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Abou Diaby may not play for Arsenal again

ByAbhinav Kini|

In his latest press conference, Arsene Wenger has hinted that Abou Diaby may not play for Arsenal again.

Abou Diaby was thought to be returning to action soon, however when asked about his rehabilitation, Arsene Wenger didn’t have the best news.

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“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,” Wenger said. “I will have a decision to make about his contract.”

The news comes as a big blow for Wenger himself as he has shown an incredible amount of faith in Diaby who has been injury prone ever since a horrible ankle break suffered in 2006.

Whenever Diaby has returned from injury, he has always shown why Wenger has stuck by him with some impressive performances while it’s no coincidence that whenever he’s fit, he always gets called up by the French national team.

However, whenever Diaby gets a run of games, another injury always gets in his way and he has to start all over again.

The injuries even got to the point where the Frenchman considered retirement:

You ask yourself whether you’re going to still be a footballer. You think of giving up everything,” Diaby said in an interview last year.

“I had to start from scratch. But given where I’d been, it didn’t really matter. It’s been tough because I’ve had a lot of injuries. I’m religious, and in my belief, despair doesn’t exist. You must never give in. Also, I’m only 27, soon 28. I still have five or six years ahead of me, perhaps more.”

Diaby’s last appearance was in September 2014 when he played 67 minutes against Southampton in the Capital One Cup while his last Premier League appearance was against Norwich City in May 2014. Diaby has also averaged just over a meagre six league games per season since the 2010-2011 season.

Wenger has always maintained that he wanted to keep Diaby but with the 28-year-old’s contract expiring in the summer, he may be hesitant to extend it:

“Diaby hasn’t a mental problem but a problem of injury,” Wenger said. “He is a player for whom I have great respect. Whenever he returns, he is injured and he goes from zero. He was destroyed by a bad tackle.

“The football player needs mobility of his ankle. When your ankle mobility is restricted, you compensate with something else. He suffered from a very bad tackle in Sunderland six or seven years ago. He was the victim of a tackle that was never punished. It has restricted the mobility of his ankle. If he comes back, I will keep him. I always believed in him. In football, the most important thing is health.”

The chances of Diaby actually coming back look bleak at best right now and it looks like this may well be his last season for the Gunners.

Diaby could still be worth a punt as a free signing – particularly on a pay-as-you-play contract – as when fit and firing, the Frenchman is reminiscent of Yaya Toure:

H/T: The Telegraph

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