Evening all,
Or whatever time zone you find yourself in right now. I started writing a blog before Arsene’s press conference started seeping through the world of the internet and he practically blew up my writing so instead of correcting it all, I just stuck it in the recycling bin and went about my business today and have finally found some time to sit down drink some coffee and pour out some of my thoughts.
Arsene has confused me firstly by stating that pretty much everyone is fit and then during his press conference he has claimed that half of them are injured and need to be assessed. Hopefully that is just Arsene trying to throw Daglish off our ever so sweet scent. Arsene said that van Persie and Vermaelen needed to be assessed but they both trained. I was worried that Tomas Rosicky did not train as I couldn’t immediately see him in the pics on Arsey.com but the eagle eyes of @Hazzaboy21 told me to look a little harder and there he was faded in the background behind no other than Abou Diaby.
Can you believe it, king Abou is fit and raring for some Arsenal action. Abou Diaby polarises opinion like no other Arsenal player in our squad today. Personally he is one of my favourite players and he is a player that has had a big chunk of his footballing career stolen due to a malicious assault from a call center operator.
I can appreciate that not everyone rates him as highly as I do but I do have to stick up for him when labels such as inconsistent are thrown at him. That one ankle break has caused him so many problems all over his body as he over compensates on other body parts, a majority of his pulls, strains and tweaks are the result of that one ankle and because of that, he has not been able to put together runs in the team. Look up the word setback in the dictionary and there you will see a picture of Abou Diaby grinning with his thumbs up.
The guy hasn’t been able to achieve consistency because he finds himself continuously trying to build up to match fitness and also match sharpness. Without a run of games where you are totally free from injury, it is very difficult to get to your best. The last stretch of games he had was a few season’s ago when he played alongside Alex Song, I think it was Arsene’s first adaptation of the 4-3-3. Previously it was just Alex Song sitting with two advanced midfielders ahead of him but during that season Wenger asked Diaby to drop deeper alongside Song. During that run of games he was fantastic. It was at a time when we spanked Porto at the Emirates, I remember because I was there watching our central midfield absolutely dominate the game in every way.
I think much of the opinion of Diaby has been a little blurred in recent times. We see a player struggle to catch up with those who are playing weekly, a player who dwells on the ball and then has another set back. Clearly not setting the world alight but underneath all of that in my eyes at least, is one of the best box to box midfielders in Europe being hidden away under the heavy weight of injuries. Without those injuries and with the momentum of games he would dwell less, pass cleaner and contribute better. Look at the Robin van Persie that started this fine run of games. The one that started back at Old Trafford when we lost 1-0 last season (I think) is not the one you see today. He struggled for a few games to find his oh so funky rhythm. If that is the case for Robin then why not for other footballers.
If Diaby was to ever put his injuries behind him then at 25/26 years of age I could see him ‘doing a van Persie’ bursting to life and consistently putting in top performances. We know how highly Arsene rates him because whenever he is close to being fit, he finds himself straight in the team or at least getting minutes from the bench, the same can be said for the French team and that says something.
The obvious argument and understandable discussion is can we continue to pay a player good wages to sit on the treatment table for so long. Firstly it has to be said that any resentment should be directed to Dan Smith and not a player who could be in the process of having his career ruined. But the point remains, if Abou Diaby cannot stay fit then there is a justified argument that Diaby should be replaced by a player who can play 15 games on the trot without such a history of injury.
Personally this is one player I hope the manager gambles with and sticks by. Diaby had ankle surgery in the summer to correct his problems and so far that has not been the case. His contract runs out in 2014 and I would simply wait until then to make a decision. It is not as if we could sell him for £25m today due to those same injury issues.
If the footballing gods can turn their attentions to diving cheats like Gareth Bale and spare king Abou then we would have a player who can dribble, shoot, tackle and stride through opposition players in seconds. There are not many players around who have the quality that Diaby possesses.
I have said this more than once and have ended up disappointed but once again, I hope this is the turning point for him. Perhaps if our numbers in central midfield remains healthy, especially with Jack Wilshere not so far away from first team involvement then maybe gradual cameos may be the order of the day until the end of the season and then lets get him back for pre season and go from there. Recent history tells me that I could be getting way ahead of myself.
One step at a time, lets get him through tomorrow, whether he plays or not without any injuries and then we can go from there.
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Right back tomorrow with a preview.
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