Diaby on comeback trail for new Arsenal contract says Wenger

The latest news on Abou Diaby and his injury situation is sure to please a lot of Arsenal fans, but the suggestion from Arsene Wenger that the French midfielder could also be set to receive a contract extension to his current deal that runs out at the end of this season will dismay just as many.

You cannot help but feel sorry for the talented player who only managed to play 11 games for the Gunners before the Sunderland defender Dan Smith smashed his ankle apart with the horror tackle that was the start of a never ending list of injury problems that stopped him fulfilling the huge promise he had showed before.

In an ESPN report, the Arsenal boss lays the blame for all the subsequent injuries on that first ankle problem that required numerous surgeries and has never been quite right since. But he also reveals that Diaby is still working hard towards his latest comeback and that has earned Wenger’s respect so much that he is always willing to extend his contract of there is any chance that he will be able to play for us again.

Wenger said, “He’s a player for whom I have a huge amount of respect. Imagine that each time he comes back there’s another injury. You have to start all over again. He works six-to-eight hours every day to get back into shape, and each time he comes back, he gets injured again. He’s a player who was destroyed by competition, by a bad tackle, which has never been highlighted.

“The main problem is that a footballer needs his ankle, and the mobility of his ankle. When the mobility of your ankle is reduced, you compensate for that in all your movements. That’s what has caused Diaby’s misfortune.

“He was tackled at Sunderland, six or seven years ago, a killer tackle from behind that was never punished and which changed the mobility of his ankle. People say he’s a fragile player, he’s not a fragile player.

“He’s a player who was destroyed by a bad challenge, and I hope he’s now going to come back. Of course, if he comes back, I’m going to keep him. I have always extended his contract, because I have always believed in him. I have a lot of respect for the mental strength that he has shown in the last six or seven years. He has gone through some incredible things.”

The boss is clearly being ultra cautious with his fellow Frenchman this season, using him just once so far in the Capital One Cup defeat to Southampton. But it sounds like we could be seeing him in the Arsenal first team again before too long. But is Wenger ignoring the painful truth and dealing with the situation too emotionally rather than seeing the practical side and admitting that Diaby will never be the player we want him to be?

Tags Diaby Wenger

35 Comments

  1. Alright then. Keep him, move on, and ask him to politely turn down his national side if they come calling since he seems to walk into the French team when he’s fit. Still need a defender and a midfield enforcer….next story

    1. The guy is only 28 so still young and is a well known talented guy.Diaby fit is better than most of our midfielder so I think he should be kept with a clause in his contract for game time.
      Remember Van Persie he was nearly the same until his breakthrouh year.
      Let s stand by our unfortunate,unlucky players.

  2. Yes Wenger, we understand all the bad luck with Diaby but the fact remains that we have a place in the squad & wages being occupied by a player who never plays. We’re missing out.on a true CDM (I know Biafy is more a B2B mId) and the results suffer because we don’t move on.

  3. I honestly feel so sorry for Diaby, although a lot don’t considering he’s picking up 50/55k p/w for never doing his job. But you can’t blame him for that. I’m sure anyone of us would accept that kind of money for rarely working.

    It’s Wenger and the board that are to blame for this insane level of incompetence. Wenger is always going on about economics, yet he doesn’t mind throwing away wages on a player who is constantly injured. The wages could be used for lots of youth talent or another player for the first team who can actually play more than five times a season.

    If Diaby gets another contract of any kind, then I can’t even see how an AKB could stand up for him any more.

    1. @ThirdManJW.
      “If Diaby gets another contract of
      any kind, then I can’t even see
      how an AKB could stand up for
      him any more.”

      Don’t be so sure about that. There exist a growing kind of AKBs I prefer to call BEBA (Blame Everything But Wenger). If Wenger goes ahead with his threat (yes, THREAT!), these lot will stand up for him regardless.

      But an AKB with thinking faculties intact, will surely be concerned. I’m seriously concerned now!

  4. Why does Wenger do this?! I adore this man. So when he comes out with dumb loser statements like this one, it pains me! It pains me even more when he makes do his threat (this is what his talk about keeping Diaby sounds like to me!).

    Why hope against hope? He did the same sh*t with Bendtner, until it cost us the EPL last season (in a year we were primed to win it). He kept Park Chu Young for years even though the guy was literally non-existent in the team. Bendtner and Park where on salaries and occupied space that another decent striker will have used in the team last year.

    Wenger continues to be a success when it comes to sticking to players in really bad times. That’s all good and humanitarian. But professionally, has the man become too settled in his job, so much that be has become used to a systematic way of failure?

  5. From my experience in trading the financial market, I’ve come to learn a valuable lesson: DO NOT HANG ON TO LOSING POSITIONS. Those who do, find themselves adopting a system of failure.

    Yes it can be argued that managing football and the trading the financial market are different things. However, for a manager that likes so much to draw attention to the economics of the game, surely that lesson should have same economic value. I mean it did last season (when hanging on to Bendtner and Park denied us the obvious economic benefits of winning the PL).

    If Wenger goes ahead to give Diaby a new contract, I will lose all hope in him. Then I will take a break from football, until he stops managing the affairs of the club. I will remain respectful of the great things he did in the past regardless.

      1. @Robin Vanpayslip.
        Do you mind explaining why you think it is SH*T? Because honestly, I desperately need someone to help me make sense of this.

  6. 5 years ago the surgeons said Diaby
    is an injury wreck, but what do they
    know? Just because Diaby has missed
    190 of Arsenals last 250 games
    we must keep the faith.
    Look Diaby has played in 3 yes 3
    of Arsenals last 100 games.
    Surely that justifys a contract
    extension up untill 2017.
    Diaby’s protege Sanogo is fashioning a
    promising career of his own missing
    61 of the last 80 games and will be rewarded
    with a contract extension up until 2023.

    1. You see the line you picked up from Arteta statement in the previous article about “where we want to be in May-April”? That is the kind of stuff that creates room for this lack of ruthless efficiency.

  7. I believe diaby should have a new deal! Just imagine if he left and had a couple of decent years at one of our rivals , van Persie was prone for 7 years then smashed 30goals for us, I’m sure his wages won’t be to high

  8. The year before Diaby arrived at Arsenal and suffered that leg break he didn’t have a single injury.
    Post the leg break he suffered all of the following:
    Anterior Cruciate Ligament 2013 March 28th

    Calf/Shin Injury 2013 February 23rd

    Illness 2013 January 22nd

    Thigh Muscle Strain 2012 September 29th

    Muscle Injury 2012 September 7th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2012 April 28th

    Illness 2012 April 23rd

    Hamstring Injury 2012 March 29th

    Hamstring Injury 2012 March 3rd

    Hamstring Injury 2011 November 26th

    Ankle/Foot Injury 2011 July 22nd

    Calf Muscle Strain 2011 January 2nd

    Calf Muscle Strain 2010 December 30th

    Ankle/Foot Injury 2010 October 19th

    Ankle/Foot Injury 2010 October 4th

    Ankle/Foot Injury 2010 September 13th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2010 August 11th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2010 March 27th

    MCL Knee Ligament Injury 2010 February 17th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2010 January 20th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2009 November 7th

    Ankle/Foot Injury 2009 October 10th

    Groin Strain 2009 August 12th

    Knee Injury 2009 July 27th

    Thigh Muscle Strain 2009 April 1st

    Calf Muscle Strain 2009 February 24th

    Thigh Muscle Strain 2009 January 31st

    Abdominal Strain 2008 November 22nd

    Thigh Muscle Strain 2008 August 3rd

    Thigh Muscle Strain 2008 April 25th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2008 March 7th

    Calf Muscle Strain 2008 February 8th

    Back Injury 2007 November 22nd

    Sprained Ankle 2007 August 14th

    Concussion 2007 April 20th

    Sprained Ankle 2007 February 25th

    Knee Injury 2007 February 2nd

    Ankle break 2006 May 1st.
    The treatment of this injury was definitely botched, leading to what followed.
    Players who tackle in such a fashion, thereby causing such bad injuries, should be banned for a year!
    I hope that under Shad Forsythe, Diaby can make a come back of sorts, on his day he is a joy to watch, loved watch him boss Liverpool’s midfield in one of his few fit games.
    Good luck Diaby…

    1. Now I fully understand why
      Wenger has not bought any
      tough DM’s. We have Diaby
      an indestructable man of steel
      who plays 50 game’s a season.

  9. Holy sh*t!!! Has to be one of the longest injury lists of all time. Hats off to Diaby for his comebacks a true gunner. But He didnt just get recurrences in the same leg. He’s had a number of injuries that have nothing to do with the leg and for that I blame the medical staff that Wenger hired. We need to move on from this injury curse. Lets cut the bullsh*t, treat players the right way and get back to fitness. Big games coming up and we’re gonna need all the help we can get

    1. Just because his injurys arent leg injuries doesnt mean they’re not related. Simply walking or running on the outside or inside of your feet can injure your legs and hips. What I’m saying is that one injury can lead to another, as you compensate for that injury and react unnaturally it can lead to strain of other bones and muscles. As much as it would be easy to blame wenger on diabys injuries, I don’t think it’s quite correct to do so.

  10. I can’t see Diaby ever making it big time anymore even though Wenger always talks very highly of him.

    If anyone thinks Diaby would be our midfield solution then they would be highly wrong to assume that an injury prone midfielder can help us in pursuit of silverwares.

    But i want Wenger to give him a contract like that of Michael Owen in United. Pay-as-you-play. First off he is a damn fine footballer. And somehow he has a obligation towards us for taking care of him so long.

    He can’t demand first team football whenever he wants. And that would make him an excellent squad player who would be on the bench without making a fuss of things.

    We can call on him whenever there is a need to close down a game. And if he can somehow one day get back to his best, and give us, say, half a season or a complete injury free season, he will be worth the wait.

    1. @Sumo.
      You say:
      “But i want Wenger to give him a contract like that of Michael Owen in United. Pay-as-you-play.”

      Look, I like Abou as a person and as a footballer. And I kind of like the idea of ‘Pay-as-you-play’ (assuming that is what Arsene has in mind, and if his philosophy will allow for it).
      However, there is a huge difference btw his situation and Micheal Owen’s. Owen was injury-prone at the time, but he was not as totally crocked!

      You say:
      “We can call on him whenever there is a need “.

      You see, for Michael Owen there were reasons to believe that he was going to be available (atleast 40% of the time) whenever the need arose. Now what tangible reason is there to believe same for Diaby?

      Moreover, Man U were not the ones in pursuit of a single PL trophy in ten years.

  11. Thank God Diaby wasn’t being tended by the NH,We’ve all been up the swanee.
    That comment is for my British gooners only,Sorry.
    I

  12. Tough call. On the one hand Diaby, when fit can be a really good asset, although he is best suited as an AM, his height and strength would set him apart from all our other AM’s. The question is, will he ever be fit and consistent enough? My gut tells me we shouldn’t gamble anymore on him…but perhaps now is the time for him to shine. Wenger should be wise and only extend his contract by another year, max two just in case he gets injured again. That way we can sell him or more likely just let him go sooner than later.

  13. Has it ever crossed Wengers mind that maybe the PL is not suitable for Diaby at this stage. Maybe he should consider a lower league for a while till he recovers.

  14. How does Diaby even get injured while not playing sometimes????????? (i may never understand) ……..oh! Perhaps at training

  15. Seriously, a new contract? F*CK NO.

    I don’t care if he works 8 hours a day to get back on the pitch, HE HAS TO PLAY. Are we running a charity here? I work hard 8 hours a day too, can I get a contract as well? I might go missing few seasons like Diaby but doesn’t matter because I work hard.

    Diaby will probably never be a footballer again which is tragic but that’s life. There are far more sad things out there. Keeping him on board and taking a spot in the team from someone other, is unacceptable. If he gets a new contract, I’ll follow Usmanov and take a break.

    There’s no excuse for keeping players on a payroll who can’t play.

  16. My first reaction was wtf no way, only at Arsenal, Wenger is deluded etc.
    Then I thought about it, we don’t know the exact amounts agreed in the contract.
    If multiple INDEPENDENT experts believe he can get injury-free and Arsenal offers him like 10k/week just to train with a one-year extension option every year, why the heck not? But certainly no 55k because that’s just stealing a living, making twice as much than the average hard working man.

  17. I feel sorry for him on 50/55,000 a week ,
    Right off to work

    Oh and by the way if wenger offers him a new contract he’s more deluded than I thought he was
    WENGER OUT BOARD OUT

  18. The only reason I am not upset by Wenger’s statement is that I think (hope) Wenger is merely trying not to hurt Diaby’s feelings. There is a chance, however small, that Diaby might contribute something this year. When Wenger says he’ll get a new contract if he returns to full fitness, Wenger (hopefully) knows there is only a slim chance of that happening. If they are in any way planning for future with the expectation of Diaby playing a role, that would be pure stupidity.

  19. No doubt that Diaby is a great player when fit, and I would hate to see him come good at another club.
    His contract should be extended, but with reduced basic salary and bonuses for actual game time.

    Do we think Arsenal as a club are too soft on their players? So so many injuries to various members of our squad that keep them out for weeks at a time. These guys are paid very very well.. and everyone knows their working lives are fairly short. Is not coming out of the sport with a dodgy hip or knee or ankle just part and parcel of the job. We seem to wrap these guys up in cotton wool with every bruise or dead leg they get – or am I just being overly critical?

  20. Why do people care so much about how much Arsenal is spending on it’s players?
    Why dont u just care so much about how much u are spending as a person so that u don’t die poor?

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