Abou Diaby

Abou Diaby
Abou Diaby corner.JPG
Personal information
Full name Vassiriki Abou Diaby[1]
Date of birth 11 May 1986 (1986-05-11) (age 24)
Place of birth Aubervilliers, France
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Arsenal
Number 2
Youth career
1994–1998 Aubervilliers
1998–1999 Red Star Paris
1999–2002 Paris Saint-Germain
2002–2003 Auxerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2004 Auxerre B 11 (1)
2004–2005 Auxerre 10 (1)
2005– Arsenal 95 (13)
National team‡
2004–2005 France U19 14 (0)
2006–2009 France U-21 1 (0)
2007– France 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:07, 21 August 2010 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:44, 23 June 2010 (UTC)
Diaby taking a throw-in against Fulham during the 2006–07 season

Vassiriki Abou Diaby (French pronunciation: [abu djabi]; born 11 May 1986), more commonly known as Abou Diaby, is a French international footballer of Ivorian descent currently playing for Arsenal. Diaby's natural position is as a box-to-box central midfielder, as he is adept in both attack and defence. Diaby's physical appearance and positional preference have evoked comparisons to Arsenal legend and compatriot, Patrick Vieira, by Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger[2] and by journalists.[3]

Contents

Club career

Early career

Diaby was born in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris, and began his career playing for hometown club Aubervilliers. Diaby's quick progression at the amateur club led to a move to local semi-professional outfit Red Star Paris where he spent a year. After leaving Red Star at age 13, Diaby signed a youth contract with the professional capital club Paris Saint-Germain, despite being a Marseille supporter. Diaby left the club after two years.[4] While attending Paris-Saint-Germain, he also regularly attended classes at the famed Clairefontaine academy.[5] He joined Auxerre in 2002 and was a member of the Auxerre team that won the national U-16 championship that year. His coach at the time, Christian Henna, described him as a "very good technician, elegant, quick".[6] He developed into a tall, powerful midfielder. Diaby signed as a professional at Auxerre, playing seven matches in 2004–05 and six in the first half of 2005–06. His first match for Auxerre's first team came as a last-minute substitute against Rennes on 14 August 2004.[7]

Arsenal

2005–06 season

Before joining Arsenal, Diaby reportedly turned down a move to Arsenal London's rivals Chelsea.[8] He was given the number 2 shirt, vacant since the retirement of Lee Dixon. On 1 April 2006, Diaby came off the bench to score his first goal for Arsenal in their 5–0 rout of Aston Villa, after being set-up by fellow Arsenal newcomer Emmanuel Adebayor.[9] Diaby suffered a broken leg and a dislocated ankle in a match at Sunderland on 1 May 2006.[10]

2006–07 season

Diaby made his return to first team action as a 74th-minute substitute in Arsenal's 6–3 victory at Liverpool in the League Cup at Anfield on 9 January 2007.[11]

On 25 Febuary 2007 in the League Cup final, Diaby accidentally kicked John Terry in the face when Diaby tried to clear the ball during a goalmouth scramble in the 58th minute. Unconscious, Terry was stretchered off and hospitalized, but recovered to return to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the trophy presentation.[12]

Diaby scored his first and only goal of the 2006/07 season against Aston Villa on 14 March 2007 when he deflected in Julio Baptista's shot.[13]

2007–08 season

On 22 September 2007, Diaby scored his first goal of the season in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Derby County by firing a shot into the top corner of the net.[14][15] On 12 December, Diaby opened the scoring for Arsenal in their 2–1 win against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League.[16] On 18 December, Diaby then scored in Arsenal's 3-2 away win over Blackburn Rovers in the semi final of the League Cup.[17] On 29 March 2008, Diaby was sent off against Bolton Wanderers for a studs-up tackle on Gretar Steinsson.[18] He scored his second Champions League goal for Arsenal on 8 April 2008 against Liverpool at Anfield. Arsenal went on to lose the game 4-2, 5-3 on aggregate.[19]

2008–09 season

He scored his first Premier League goal of the season in the 2–2 draw with Aston Villa on 26 December 2008.[20] Diaby finished the season by scoring Arsenal's third goal in the 4–1 win over Stoke City.[21]

2009–10 season

Diaby started the season on the bench but a back injury to fellow Arsenal midfielder Denílson[22] allowed him to stake his claim as a first-team regular starter. Playing alongside Alex Song and Cesc Fàbregas, he became part of the dynamic 3-man midfield partnership and scored four goals before picking up an injury against Wolves. The injury jeopardised his place in the French squad for the World Cup play-off against Ireland.[23] Diaby grabbed his sixth goal of the season against Aston Villa on 27 December 2009, almost exactly a year after he scored his first Premier League goal, coincidently also against Villa.[24] Diaby scored his sixth league goal and seventh goal of the season to help Arsenal win 1–0 during a crucial fixture at the Emirates Stadium against Liverpool on 10 February 2010.[25]

2010–11 season

On 21 August 2010, Diaby scored Arsenal's fourth goal in their first home game of the season against Blackpool, which they won 6–0. He met Bacary Sagna's cross from the right hand side with a powerful half-volley driven low into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. This was the second time in his Arsenal carrer that he had scored on the Gunners second game of the season.

International career

Diaby was capped 14 times for the France U-19 side, captaining the team in their successful U-19 European Championship campaign in 2005. In February 2006, he made his début with the France U-21 squad.

Diaby had been expected to play in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final against FC Barcelona, as well as the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006, but he missed out due to a broken and dislocated ankle.

On 15 March 2007, he was called up to the French senior squad for their two forthcoming fixtures, making his début for France on 24 March when he came on for Florent Malouda in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Lithuania. He gained a starting place in the following match, playing 57 minutes against Austria, the game ending in a 1–0 victory for France.

In May 2010, Diaby was named in the French World Cup squad. On 11 June 2010, Abou was handed a starting place in France's opening Group A fixture in Cape Town against Uruguay and was France's best performer in the goalless draw.[3]

Club career statistics

(correct as of 25 August 2010)

Club Season League Cup[26] Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
AJ Auxerre 2004–05 4 0 - - - - 2 0 - 6 0 -
2005–06 6 1 - - - - 2 0 - 6 1 -
Total 10 1 – – – – 4 0 – 12 1 –
Arsenal 2005–06 12 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 16 1 1
2006–07 12 1 0 5 0 1 1 0 0 18 1 1
2007–08 15 1 1 7 1 1 6 2 0 28 4 2
2008–09 24 3 2 5 0 0 7 1 0 36 4 2
2009–10 29 6 4 1 0 0 10 1 1 40 7 5
2010–11 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1
Total 94 13 9 20 1 2 26 4 1 140 18 12
Career total 104 14 9 20 1 2 30 4 1 152 19 12

France career statistics

(correct as of 22 June 2010)
France World Cup EURO Qualifying matches World Cup Qualifying matches EURO Friendly internationals Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
France 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 8 0 1

Honours

Arsenal

Runner-up

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/7b/53/0,,12306~152443,00.pdf. Retrieved 4 August 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Wenger compares Diaby to Vieira". BBC Sport. 23 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8216693.stm. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Vignal, Patrick (13 June 2010). "World Cup 2010: Diaby shines for gloomy France". Scotland On Sunday. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/World-Cup-2010-Diaby-shines.6358841.jp. Retrieved 13 June 2010. 
  4. ↑ Arsenal.com: Diaby – My history with Paris St Germain
  5. ↑ "INF, formateur de talents" (in French). FFF. http://www.fff.fr/presentationfff/actualite/418646.shtml. Retrieved 21 July 2009. 
  6. ↑ "Abou Diaby's career statistics". roulf. http://www.rlfoot.fr/Joueurs/DIABY_Abou.htm. Retrieved 11 April 2007. 
  7. ↑ "La fiche de Vassiriki Diaby". LFP.fr. http://www.lfp.fr/joueur/index.asp?no_joueur=105181. Retrieved 11 April 2007. 
  8. ↑ Arsenal complete signing of Diaby
  9. ↑ "Arsenal 5–0 Aston Villa". BBC. 1 April 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4842386.stm. Retrieved 2 September 2009. 
  10. ↑ "Diaby injury mars Arsenal victory". BBC. 1 May 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4963628.stm. Retrieved 12 March 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Liverpool 3–6 Arsenal". BBC. 9 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_cup/6236687.stm. Retrieved 12 March 2010. 
  12. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2007/02/26/john-terry.html
  13. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-442387/Diabys-slice-luck-leaves-Villa-stranded.html
  14. ↑ http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport-old/football/2007/09/23/arsenal-5-0-derby-115875-19833124/
  15. ↑ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=219294&cc=4716&campaign=rss&source=soccernet
  16. ↑ "Arsenal 2–1 Steaua Bucharest". BBC. 12 December 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7134129.stm. Retrieved 2 September 2009. 
  17. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_cup/7145781.stm
  18. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7309362.stm
  19. ↑ "Liverpool 4–2 Arsenal (agg 5–3)". BBC. 8 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7332209.stm. Retrieved 2 September 2009. 
  20. ↑ "Aston Villa 2–2 Arsenal". BBC. 26 December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7787537.stm. Retrieved 2 September 2009. 
  21. ↑ "Arsenal 4–1 Stoke". BBC. 24 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8048291.stm. Retrieved 2 September 2009. 
  22. ↑ "Arsenal hit by Denilson lay-off". BBC. 28 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8278950.stm. Retrieved 10 November 2009. 
  23. ↑ "Wolves 1–4 Arsenal". BBC. 7 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8344200.stm. Retrieved 10 November 2009. 
  24. ↑ "Arsenal 3 - 0 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 27 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8423583.stm. Retrieved 27 December 2009. 
  25. ↑ "Diaby resuscitates title hopes". skysports.com. 
  26. ↑ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield

External links

France squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup
1 Lloris • 2 Sagna • 3 Abidal • 4 Réveillère • 5 Gallas • 6 Planus • 7 Ribéry • 8 Gourcuff • 9 Cissé • 10 Govou • 11 Gignac • 12 Henry • 13 Evra (c) • 14 Toulalan • 15 Malouda • 16 Mandanda • 17 Squillaci • 18 Diarra • 19 Diaby • 20 Valbuena • 21 Anelka • 22 Clichy • 23 Carrasso • Coach: Domenech
 France
Arsenal F.C. – current squad

1 Almunia · 2 Diaby · 3 Sagna · 4 Fàbregas (c) · 5 Vermaelen · 6 Koscielny · 7 Rosický · 8 Nasri · 10 van Persie · 11 Vela · 14 Walcott · 15 Denílson · 17 Song · 18 Squillaci · 19 Wilshere · 20 Djourou · 21 Fabiański · 22 Clichy · 23 Arshavin · 27 Eboué · 28 Gibbs · 29 Chamakh · 52 Bendtner · 53 Szczęsny · Manager: Wenger