A career full of injuries

2005-2006

On 12th January 2006 Diaby signed for Arsenal for a sum of around 2 million pounds. This puts an end to speculation that he will move to Chelsea. He took number 2. Diaby was seen as a replacement of Patrick Vieira, who was the ‘heart’ of Arsenal’s midfield. Abou Diaby made his debut for Arsenal in the 1-0 defeat to Everton on 21st January 2006. 5 months later he scored his first goal for The Gunners in a match against Aston Villa, coming on as a substitute. Just a month later, Diaby sprained his ankle in the match against Sunderland. The injury made him be out of the pitch for eight months.

2006-2007

But this injury didn’t make Diaby give up and on 9th January 2007 he returned as a substitute in the quarterfinal match in the Carling Cup against Liverpool, which finished 3-6 in favour of Arsenal. In the final match in Cardiff Diaby injured John Terry by kicking him in the jaw. Chelsea captain went unconscious for several minutes.

2007-2008

He started the season among the starting eleven. Wenger put Diaby on the left flank in order to train his left foot. And the midfielder left a good impression in the match against Derby County, replacing the injured Tomas Rosicky. On 12th December 2007 Diaby scored his first goal in the Champions League in a match against Steaua, which finished with a 2-1 for The Gunners. On 29th March 2008, Diaby received his first red card for Arsenal in a match against Bolton after his late tackle on Gretar Steinsson.

2008-2009

After Mathieu Flamini left for Milan, Abou Diaby had to fight with Denilson and Alex Song for the starting position as a Fabregas’ partner in midfield, but the Frenchman received an injury and missed several games. He returned to the pitch against Everton and just 6 minutes after entering the field Diaby made an assist to Walcott, who scored for 3-1.

2009-2010

This season was the best for Diaby in Arsenal! He became a key player! Abou Diaby managed to score 7 goals in all competitions for The Gunners.

But then the midfielder started suffering from different injuries, which affected negatively his further career. From 2010 to 2015 Diaby managed to appear on only 32 occasions in The Premier League for Arsenal. The midfielder first had an ankle injury. Then he was suffering from a calf muscle strain. But his most crucial injury was in 2013 when he had an ACL knee ligament injury, which made him be out of the pitch for more than a year.

Now, Abou Diaby is in Marseille, but his old injuries are still following him. He took part in just 2 matches in The Ligue One this season.