There were more Arsenal transfer rumours linking the club with a player in the deep lying central midfield role than any other, by some distance. And that has been the case with the Gunners in every transfer window for the past few years.
But as you know all too well, Arsene Wenger does not see things the same way as many fans and media pundits. It seems clear that the Frenchman is not really interested in signing a player like Makelele who is all about tackling and breaking up play. The players we were linked with in this last window were more the all-round type, like Khedira and Schneiderlin, but we still didn’t sign one.
That left Arsenal with the options of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, or at least that is what we thought until Wenger’s post-match words last night, reported by Arsenal.com., when the boss revealed his plans to get Abou Diaby playing in that role. This would put less pressure on his injury ravaged body and the boss reckons he has all the attributes to perform well in front of the back four.
Wenger said, “I try to transform it, yes because I feel because he was injured for a long time and he has the physical potential to win the challenges, to face the game will be easier for him than to play with his back to goal with the injuries he had.
“I tried to develop him in a deeper role, I think he can do it. He can be very interesting because he has all the attributes to do it. After, he must love it as well because he’s more of an offensive-minded player.”
If the possibility of Diaby, along with Arteta and Flamini, giving Arsenal enough options in the DM role is the reason for him keeping his powder dry in the transfer market, the 28-year old has about four months to prove himself before Wenger has to make the final decision before the January window closes. Can he be the answer?
a thin yaya toure at his best?
a fit and in-form diaby would’ve helped us win the league last year during ramsey’s absence. The moment we lost ramsey is the moment we lost the league and with no one able to cover for ramsey we got slapped silly. Didn’t have a 4th choice CB last season because sagna could play there, don’t even have a 3rd choice CB now because monreal(pre season) can play there as well. Why can’t wenger just man up and get a proper CB?!…
Hope and pray he lasts.
Diaby is okay in current position… Its Wenger that needs to be transformed to another role.. ball boy wont be bad
So frustrating, we are 2 players (DM,CB) short of winning the EPL. I admire le prof’s loyalty to players like diaby, ramsey, wilshire, ozil etc but some of his loyalty is misplaced. Pod, Roza, Arteta, Flamini. Purely it has to be their last season with us?
Well, the above comment may come about as of little logic and as if from one unlearned, especially in science. but if you behold it critically you will find a rich mixture of science and religion, blended in a manner only the very learned and of very high cognition in both fields can do. In summary, it combines with equal magnitude the golden rule from the bible and Newtons 2nd law of motion.
I am sorry but if you don’t know the above rule and law, I wont explain, just read ahead. no segregation no apathy here, am cool with everyone
So much anti-Wenger in here it makes me sick. What wouldn’t a Utd fan give these days to get SAF back? Careful what you wish, you just might get it.
If you would stop whining now, you just might deserve to celebrate the trashing of Spurs on Saturday.
If Arsenal had a coach as solid as some other clubs, the fans would not be whining.
If things had been up to you, we would have replace Wenger with van Gaal + plus shopped an insane amount of players, because the grass is always greener on the other side. Look at them now… they took a crap beating by the donkeys and leicester… is that what the stuff your dreams are made off?
Remember the pre-match press conference before the palace game at home this season? Wenger reacted to palace sacking pulis by saying he wouldn’t be able to work if he didn’t get the players he wanted…So he really wanted park chu young?!
If it is true Wenger did not buy a DM to accommodate Diaby then the team has no chance. It’s delusional to take that chance. Wenger’s act of not buying the positions we need has cost us dear. We are now so light defensively that another couple of injurys will see us bringing back Martin Keown and Tony Adams. In real terms it means we are always a couple players short of a Premier League winning team.
Hang in there. We will see how all this pans out somewhere in December.
and for how many years have you been saying the exact same thing
D###rider
Me? I never make statements, I just reserve my judgement until I have enough data to work with. Right now I have no fu cking clue where are we in respect with chances for EPL or FA Cup. All I know is that we haven’t lost yet and the fact that UCL may be a bridge too far. But these are not conclusions. Not from my part anyway. I have made one last year saying that we will fight until the last day for the title and I was wrong. Therefore I am stepping out of this game. Leaving the club do the best they can because I can’t influence anything in there. I just hope that whatever their strategy is it will work this time.
Hi, everyone! I know u all know me as muffdiver, but de truth is that I am a very stup*d, pathetic l0w-life. I have nothing reasonable to do with myself. In fact I’m a tr0ll. Yes, a tr0ll. I know everything I’m saying might sound horrible, but this is just my confession.
The truth is I need deliverance. Please deliver me from myself.
Man you need take the weight of your shoulder and to stop living a lie! Come out of the closet and confess that you really are a dickdiver just like Frank Maloney! Change your name to dickdiver and you will feel emancipated…do it brother! do it now!
No you ain’t Muff. His avatar has different eyes.
Liar.
Well, the above comment may come about as of little logic and as if from one unlearned, especially in science. but if you behold it critically you will find a rich mixture of science and religion, blended in a manner only the very learned and of very high cognition in both fields can do. In summary, it combines with equal magnitude the golden rule from the bible and Newtons 2nd law of motion.
I am sorry but if you don’t know the above rule and law, I wont explain, just read ahead. no segregation no apathy here, am cool with everyone
Arsenal not completing a DM transfer is the reason Diaby is going to be used as a DM..
Guys I have being thinking lately if there is any thing we can do to force Arsene hand in January to buying a proper DM as at happened on Welbeck case I’m very sure it was not his handy work I know someone in the broad did that. Can we pray for another miracle? Abu can not do this even if ur fully fit but he can be a cover for proper DM.
My prayer for Arsene is for him to win CL before he retire but I can see clearly now that that prayer may not come to pass because he doesn’t want it as much as I want it….how can you play four major competitions with just five defenders? and no proper DM (if u tell me Ateta-(angry I don’t want to write is name well) is I will not smile for 24hours) bet me Abu D. can’t this his just comeback if u over play him you will lose him again this time only God know how many months. I have given up on Arsene since 2008 I love him but I think he has lost the plot, the most annoying thing about him is his thinking of our player is better than our opponent no matter who we are playing which is a rung mentality because it obvious sometime we are not still not change his tactics for us to get something out of the game.
As for me form now I will support the team because that is only team I know does exist no other teams.
Gunners till eternity.
Four major competitions? EPL, UCL and FA Cup. What’s the fourth one. And no, Carling Cup isn’t one. Emirates Cup ?
Besides, you are very confused. You love Arsene but you have given up on him in 2008. Make up your mind. What is it?
@Budd
So carling cup Is what then? A friendly or what.. if you ask anybody including your self how many trophies M city won last session you know the answer your self.if we won it the last time we play the final nobody we tell u it took arsenal 9years to win a trophy.
As for my comment that I like Arsene, liking someone does not mean I trust Is judgment….! I have given up on him to bring back those beautiful memories of the past.
* last season
He didn’t say it wasn’t a trophy he said its not a major one. Which I agree with. There’s only 3 major honours in a season and a youth cup in my eyes. The league cup (not Carling or capital one or any other sponsor its had) is a Micky mouse cup that’s really is not worth the effort
You said “major” competition mate. I can’t see how Carling Cup can be one of these.
I think Diaby is a great player, but I don’t like the whole idea of transforming the players that we have into different positions… Sure, Diaby has all of the attributes, but he isn’t a natural DM. If we want to win trophies, we need people who play naturally in their roles. On top of this, just transforming players according to the given situation (eg, because of injuries) just adds to our thinning squad. To put it simply, we need to replace, not transform.
There’s no such thing anymore as pure CDM. Who is only a CDM these days? Look at all of them, Alonso, Martinez, Toure, Scheiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Matic etc. All these names don’t play deep only. They are transitioning to a more all round midfielder role. One can’t afford the luxury to have a midfield player locked in denying the opposition only. These days the middle of the field is where all it happens and versatility of the midfielders is key.
You have a good point. Lets just say that we have midfielders that have different skill-sets/mind-sets that lean either towards defensive or offensive. This doesn’t mean that they are confined to one or the other, it just means that they do one better and more often than the other. Diaby is an offensive-minded midfielder being converted into a defensive-minded midfielder. This is where I have a problem, someone’s natural game shouldn’t be altered, as you won’t get the best out of them. If we are short in a certain area, we need to replace them with players that have the same skill-set/mind-set, and not merely give a player a task that is un-natural to them. This is NOT how you win trophies… This is just my opinion.
Actually Wilshere fits more to the profile you sketched for Diaby. Diaby is basically a Ramsey stripped from offensive duties in the opponents box. All three of them have very good tackles and they can dribble well.
Wilshere already had a sniff on the DM position so this can only teach him more things in the future. He said that he studied Mascherano and … Pirlo. While Mascherano is a master of the deepest third, Pirlo is the master of the middle third. Gets you an idea what Wilshere wants to achieve.
Lets just pray that his legs of glass, turns into legs of steel this season and he remains free of injury! Fingers crossed guys! Coyg!
I’d love this to be the case but I’m not holding my breath on Diaby being fit most of the season.
He’s tall rangy and adds power to a very lightweight in general midfield and he is very skillfull.
But realistically this summer I feel we will move 1 of Arteta or Flamini on leaving room for a new holding player and Diaby I feel will be moved on to.
So we going to win the league with diaby? Wenger and his dream…
He is not a DM he is a box to box player and he has stated his favorite position is No 10. Methinks we are in for a tricky game against spuds on Saturday!
Wenger is so frustrating it is beyond belief! Genuine arsenal fans recognise Diaby’s undoubted quality, which if fitness allows can be world class. However every Tom, Dick and Harry is fully aware that Diaby is fragile as sh*t!
So why transform him into an out and out DM, which this current crop of arsenal players would heavily rely on as the ball winner, putting in many tackles? Relying on Diaby to come through unscathed after persistent physical collisions seems ridiculous as we are crying out for an out and out DM n defensive cover.
I hope by some miracle I am proved wrong and Diaby is that DM we’ve been waiting for all this while!
He definitely has the abilities to be the next viera. But as we all know, he somehow can’t stay fit. Arteta is not a dmf and flamini is not good enuff.
Diaby as a DM… I have to give it to Wenger… On the delusion and “stuck behind his players” department he is by far the best manager in world football.
Diaby had 45 injuries (Yes, you red correctly and can check it yourself… 45 injuries since is arrival) and barely play football for the last 3 years.
DM is one of the most demanding position in football and, strangely, Wenger thinks Diaby could be the perfect candidate… Don’t know if to be shocked, laugh, cry or just not give a f*ck???
Just an excuse to NOT GET INTO THE MARKET IN JANUARY…!!
This squad will not make it until the end of the season… That is just a fact. We are short in defence and you wonder why some players are still at the club as some just clearly want to leave.
The Capital one game was just a reminder of how the guy cannot manage properly.
Podolski and Rosicky were just poor. Wilshere was again less than average and Campbell clearly showed that he needs games (should have gone to Porto mate).
Diaby was and still is – SPECIAL – very rarely do players like him come along. Were it not for Dan Smith’s reckless tackle…we would be seeing a true great IMHO.
Wenger is NOT looking for a DM stop deluding yourselves. The traditional DM role is archaic. It’s one dimensional. He is looking for a holding mid who can play from deep, tackle, protect the ball, make the right pass, create the play…not an out and out bruiser. More like Viera…less like Tiote…more like Khedira….less like Maschareno.
he wants the double pivot – he’s banking on jack and rambo and Diaby to give him that eventually…he wants to play 4-2-3-1…just my take. at the moment the jack and rambo double pivot is weak defensively…both players still learning the defensive art – tackle and protect…these are my theories only…it’s what i observe and see.
But goodness me….Diaby can play a crucial role in all this….and I for one believe – only because if he was a lost cause..the medical team would have made their opinions heard and AW would have acquired that Viera type player. That they haven’t and he hasn’t speaks volumes of their belief in Abou Diaby…we should get behind the man who hasn’t given up.
Peace and out!