Emotional Return

Six goals against Liverpool in front of the Anfield faithful, four of them from Brazilian Julio Baptista. A stunning and precociously mature display from an Arsenal team whose average age was under 21. A place in the Carling Cup semi-final against Spurs. Amidst all the euphoria some might have missed one other cause for real celebration – a substitution by Arsene Wenger that marked the long awaited return to action of Vassiriki Abou Diaby, whose promising Arsenal career was almost ended several months ago by a tackle so callous and horrific that in the opinion of many good judges the perpetrator should have been banned for life. And the really disturbing thing is that on the day there was a referee too incompetent to see it that way.