Abou Diaby: The “Next Patrick Vieira” Who Spent a Career Plagued By Injury
Abou Diaby’s Frustrating Career in Football
Heralded as the “next Patrick Vieira” but plagued by injury - who is Abou Diaby?
The Sporting Blog tells the full story, including Diaby’s stints playing for global clubs - and why he retired before he could realise his full potential.
Abou Diaby - the “next Patrick Vieira”
Abou Diaby was heralded as the “next Patrick Vieira” after signing with Arsenal in 2006, as the midfielder was French, tall, elegant in possession and an excellent ball-winner like his predecessor who left a year earlier.
However, injuries would sadly stop him from realising his full potential.
Diaby’s entire professional career spanned three decades, but he averaged less than 10 league appearances over 14 seasons.
He spent more time on the treatment table than the football pitch and is sadly remembered as injury-prone, rather than for his talent.
But what exactly happened to this French football star? The Sporting Blog tells the full story!
Abou Diaby’s Career Appearances
2004/05 (Auxerre): 7/59 appearances
2005/06 (Auxerre): 7/27 appearances
2005/06 (Arsenal): 16/27 appearances
2006/07 (Arsenal): 18/59 appearances
2007/08 (Arsenal): 28/58 appearances
2008/09 (Arsenal): 36/61 appearances
2009/10 (Arsenal): 40/55 appearances
2010/11 (Arsenal): 20/58 appearances
2011/12 (Arsenal): 5/54 appearances
2012/13 (Arsenal): 15/53 appearances
2013/14 (Arsenal): 1/56 appearances
2014/15 (Arsenal): 1/54 appearances
2015/16 (Marseille): 4/54 appearances
2016/17 (Marseille): 2/43 appearances
Nomadic Youth Career
Born in Paris, France on May 11, 1986, Diaby was eight years old when headhunted by local club FCM Aubervilliers (1994 - 1998).
He developed quickly with the French outfit and moved on to Red Star (1998- 2001), also situated in Paris.
After a year, Diaby was selected to play at INF Clairefontaine (1999 – 2002) - a national football centre that specialises in training young French football players.
Kylian Mbappe is one of many stars to have developed at this centre in his youth.
The opportunity to play professionally came in the form of Paris Saint-Germain (2001 - 2002), who had him at their training centre after he left Red Star.
However, they would bungle signing him on a youth contract after failing to send a ‘letter of commitment’ before the deadline.
This led to Diaby leaving PSG and joining Auxerre (2002 – 2006) as a 16-year-old, working his way up the youth ranks to the first-team.
He would end up switching between the U19s and reserve-team after a year, before being given a professional contract and being promoted to the senior squad in 2004.
Diaby was still playing reserve-team football but he trained regularly with the first-team, and he did make his senior debut in August 2004 – coming off the bench in a 3-1 win over Rennes.
Injuries would hamper his senior opportunities that season, however, and he didn’t make his second appearance until March 2005.
The French international made seven appearances in 2004/05 and seven appearances in 2005/06 before Arsenal came calling….
Promising Arsenal Move That Turned Sour
Arsenal signed Diaby in January 2006 for £2m and had high expectations of the player.
Diaby proved himself an able box-to-box midfielder in France who could patrol in front of the defence, retain possession and be a presence in the final third, so Arsene Wenger must have thought he’d upgraded Vieira without breaking the bank.
Wenger had a transfer policy at Arsenal that saw him target young prospects for cheap rather than sign established, bigger-name players, developing them at the youth level and in the first-team until they were ready to feature regularly.
Diaby was 20 when he joined without a lot of experience at the senior level, but Wenger wasted little time throwing him in the deep end.
Diaby made 16 appearances across the board in 2005/06, but his debut season was cut short after an ankle fracture and ruptured ligament barely three months into his stint.
The Frenchman picked up the injury in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Sunderland on April 29, 2006, after being fouled by Dan Smith.
Diaby was initially ruled out for six months and Wenger was incensed after the game. He threatened legal action against Smith and said civilians would go to jail for the same challenge on the street.
The midfielder didn’t return for a year after undergoing three surgeries while being told the injury might be career-threatening, but he managed to play in 12 league games between March 2007 and May 2007.
Injury Setbacks
Diaby’s ankle fracture would be blamed for his later injury problems, as his body may have been overcompensating during recovery, but he suffered a lot of misfortune too.
2007/08
Missed four games due to an ankle injury in August
Missed nine games due to a back injury between October and December
Missed six games due to a thigh injury between February and March
Missed five games in April and May due to a setback
2008/09
Missed 12 games due to a thigh injury between August and October
Missed four games due to an abdominal strain in November
Missed three games due to a calf injury in February
Missed three games due to a thigh injury in April
2009/10
Missed one game due to a groin injury in August
Missed one game due to an ankle injury in October
Missed six games due to a calf injury in November
Missed three games due to a calf injury in January
Missed two games due to a knee injury in February
2010/11
Missed four games due to an ankle injury in September
Missed 14 games due to an ankle injury between October and December
Missed eight games due to a calf injury in January
Missed four games due to a calf injury in April and May
2011/12
Missed 20 games due to ankle surgery between August and November
Missed 18 games due to a hamstring injury between December and February
Missed 10 games due to a thigh injury in March and April
Missed two games due to a calf injury in May
2012/13
Missed two games due to a muscle injury in September
Missed 21 games due to a thigh injury between October and January
Missed one game due to a calf injury in March
Missed nine games due to a knee injury in April and May
2013/14
Missed 53 games due to a knee injury between August and Ma
2014/15
Missed five games due to injury in August
Missed 39 games due to a calf injury between September and May
Diaby’s Retirement
Wenger persevered with Diaby for years to get him fully fit, but he couldn’t go one season at Arsenal without flare-ups.
The Gunners made the decision to let him go and he ended up joining Olympique Marseille in 2015 – the club he supported as a child.
Diaby would make just six appearances in two seasons before calling time on his own career, however.
He announced his retirement at 32 and said he stopped because his body was telling him to.
The Frenchman claimed his injury problems affected him outside of football, so the safest bet was to not play anymore.
Diaby was in the mould of Vieira, Paul Pogba and Yaya Toure, but he ended up hardly featuring in the last few years of his career and he didn’t forge a legacy in the Premier League like the aforementioned players.
Featured image credits: Arsenal Core
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