Abou Diaby celebrates Wednesday's semifinal win with former Marseille defender Basile Boli. PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images

Former Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has expressed his relief after helping Marseille qualify for the Coupe de France final by playing his first full match since joining the club.

Diaby, 29, got through the full 90 minutes on Wednesday as Florian Thauvin scored the only goal to set up a date with arch rivals Paris Saint-Germain next month.

The France international joined Marseille last July but after a fresh struggle with injuries he only made his first appearance for the club in March.

Diaby had not played since September 2014, when on Arsenal's books, before featuring in a 5-2 loss against Rennes and he followed that up by making his first start for Marseille in their 2-1 loss at Bastia earlier this month.

After Marseille manager Michel was relieved of his duties on Tuesday, Diaby earned a recall for the match at Ligue 2 side Sochaux.