Twenty-third of September, 2014 – a buoyant Abou Diaby struts his stuff in the midfield of a chopped and changed Arsenal side against Southampton in the Capital One Cup. Breaking up play well, spraying balls from right to left and even showcasing the Diaby of old with some powerful dribbles through the midfield. He’s taken off on the 67th minute for Santi Cazorla to applause from the Arsenal faithful, and seems to be on the illusive road to recovery which has cruelly evaded him time and time again in the past.
Eleventh of February, 2015 – Abou Diaby has not played for Arsenal since that day, and hopes of him salvaging his career let alone his Arsenal future are slowly slipping away. What now?
The last few years for the leggy Frenchman have been emotionally and physically draining, playing less than 100 minutes of football for Arsenal in almost two seasons. This season he has played only 67 minutes of a Capital One Cup tie. Last season he managed one 16-minute substitute appearance during the entire campaign. Even when you take a step back from the last two seasons, and evaluate his whole Arsenal career – Diaby has missed 227 games since 2008, spending a total of 1,199 days receiving treatment for various injuries.
On the twenty-second of January, 2015, Arsène Wenger was asked about the 28 year-old midfielder and his response was strangely honest and ominous. He said, “At the moment he is not in a position where he will be able to play soon because he is not on the field at all.” Diaby has played only 16 league games during the past four seasons due to horrible injuries to his knee, thigh, calf and ankle.Diaby is out of contract this summer and, asked about the situation, Wenger continued: “I will have a decision to make about his contract.” Despite sounding so optimistic and positive about Abou’s chances of returning to full fitness earlier on this season, the downbeat tone in his voice told the story of a man who had already made up his mind.
Diaby’s persistent injury problems are thought to be a mixture of bad luck, and an awful tackle from Sunderland’s Dan Smith in 2006 which left him with a dislocated and fractured ankle aged just 19. The initial injury alone took him 7 months to recover from, but it is common knowledge that severe injuries take their toll in other areas of the body – not just the area directly affected.
We have seen similar stories for footballers who have suffered similar injuries to Diaby, who have had their comebacks to the game constantly halted by smaller niggles and knocks as a result of their more severe ones. Just from an Arsenal perspective, we have witnessed Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Eduardo da Silva, Tomáš Rosický and Theo Walcott all suffer with hamstring, calf, groin and ankle injuries following their return to fitness. These problems arise as a result of their body biomechanics compensating and overworking due to the weakness of the body part severely injured and alterations made to their style of movement after surgeries.
It’s not just Arsenal players though. The likes of Radamel Falcao, Sami Khedira, Alejandro Faurlin, Jesé Rodríguez, Arjen Robben, Kaka and Carlés Puyol have all continuously suffered with their fitness after suffering big injuries at some point in their careers.
However, now, in February 2015, Arsène Wenger faces a difficult decision. Diaby’s contract is set to expire this summer, and at 28-years of age, the midfielder is running out of time to salvage any playing career at all, let alone an active career at Arsenal. It is well known that Wenger not only admires Diaby’s ability on the pitch but also his mental ability to constantly pick himself up, setback after setback. Speaking in November 2014, he said “(Diaby) is a player that I have an enormous amount of respect for. Every time he comes back, he has to start from zero with another injury. He was a victim of competition.
A footballer needs his ankle. He was destroyed by a bad tackle [by Dan Smith on May the 1st 2006, which left Diaby with a severe ankle fracture] at Sunderland six or seven years ago which altered his ankle. He is not a fragile player. He was the victim of an assassin’s tackle that went unpunished.”
During some difficult times for Arsenal a few years ago, Diaby was somewhat scapegoated by Arsenal fans and I believe that this was extremely unfair. Yes, there is no hiding that he is earning a very decent living despite rarely playing for Arsenal – but the idea that he should not be able to feel pain or sadness, which are basic human feelings just because he is earning a lot of money a week, is incredibly insensitive. From what the public can see, as well as what comes out from the club, Diaby is an exemplary professional who handles himself correctly and positively in every single way – as well as being a genuine nice guy. The work he goes through on a daily basis just to get fit to play the sport he loves, and for his love for Arsenal Football Club, should be admired and appreciated alone.
Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, the last few seasons have been virtual write-offs for Diaby and there are currently no signs to show that his horrific injury luck will change for the better. Arsène Wenger has always been a man to show morals and a human side in a very brutal industry, always giving players that he believes in a chance. However, after persisting with Diaby, giving him one-year extensions when nobody else would have just in case he was able to find himself injury free – it may be time for Wenger to start planning for life without Diaby, as well as Diaby starting to plan for life without football.
I’m sure Arsenal as a club will give the Frenchman their full backing and support for the future in whatever he decides to do, but I would be very surprised to see the midfielder’s contract renewed come June.
Diaby himself stays determined and resolute, constantly claiming in interviews that he is not injury prone or fragile despite becoming some sort of joke figure in the media. He continues to work hard every day, tirelessly training in the background despite suffering injury setback after injury setback just to fulfil his dream of playing football for a living.
Who knows what could happen to Diaby come June, but I think that Wenger’s morals and desire for Diaby to fulfil his footballing potential may be crowded out by the demands of a competitive and cut throat industry come the summer time – where Abou’s future will have to be decided.
