The Curious Case Of Abou Diaby

 Abou Diaby, unlike in the movie is not aging backwards. He is however set for a run out with the reserves this afternoon after recovering from yet another injury that he picked up in his first game back from injury…Such a quick turnaround is almost as surprising as a baby man or whatever the hell Brad Pitt was. In my time lurking in the shadows on Arsenal forums I have seen many a fan dismiss Diaby as “dead-wood” and state that we should axe him this summer. I on the other hand feel differently about the player once touted as the next Viera (because we never heard that one before).

Diaby joined the gunners from Auxerre in 2006 where he had been playing with future team mate Bacary Sagna and some mug called Kaboul. After an extremely promising youth career (coming out of the Clairefontaine academy) Diaby had failed to establish himself as a first team regular at Auxerre due to (you guessed it) various niggling injuries. Despite this the player had obviously done enough to catch the eye and came to Arsenal with a decent price tag for Wenger of around 2million.

Abou quickly excited fans and I remember just how much of a rough diamond he seemed. His raw ability was there for all to see but it was his potential all over game that got the fans attention. Could Diaby possibly be the box to box powerhouse we had been looking for to take over from Viera in years to come? This question was put on hold on may 1^st when a complete ogre in the form of Dan Smith mistimed a horrendous challenge that caused Diaby a severe ankle fracture. Since this incident Diaby has struggled to maintain fitness, being caught in the vicious circle of no game time = more injuries = no game time.

Despite all this and the doctors initially suggesting his career may be over I have been extremely impressed on the occasions I have seen him play, especially taking into account how long match sharpness can take to recover.  Obviously He has now missed out on the most important year’s development wise for any footballer but miraculously he is still able to compete at the very top of the game. The 2009-10 season was his best yet in an Arsenal shirt, where he started to show again just how good a player he already was and managed to grab 7 goals and 6 assists as well as being a great driving force from midfield. Since then Diaby has gone on another terribly unlucky run of reoccurring injury problems but still managed to come out of the World cup being probably Frances best player and one of the few who could hold his head high.

So should Diaby be given another chance by the club and its fans? I believe so. On his day he is unplayable and can drift past players with unnerving ease for his size, as well as being more than ready to get stuck in and cover defensively. Of course his ability is plain to see but more than that I believe he has shown great mental strength in keeping his head up through these dark times. In my humble opinion a loan spell could do this player a world of good. He needs to get out of our medical facility and feel free to play in a team that doesn’t remind him so much of the troubles he has had.

So here’s hoping Diaby can overcome these problems starting with Liverpool reserves and join the abundance of talent we currently have in the middle of the park. It certainly would be a cruel fate if possibly one of the brightest young talents to grace the Emirates was halted as a result of a mistimed challenge, from a player with less ability than Diaby possesses in his little toe.

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