Abou Diaby (Sky Sports)
Diaby Was Compared to Patrick Vieira, But Never Fulfilled His Potential
By Manny Otiko
Arsenal has finally decided to part ways with French midfielder Abou Diaby, after almost 10 injury-ravaged years. Diaby’s departure was inevitable and Arsenal fans have wondered how long Arsene Wenger was going to keep faith with the Frenchman, who seemed to spend more time in the treatment room than on the training field. It is a testament to Wenger’s stubbornness that he stuck with Diaby, his protege, this long. In the ruthless world of football, many other clubs would have cut Diaby loose a long time ago. It’s hard to believe Arsenal stuck with him for almost a decade. It all started when Arsenal signed Diaby from Auxerre for 2 million pounds. Spotted by Wenger’s extensive scouting network, Diaby had risen through the French development system and was compared to his idol Patrick Vieira. Diaby described Vieira as a “monument to French soccer,” in an Daily Mail article. Diaby was almost a clone of Viera, tall, rangy, and with long legs that ate up the field. He was a box-to-box midfielder, who was good in the air and also possessed a thunderous shot. He could have been a world-class player. French soccer officials saw his talent and he was capped at all levels of his national team, eventually snagging 16 international appearances at the senior level. Diaby was breaking into the Arsenal team and showing signs of brilliance when that infamous tackle happened. In an insignificant end-of-season game, Sunderland defender Dan Smith, eager to make his name, came in with a knee-level tackle that snapped Diaby’s ankle. Wenger was livid Smith made such a reckless tackle in the dying moments of a game Sunderland was already losing. Diaby was also left out of the the Champions League final squad, which Arsenal eventually lost to Barcelona. The tackle had an effect on both player’s careers. Smith’s, forever associated with the tackle, developed a bad reputation and saw his career fizzle out. (He now plays semi-pro in Australia.) Diaby endured three surgeries and eight months of rehab before he made it back onto the pitch. But he was forever in and out of the treatment room, to the point it became a running joke among Arsenal fans. However, this seemed to set a trend. Teams realized the only way they could stop Wenger’s nimble, quick-footed players was by brute force. This may have started in the epic battles of the late 1990s and early 2000s with Manchester United. United soon realized they simply couldn’t outplay the likes of Theirry Henry, when he was on fire. The only way to stop Arsenal was to outmuscle them. Two Arsenal players later suffered potentially career-ending injuries. Both Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey had their legs snapped by overly-aggressive challenges. Ramsey recovered and went on to star for the Gunners, Eduardo didn’t. He eventually came back, to a standing ovation, but was never able to achieve his pre-injury sharpness. He was later sold to Shakhtar Donetsk. Arsenal fans often talk wistfully of what could have become of Eduardo, who was developing into Wenger’s “fox in the box.” Sadly, the same thing happened to Diaby. Arsenal fans will also have affection for Diaby, a player who never recovered from a horrendous tackle. During his Arsenal career, Diaby was injured 40 times, according to Bleacher Report. Like a lot of Gooners, Football.com writer Callum Wiggins expressed sadness at Diaby’s departure. “At the age of 29 and his body ravaged by one setback after another, it was no longer viable to retain his services, and his decade of disappointment came to a whimpering end,” Wiggins said. “As an Arsenal fan myself, this departure is almost as painful as the day that world class players like Thierry Henry, Fabregas and Robin Van Persie departed – Diaby certainly was not in their class of talent, but it is distressing to see a career that had such promise end on such a muted, uncelebrated note. Lest Arsenal fans forget that Diaby, as unlucky as he was, gave 10 years of service to their beloved club.” News reports say Diaby is looking at moving to MLS team FC Dallas. Maybe he’ll flourish in the less physically-demanding American league. The English Premier League has a reputation for being the toughest league in the world and injury-prone players don’t last long. But Diaby shouldn’t be too sad. He played for one of the biggest clubs in the world and represented his country at the World Cup. Considering the thousands of players who have middling careers, that’s saying something. But, it could have been so much more.
. 