Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has said that he is delighted to be playing for the club again after a long spell away from the game through injury.

The Frenchman was named the man of the match after his performance in the Gunners' 2-0 win at Liverpool and has already played over double the amount of football in the current campaign than he did last year.

Diaby's career at the Emirates has been plagued with injuries, but the 26-year-old is now hoping that his days on the sidelines are behind him.

"Mentally it was a hard time but I love football. Football is my passion so it doesn't matter what happened, I need to look forward and that is what I have done in this situation," said Diaby.

"I am really happy to play again. When you play in these type of games [against Liverpool], it is really exciting and you need to be ready. I am really happy and I hope I can keep going in that way.

"The main thing is that I need to get my confidence back so I need to go in for challenges. We did that really well on Sunday."

Diaby has 15 caps for the French national team.