In many ways, the game was similar to so many we have played in past campaigns. Though the first half was cagey, the Arsenal really came out and had a go at Milan in the second half. But for all the pressure we applied the breakthrough just never came.
It was one of those "oh so nearly" nights for us once again in Europe. The build up play was often very good but the final ball or the final cross or, particularly in Adebayor's case late on, the final execution wasn't quite right on the money.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. It was a real European game in that it was cagey, tight but nonetheless pulsating. I was pleased with the way we tried to go about things particularly in the second half. I thought Flamini was awesome. He got through so much work hassling and harrying the likes of Pirlo, Ambrosini and even Gattuso out of their stride whilst also doing his fair share to shackle the lurking menace of Kaka.
Word on the street was that Flamini ran in excess of 13000 metres during the game and when you consider the average distance covered during a game by a player is about 6 miles (just less than 10000) it just goes to show that Flamini quite literally went the extra mile (and more) to aid the Arsenal cause on the night.
I also must give a shout out to the back four who put in an excellent shift at the back. And I must also give particular credit where it's due to Senderos who slotted into the back four so well we didn't really feel the loss of Kolo at all when he was forced off due to injury.
I have made no secret of my view on the young Swiss over the last few weeks and there's no question that the true test for Senderos will come when we go to the San Siro in less than two weeks time. But to be fair, the same could be said for the whole team.
How do I feel about the second leg after what happened at The Grove? Well, in order to have a genuine say in the direction of the tie we have to score over there and I really don't see any reason why we can't do that.
It comes as precious little surprise to me that virtually everyone outside of the club has written us off in the wake of the result but I had to laugh when I heard Graeme Souness chirping away after game claiming that AC Milan looked very good and well in control of things.
Let's get this right. Milan did defend very well in the main but I don't think that they were as comfortable as the likes of Souness and certain other sections of the media made out.
We could have easily scored two or three on another night even before Adebayor's late miss and whilst their main attackers, Kaka and Pato hardly got a sniff at our goal really.
I think that we just have to brave in the second leg. Milan wont come out and go gung-ho at us. They will remain methodical and they will play the percentage game. But if they change anything then it will be perhaps to get the ball over the top to Pato a little earlier and a little more often than they did at The Grove.
Having heard a lot about this boy and the growing reputation he is developing, the one thing that struck me about Pato is that he has absolutely blistering pace and that has the potential trickery to make something happen out of nothing if he is not policed effectively.
Don't be surprised to see Fillipo Inzaghi involved somewhere in the mix come the return leg. He was an unused sub at The Grove but I can see him playing a part in the home leg, particularly if Milan happen to need someone to come up with a poached, scrappy goal to pull the game out of the fire.
From our point of view well, I just hope that we go there and show bravery in terms of the fact that we try to keep the ball and not be afraid to be progressive with the possession we get on the night.
As I said earlier we must not lose sight of the fact that we need to score out there to have a genuine say in the direction of the contest so we cannot afford to just sit back and let Milan dictate the flow and tempo of the game.
Above all though, with everyone writing this game off as a formality for AC Milan, we have to remember that this is a game of a massive incentive to us. We have to take the fact that no English club has ever beaten them in the San Siro and use it as an inspirational tool and not see it as a burdening millstone.
We will have 90 minutes to potentially carve another unique niche for ourselves in the record books. It would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons and send shockwaves throughout Europe. Now there's a thought, eh?
Anyway, it's time to look forward to our next league game against Birmingham at St Andrews.
I would imagine that Alex McLeish has been doing a lot of thinking in the last fortnight. Since winning his first game in charge at Shite Hart Lane, McLeish has seen his team win just once in their last 11 league games. It is a run that has seen them plunge down the table to such an extent that they now lie outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
City do have the distinction of being of being the only side other than ManUre to come away with something from a trip to The Grove though and that will give them heart going into this game.
Gary O'Connor was the man who came up with what was a shock equaliser in what turned out to be a 1-1 draw that day but I would be surprised if he started up front ahead of the likes of Cameron Jerome and new boy James McFadden.
McFadden has always been a bit of an enigma for me. The boy may lack a bit of pace but he has a talent. The problem, certainly at club level, has been finding him a role where that talent is able to come out regularly. David Moyes never quite got the best out of him at Everton but that didn't stop McLeish shelling out the better part of £6 million to acquire his services in the January window.
For all that I think I will again go for Liam Ridgewell as the key man for the Bluenoses just as I did before our earlier meeting in January. This lad has definitely grown as player since he gained the captaincy at Birmingham and he was their outstanding player when we met them at The Grove.
We will particularly have to watch him at set pieces because although he is not the biggest centre half around he does have a habit of getting on the end of free kicks quite a bit.
It's a pity that the likes of Rosicky and Van Persie are no nearer to being available to us if only to freshen things up a little. Eboue also starts the first of his three match suspension.
But I meant what I said prior to the AC Milan game. We cannot afford to be in the business of hiding behind excuses and hard luck stories anymore because after what happened at OT they will simply not wash anymore.
As my old buddy Gazza said quite rightly to me this week, Arsene and his team have effectively placed their eggs in one basket and bought a lottery ticket in the Champions League as insurance and irrespective of how the fans may have felt, they have made that choice between them.
In terms of achieving success this season, Arsenal have left themselves no margin for error and they certainly cannot afford to act like it's after the Lord Mayor's Show at St Andrews that's for sure.
It was one of those "oh so nearly" nights for us once again in Europe. The build up play was often very good but the final ball or the final cross or, particularly in Adebayor's case late on, the final execution wasn't quite right on the money.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. It was a real European game in that it was cagey, tight but nonetheless pulsating. I was pleased with the way we tried to go about things particularly in the second half. I thought Flamini was awesome. He got through so much work hassling and harrying the likes of Pirlo, Ambrosini and even Gattuso out of their stride whilst also doing his fair share to shackle the lurking menace of Kaka.
Word on the street was that Flamini ran in excess of 13000 metres during the game and when you consider the average distance covered during a game by a player is about 6 miles (just less than 10000) it just goes to show that Flamini quite literally went the extra mile (and more) to aid the Arsenal cause on the night.
I also must give a shout out to the back four who put in an excellent shift at the back. And I must also give particular credit where it's due to Senderos who slotted into the back four so well we didn't really feel the loss of Kolo at all when he was forced off due to injury.
I have made no secret of my view on the young Swiss over the last few weeks and there's no question that the true test for Senderos will come when we go to the San Siro in less than two weeks time. But to be fair, the same could be said for the whole team.
How do I feel about the second leg after what happened at The Grove? Well, in order to have a genuine say in the direction of the tie we have to score over there and I really don't see any reason why we can't do that.
It comes as precious little surprise to me that virtually everyone outside of the club has written us off in the wake of the result but I had to laugh when I heard Graeme Souness chirping away after game claiming that AC Milan looked very good and well in control of things.
Let's get this right. Milan did defend very well in the main but I don't think that they were as comfortable as the likes of Souness and certain other sections of the media made out.
We could have easily scored two or three on another night even before Adebayor's late miss and whilst their main attackers, Kaka and Pato hardly got a sniff at our goal really.
I think that we just have to brave in the second leg. Milan wont come out and go gung-ho at us. They will remain methodical and they will play the percentage game. But if they change anything then it will be perhaps to get the ball over the top to Pato a little earlier and a little more often than they did at The Grove.
Having heard a lot about this boy and the growing reputation he is developing, the one thing that struck me about Pato is that he has absolutely blistering pace and that has the potential trickery to make something happen out of nothing if he is not policed effectively.
Don't be surprised to see Fillipo Inzaghi involved somewhere in the mix come the return leg. He was an unused sub at The Grove but I can see him playing a part in the home leg, particularly if Milan happen to need someone to come up with a poached, scrappy goal to pull the game out of the fire.
From our point of view well, I just hope that we go there and show bravery in terms of the fact that we try to keep the ball and not be afraid to be progressive with the possession we get on the night.
As I said earlier we must not lose sight of the fact that we need to score out there to have a genuine say in the direction of the contest so we cannot afford to just sit back and let Milan dictate the flow and tempo of the game.
Above all though, with everyone writing this game off as a formality for AC Milan, we have to remember that this is a game of a massive incentive to us. We have to take the fact that no English club has ever beaten them in the San Siro and use it as an inspirational tool and not see it as a burdening millstone.
We will have 90 minutes to potentially carve another unique niche for ourselves in the record books. It would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons and send shockwaves throughout Europe. Now there's a thought, eh?
Anyway, it's time to look forward to our next league game against Birmingham at St Andrews.
I would imagine that Alex McLeish has been doing a lot of thinking in the last fortnight. Since winning his first game in charge at Shite Hart Lane, McLeish has seen his team win just once in their last 11 league games. It is a run that has seen them plunge down the table to such an extent that they now lie outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
City do have the distinction of being of being the only side other than ManUre to come away with something from a trip to The Grove though and that will give them heart going into this game.
Gary O'Connor was the man who came up with what was a shock equaliser in what turned out to be a 1-1 draw that day but I would be surprised if he started up front ahead of the likes of Cameron Jerome and new boy James McFadden.
McFadden has always been a bit of an enigma for me. The boy may lack a bit of pace but he has a talent. The problem, certainly at club level, has been finding him a role where that talent is able to come out regularly. David Moyes never quite got the best out of him at Everton but that didn't stop McLeish shelling out the better part of £6 million to acquire his services in the January window.
For all that I think I will again go for Liam Ridgewell as the key man for the Bluenoses just as I did before our earlier meeting in January. This lad has definitely grown as player since he gained the captaincy at Birmingham and he was their outstanding player when we met them at The Grove.
We will particularly have to watch him at set pieces because although he is not the biggest centre half around he does have a habit of getting on the end of free kicks quite a bit.
It's a pity that the likes of Rosicky and Van Persie are no nearer to being available to us if only to freshen things up a little. Eboue also starts the first of his three match suspension.
But I meant what I said prior to the AC Milan game. We cannot afford to be in the business of hiding behind excuses and hard luck stories anymore because after what happened at OT they will simply not wash anymore.
As my old buddy Gazza said quite rightly to me this week, Arsene and his team have effectively placed their eggs in one basket and bought a lottery ticket in the Champions League as insurance and irrespective of how the fans may have felt, they have made that choice between them.
In terms of achieving success this season, Arsenal have left themselves no margin for error and they certainly cannot afford to act like it's after the Lord Mayor's Show at St Andrews that's for sure.