcoming World Cup reflects badly on standards in this country. As for Diaby, this season has seen him go from strength to strength, and he was fantastic again today. Strong in midfield, he drove the team forward and never lost possession.

The breakthrough came via Nasri after 81 minutes. He picked the ball up and carried it purposely, but unchallenged, to the edge of the box before firing into the same corner that Diaby had previously found. Even Webb couldn't find a reason for this goal not to stand, and the Arsenal end was jubilant, sensing another important late win.

From here, it really should have been. Bendnter found Arshavin free in the area, but his finish was scuffed and tame. Cesc then threaded a perfectly weighted ball through for Nasri to go one on one with Hart. The Frenchmen dallied slightly before trying to find Arshavin, but the defender cleared and hindsight tells he should have gone for goal himself.

It was to prove costly.

Despite having opportunities to kill the game and hold the ball in Birmingham's corner, Bendtner and Arshavin both tried to increase the lead by driving into the box. This lead to conceding a free kick which was launched forward and never dealt with. Sagna's attempted clearance cannoning straight off boyhood Arsenal fan Kevin Philips face before heading for goal. Almunia was caught in Almunia land and looked comical as the flimsy ricochet slipped up through his hands before dropping into the net.

Anger. We'd come so close to a crucial three points, but thrown it away through our failure to close out games and our Spanish Second Division keeper, who surely cannot believe that he remains Arsenal's No1. Unfortunately, he is a liability and always likely to cost us. Today he did when it mattered most. Having saved the West Ham penalty last week, he reverted to type and the area must be addressed in the summer. Surely?!

The game was over, but our title chances are not. They hang by a thread. Despite Bolton and Villa laying over and having their tummies tickled by our title rivals, glancing at the table shows that we are still only four points off the pace, five including goal difference, which I guess you might as well. Yes, it's unlikely, but Chelsea and United cannot both win next weekend and hopefully their respective games against Liverpool and Manchester City, might prove tougher than today's opponents. What today's results do mean is that there is absolutely no margin for error now. We had won the last six, we have to win the next six. Maybe that's what Eboue was telling every player as he attempted to lift spirits as they left the pitch in a downbeat mood, reflected in the away end.

Before we commence our league campaign there is the small matter of Barcelona coming to the Grove on Wednesday. The team would have been hurting in the dressing room after the game but come Monday, that will have to be put behind them, and what better way than preparing to host the best team in the world. There are other encouraging signs too. Messi didn't even score last night.

As I arrived home from the Birmingham away day, I was greeted with some post. One letter contained tickets for Nou Camp on April 6th. There's plenty to look forward too.