Written by Nickspinkboots on Thursday, 13 September 2012 10:37

You can certainly see where the comparisons come from. There’s always a seed of truth beneath every lazily sprouted bough of clichéd journalism; and calling Abou Diaby the next Patrick Vieira is no different in this regard. Even the casual eye notices many glaring similarities: French and of African descent; possessing the oft-repeated ‘good feet for big men’; tall, loping and assured strides across the green as if they owned it. It’s where their paths divide that is more telling, however. Vieira was midfield enforcer for years on end, while Diaby has been a tragically ephemeral presence on the football pitch. Vieira was purveyor of the crunching tackle and telling interception, harbinger of great vengeance and furious anger; Diaby has been a powder-puff recipient of niggle after pull after tear, hamstrings breaking down faster than a rickety, second-hand Fiat. The former’s career at Arsenal was a master-class provided by a player at the peak of his career; and the latter’s time in London so far has been a vicious circle of patched-up limbs and patchy form.

Diaby has been the subject of much adulation after his towering performance at Anfield in September. And all of it is justified: the lanky Frenchman was linkman-incarnate against Liverpool, snapping at Sahin’s heels to win the ball, galloping past Gerrard with one telling touch, being a willing body both in attack and defense. Whether it was his hip-swivel and fake to make Suarez look silly, or the wonderfully nonchalant heel-flick to Cazorla when surrounded by the opposition; he was everywhere that Sunday, prompting a Twitter-wide volte-face of opinion among Arsenal fans and doubters. But one of those very tweets- by Wayne Rooney, strangely enough- laid the finger bang on the pulse of Diaby’s problem. ‘Diaby is a player don't know why he doesn't play more games’, the tweet said, expectedly devoid of punctuation and unwittingly hitting home. Diaby did not make a single start for Arsenal last season, a measly five appearances from the bench summing up his contribution and cementing a trend.

Ever since a Dan Smith tackle in the dying embers of a game against Sunderland broke his leg back in 2005, Diaby has been hit with a litany of injuries and never really settled into any sort of rhythm. Most of the subsequent irritants have been directly related to the epicenter of that leg-snap; the player has had at least two further operations to right his balance and suffered from a total of 31 different injuries in the last five years. False dawns have come and gone, both obituaries and talks of return have been penned with equal fervor, but neither has truly happened yet. Diaby is stuck on a plateau of frustration, and it’s shaped unerringly like a stretcher.

It is wrong to absolve the player of all blame for his lack of success at Arsenal, of course. Even keeping the injuries aside, there is inherent capriciousness in Diaby’s play; a tendency to dwell on the ball, to take on one player too many and not track back after giving the ball away, and to ironically leave the foot in too hard with his tackles sometimes. Moreover, Arsenal have sold key members of their squad every season for the past few years now; so much so that Diaby is now playing with a completely different midfield and frontline compared to when he was last fit for a sustained period of time. This combination of bodily wounds accrued over the years, faults in playing style, and a constantly changing Arsenal line-up means that an in-form Diaby must be taken with a pinch of salt. Purely because any form shown may well be very fleeting.

Arsenal fans and Wenger will certainly be hoping for better this time, though. The club has ostensibly placed a lot of importance on the twin returns of Diaby and Jack Wilshere, enough to sanction the sale of Alex Song and not find it necessary to sign a replacement. Will it be pressure Diaby’s balsa-wood legs can handle? With a bit of luck and sparing use by the manager, it’s quite possible. If we’re allowed to consign the Vieira comparisons to the book of bromides where they belong, a much more pertinent link can me made; one with Manchester City’s Yaya Toure. The titanic Toure was one of the players of the season last year, helping City to their maiden Premier League title with rhino-like determination. The same similarities have resurfaced between Toure and Diaby: twinkle toes married with brute strength, endless running to link the midfield with the attack, the ability to play anywhere from deep-lying midfielder to second striker. If Arsenal handle Diaby with vigilance and strike a successful deal with hitherto unkind Injury Gods, North London will have its own Toure.

And that will make the Premier League very interesting indeed.

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Comments (4)

• 14-Sep-2012 13:30 | | HEC  - DEEEAABY
  

  115 GAMES HE HAS PLAYED SINCE HE SIGNED IN 2006 , AND INJURED AGAIN. ! IF HE IS INJURED , WAST OF TIME, SHOOT THE THOROUGHBRED~

• 14-Sep-2012 13:40 | | MeanLean
  

  Thank you Sir Pink boots of Nicky. Great read.
  
  I am rather cautiously optimistic about Abou Diaby's injury issues. Well issues that I hope are consigned to the past. I have no secret info just good old gut instinct but I suspect that instinct may well be wearing a cool pair of red and white shades that say 'I been a regular theme since that despicable Dan Smith incident all those years ago but you could see how he has ironed a lot of that out of his game at Anfield because for once the poor lad has had a pre season and a run of games to match his team mates.
  
  He will lose the ball more than many because he takes risks on the ball, those risks will benefit us many times when he takes people out of the game with a drop of the shoulder and slid pass a little like what we saw when he set up Giroud at Anfield. Not many Arsenal players can take the ball at the half way line and then set up a chance outside the opposition penalty box without involving anyone else.
  
  If the footballing gods have any shame and decency then they will stop robbing us of this wonderful talent.

• 14-Sep-2012 14:36 | | Nickspinkboots
  

  ML, I agree about the risk-taking. I imagine that it will elicit equal parts frustration and exhilaration from the supporters over the course of the season, but there's no one else who can pull off the risk-taking like Diaby.
  
  I just hope he gets games. With games over a sustained period of time, his fearlessness will grow.
  
  Footballing Gods never do have shame or decency though, do they? : All appendages crossed.

• 14-Sep-2012 15:57 | | brian  - diaby
  

  Two players have been injury prone for Arsenal over recent years.Diaby and Van Persie.
  I for one will settle for them both missing most of this season through injury.If this fate is to apply to only one of them please let it be Van Persie.

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