Many of us Arsenal fans thought we had seen the last of Abou Diaby in an Arsenal shirt as his contract is nearing an end and that one previous appearance this season, in the Capital One Cup defeat by Southampton in September, was followed by the latest in a ridiculously long string of injury problems.
Now, however, there is a good chance that the talented French midfielder could be set for his second appearance of the season, beating his tally of one game at the end of last season that was his first in almost 18 months. Diaby, along with Debuchy, Arteta and Wilshere, took part in a friendly game during the international break and then he completed an hour for the under 21 Gunners on Tuesday. And Arsenal.com have reported that the manager says they are ready to play if necessary.
Wenger said, “They came through the game on Tuesday well. They were at a good level physically and they should all be available from now on until the end of the season hopefully.”
The reason I think that Diaby is more likely to play against Burnley on Saturday, although not from the start, is that he is the player that most needs the chance to show what he can do after so few games in recent seasons. He also could be the best option for Arsenal towards the end of the game, assuming that we have taken the lead and want to see the game out. The fact that he was the most impressive of our returning players in his last two games will not hurt his chances either.
But could Diaby finally be ready to be `like a new signing´ for Arsenal?