Abou Diaby, once one of the most consistent midfielders in world football. But now, where has he ended up?
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Diaby joined Arsenal from Auxerre in 2006 for a fee of just £2m – a bargain for all concerned -and he was apparently meant to be compared to the next Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira.
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It was predicted that his pay cheque reached maximum propulsion, yet recently he hasn’t been taking his check whilst injured once again. The minimum expectation is that a squad member needs to be challenging, yet Diaby is not.
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It was predicted that Diaby was going to be a fantastic player, with his technique and presence whilst on the ball unmatchable by his opposition.
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In the 2005/06 season all looked bright for Diaby, his first season at the club bringing him 16 games. It went uphill from here for the Frenchman, although he wasn’t to know what the future would bring.
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Pull forward five years later, and in the 2009/10 season, Diaby made 40 appearances. But injury was starting to kick in, he appeared even less in the next few seasons, with injury a very troubling factor for the 27-year-old.
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This season has been the worst so far for the Frenchman, with him not even playing once so far this season, and him looking a long way off of coming back into action.
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It is predicted that Diaby has picked up over 36 injuries since he joined the club, and realistically isn’t seen as a squad member anymore. Really, they don’t even need Diaby, with Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey all able to provide valuable cover.
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I understand that not many players retire this early, although it isn’t a good career if all you do is spend time in the medical room injured. It just shows that his amount of game time is starting to decrease, and that will only get less and less as the years go by.
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Diaby is an extremely talented player, he has already proved that. But the amount of injuries unluckily picked up by the Frenchman means he cannot prove his worth. Is it about time he hung up his boots for the final time?
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