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According to a report in Daily Mail, Arsenal are all set to release Abou Diaby at the end of the season when his contract expires. The French midfielder has been at the club since 2006 but has only played 180 games in nine years in North London – an average of less than 19 games a season.
In the past two seasons alone, he has managed just two appearances – one in each season. A victim of a number of injuries which have plagued him ever since 2006 has left the club no choice but to finally release the 28-year-old.
A tall midfielder with both power and dribbling skills, he was initially compared to Patrick Vieira but in a more attacking sense. But it all started to go downhill when Diaby was the victim of a horror tackle from Sunderland’s Dan Smith on 1 May 2006.
Wenger wanted to keep Diaby if his fitness improved
Having suffered a number of injuries during his Arsenal career ranging from ankle, calf and hamstring injuries, Diaby never got a good run of games under his belt. Arsene Wenger always believed in him and even offered to give him a new contract if his fitness levels improved.
“If he comes back, I will keep him. I always believed in him. In football, the most important thing is health.” – Wenger in November 2014
Even Patrick Vieira had revealed that Diaby had the potential to be a better player than him if he was 100% fit.
“If he could have improved constantly, he would have reached an exceptional level. About his potential, he is better than me, better on a technical level, better dribbler, and better scorer too.” – Patrick Vieira in 2012
List of injuries Diaby has suffered at Arsenal
According to the data, Diaby has been out injured for a total of 1554 days. That is the length of almost half his career at Arsenal (46.5%).
| # | INJURY | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | ||
| 1 | Ankle/Foot Injury | May 1st |
| 2007 | ||
| 2 | Knee Injury | February 2nd |
| 3 | Sprained Ankle | February 25th |
| 4 | Concussion | April 20th |
| 5 | Sprained Ankle | August 14th |
| 6 | Back Injury | November 22nd |
| 2008 | ||
| 7 | Calf Muscle Strain | February 8th |
| 8 | Calf Muscle Strain | March 7th |
| 9 | Thigh Muscle Strain | April 25th |
| 10 | Thigh Muscle Strain | August 3rd |
| 11 | Abdominal Strain | November 22nd |
| 2009 | ||
| 12 | Thigh Muscle Strain | January 31st |
| 13 | Calf Muscle Strain | February 24th |
| 14 | Thigh Muscle Strain | April 1st |
| 15 | Knee Injury | July 27th |
| 16 | Groin Strain | August 12th |
| 17 | Ankle/Foot Injury | October 10th |
| 18 | Calf Muscle Strain | November 7th |
| 2010 | ||
| 19 | Calf Muscle Strain | January 20th |
| 20 | MCL Knee Ligament Injury | February 17th |
| 21 | Calf Muscle Strain | March 27th |
| 22 | Calf Muscle Strain | August 11th |
| 23 | Ankle/Foot Injury | September 13th |
| 24 | Ankle/Foot Injury | October 4th |
| 25 | Ankle/Foot Injury | October 19th |
| 26 | Calf Muscle Strain | December 30th |
| 2011 | ||
| 27 | Calf Muscle Strain | January 2nd |
| 28 | Ankle/Foot Injury | July 22nd |
| 29 | Hamstring Injury | November 26th |
| 2012 | ||
| 30 | Hamstring Injury | March 3rd |
| 31 | Hamstring Injury | March 29th |
| 32 | Illness | April 23rd |
| 33 | Calf Muscle Strain | April 28th |
| 34 | Muscle Injury | September 7th |
| 35 | Thigh Muscle Strain | September 29th |
| 2013 | ||
| 36 | Illness | January 22nd |
| 37 | Calf/Shin Injury | February 23rd |
| 38 | ACL Knee Injury | March 27th |
| 2014 | ||
| 39 | Groin/Pelvis Injury | April 22nd |
| 40 | Hip/Thigh Injury | July 26th |
| 41 | Calf/Shin Injury | October 14th |
| 42 | Calf Muscle Strain | November 24th |
