In all these, i believe that in Diaby was once (emphasis on “ONCE”) a gem. However injuries, especially that tackle pulled him down by the hip & at 26, there’s no telling whether he will ever deliver a good performance consistently. A change of post code a’ la’ Eduardo (but on loan) would certainly come in handy to give him much needed boost if we are to get the best out of him. For now, we could use the extra wages. Robin Van Persie, in his hey days as captain of the treatment room was still much more dangerous than Van Der Vaart and certainly had more passion than the aforementioned Torres. Diaby

So I was having my lunch at a Rwandan restaurant when this dude walked up to my table and spilled all his food on my newly pressed shirt as he made a beeline for the table next to mine. That he uttered some incomprehensible word to mean “sorry” is less significant. What is, is that he was smartly clad in an Arsenal shirt with the name “Diaby” across the back. Given the fact that Arsenal is alongside Real Madrid (deliberately leave Barcelona out of this illustrious company) the best footballing side on the earth’s surface, it’s only natural that even Spuds would love to blend in, after all, it’s not everyday that you get to watch 11 youngsters put a bunch of 11 oldies squarely on their backsides.

So while i struggled to wipe the fat off of me, i couldn’t help but think about Mean Lean’s obsession with this Diaby lad! That he was signed by Arsene is enough testament of his ability. However, the fact that he is an injury prone 26yr old is certainly not, although for argument’s sake am waiving this particular issue. What i ain’t waiving though is statistics- how i love ’em when they favor me!

Signed in 2006, Abou Diaby has gone on to master 160 appearances, scoring 20 times & weighing in with all of 14 assists! 34 goals in 160 appearances would hardly make Emile Heskey proud- even the legendary Fernando Torres wouldn’t tolerate such mediocrity! Oh, & before i get reminded that he is a Midfielder, his pass completion rate stands at 76%!

In all these, i believe that in Diaby was once (emphasis on “ONCE”) a gem. However injuries, especially that tackle pulled him down by the hip & at 26, there’s no telling whether he will ever deliver a good performance consistently. A change of post code a’ la’ Eduardo (but on loan) would certainly come in handy to give him much needed boost if we are to get the best out of him. For now, we could use the extra wages. Robin Van Persie, in his hey days as captain of the treatment room was still much more dangerous than Van Der Vaart and certainly had more passion than the aforementioned Torres. Diaby doesn’t show either. Hopefully he might become like Tomas Rosicky- a late bloomer. The difference is that we had ever seen the Little Mozart patrolling the German greens with a defiance similar to Jack Bauer’s demeanor when searching for Spuds in LA . Diaby to me, doesn’t seem to have the passion to fight for a loose ball, perhaps afraid that his legs would jump out of their sockets. I doubt even Jack Bauer could wring more commitment from him.

While i appreciate Mean Lean’s positive attitude- and i also really like him (mainly because his physique reminds me of that Roy Keane tormentor called Vieira)- i find him painfully slow, makes bad decisions too often & doesn’t show fight. I would discard him in a heart beat, but with the distracting presence of guys like Frimpong & JET, i say we keep him around, even if just so we don’t have to field the latter duo!

So there you have it, i had always wanted to say something on the lad, but never really got the nerve to do so, especially given the manner in which we have been downgrading opponents & the fear of expulsion from Mean Lean’s blog but this dude who just spoiled my afternoon perhaps deserves a second plate for making me this bold, or perhaps DVD compilation of the best of Patrick Vieira.

rgds,

Don Oloo

Mean Lean’s Response

Oh no you didn’t?! You’ve stepped to my manor (website) and you’ve disrespected my crew (Diaby) you just won’t make it out of here alive or something.

Seriously though, thank you for your thoughts and while I disagree with it all some of it, I can understand your stance on the player.

Firstly, I think the statistics are unfair, unfair because the goals, assists and pass completion rate etc does not give any context. In the last few seasons for example many of his appearances have been 15 minute cameos prior to a retreat to the treatment table.

The poor guy has not been able to do a Rosicky due to a lack of continuous games in the Arsenal team. All of those numbers will improve dramatically with a run of 10 games in a row. If I was not writing this whilst on public transport and loud headphones blaring out from the person sitting to my right then I would look at his statistics during his run of games alongside Alex Song a few seasons ago. My betting is that his stats would be impressive.

For me, this debate is nothing whatsoever to do with ability or effectiveness it is all to do with fitness. The argument for me is whether to risk keeping him on board after his injury history and not if he is good enough for us.

I think back to Chelsea away last season when he came back from injury and the likes of Lampard, Essien and company could not get near him and it was no surprise that Essien rather violently crashed into his ankle.

I don’t see a how a possibility of a loan would arise, when Diaby is fit he becomes an integral part of Arsene’s plans and always has. In fact it is the same for France. When he is injured he cannot go out on loan.

The one thing I would agree with you is that as far as I have seen Abou Diaby may not be a fighter like perhaps Jack Wilshere is. Although he is a great physical presence in the midfield and wins the ball very effectively but that is not the main part of his game, He is a direct dribbler who drives past people and gets into the box.

His rather short cameo at Liverpool showed in a short space of time how much he can change games and what is great about a fit Diaby regardless of what you think of the pecking order, he is different to all the rest of our attacking midfielders. Arteta, Rosicky, Wilshere, Ramsey and the youngsters (Aneke apart) are small, technical players where as Diaby gives you an option against the likes of Stoke City who threaten you with high balls and powerful sides like Manchester City.

I fully expect Diaby to remain doubted by many Gooners, he is not on the pitch and hasn’t been able to help us but I will eat my hat if Abou Diaby stays fit, plays games and doesn’t change those minds.