1986/05/11
Vassiriki Abou Diaby
Paris, France
1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
75.00kg
Midfielder
London
Club information
Arsenal
Auxerre (2003-2006)
France
Paris Saint-Germain (1999-2001)
Facts & Background
Contents |
About
Abou Diaby was born in Paris on May 11th 1986. He currently plays for Arsenal FC. He is generally considered a central midfield player but spent much the 2007-8 season playing on the left hand side of midfield.
Background
Club Football
Diaby spent the early part of his youth career at Paris Saint Germain before joining Auxerre in 2003. He made his first team debut under Guy Roux against Rennes on August 14, 2004.
In total he played on 10 league games in two seasons for Auxerre, scoring one goal.
Arsenal FC
Diaby joined Arsenal in January 2006, arriving around the same time as Emmanuel Adebayor, from Monaco, and Theo Walcott. A fee of between £2m and £4m has been mooted and Diaby himself revealed he turned down the advances of Chelsea to join the Gunners.
He made his Arsenal début as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Everton on January 21, 2006. His first goal came in a 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa and Diaby was pushing for a regular first team spot until the game against Sunderland that season.
Towards the end of the game Diaby was on the end of a disgusting tackle from Sunderland midfielder Dan Smith which broke the and dislocated the Frenchman's ankle. In total he spent 8 months out of the game, returning as a substitute against Liverpool in the Carling Cup in January 2007. He flitted in and out of the team as Arsenal's relatively poor season fizzled out, even playing as a support striker at times.
His most memorable moment in 2007 was kicking John Terry unconscious during the Carling Cup final. Had it not been for the swift intervention of nearby Arsenal physio Gary Lewin the blow might well have been fatal.
In the 2007-8 season he made a total of 28 Arsenal appearances scoring 4 goals. He also received his first ever red card for a poor challenge in a game against Bolton.
He has been injury prone since the Dan Smith tackle and his chances of gaining a regular first team spot have been hampered by his continual absences.
International Football
He has made a total of 3 appearances for the full French national side after many caps at youth level.
International Goals
| Date | Team | Competition | Goals Scored |
|---|---|---|---|
Awards and Honours
Personal Awards
| Previous Winner | Award | Year | Successor |
|---|---|---|---|
Career Statistics
| Team | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | International | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | G | A | M | G | A | M | G | A | M | G | A | ||
| Total | |||||||||||||
M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists
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