Diaby appreciation thread

Diaby is fit and has come through pre season so far without and recurrence of old injuries. If there's one player who has had more than his fair share of terrible luck with injuries then it's Diaby, ever since his ankle was smashed by pub league player Dan Smith a few years ago, Diaby has struggled for fitness.

Showing little glimpses of what he's capable of, Wenger has shown remarkable faith in Diaby and that alone shows that he thinks he can still overcome his injuries and make it at Arsenal.

I think Diaby has come in for some unfair criticism from some fans, it's always been my opinion that Diaby would become our next Vieira type of player. Strong in the tackle, able to take players on, committed and skillful with a great pass and and eye for goal, Diaby is a quality player. He's just never had a sustained run in the team.

He's 26 now and it's crunch time. Let's hope all Gooners can get behind him and he can establish his rightful place back in the heart of our midfield

Paddy Diaby

 

You could try our style of formation -

Hazard--------Giroud----------Podolski

--------------Arteta-----------------

-----Diaby------------Song-----------

Gibbs---Vermalen---Koscielny------Sagna

--------------Szczesney----------------

 

is there another Hazard we could buy?

 

Prob swap diaby and arteta, he is seen as our AM.

 

Hazard? Since when does he play for Arsenal?


Also Wilshere starts if he's fit.

 

Well said. It was great to see Diaby get through that game the other day, and that despite playing on a very dodgy pitch. Diaby offers us something different with his size and power. I know, I mentioned it before but that goal he scored against Villa away in the 08/09 season just summed up his qualities and a player like Diaby will make us lethal on the counter attack as well like we used to be.

[video=youtube;hOs2Gf0rhd8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOs2Gf0rhd8[/video]

 

There is a Thorgan hazard but Chelsea bought him too on the advice of thorgans elder bro Eden

 

and for going over to celebrate with the fans = proper Gooner

 

And for anyone who doubts that he is a quality player . . . .

[video=youtube;wOVQl4vsYEQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOVQl4vsYEQ[/video]

 

Finally someone who is sticking up for diaby, he is a great player who has bags of ability on the ball and his close control and his ability to suck players in and go round them with ease is unrivalled. Hopefully he stays fit through pre season and is ready to go come the start of the new season because he is like a new signing if he can stay fit for the majority of the season then he will show everyone what he's capable of.

 

No, but apparantly theres another Moussa Dembele

 

There's another two Hazard brothers after Eden and Thorgan; Kylian(16) and Ethan(7) Hazard.

 

Diaby has two gears, fast and slow.

90% of the time he is slow, cumbersome and gets caught in possession constantly.

10% of the time he stretches his legs and puts some effort in.

If he changes those percentages, then by all means he can be our "Yaya Toure". Otherwise, forget about it.

 

Those 'percentages' might have something to do with the fact that he's been injured for the most of the last four years.

 

There is no way any player can avoid all of:

1. Gives the ball away too much.
2. Gets caught in posession too much.
3. Passes the ball sideways too much.

That chap Messi is terrible for giving the ball away you know.

 

Those percentages are what I've seen on the pitch, and from games in which he has started. If he is fit enough to last 60-90 minutes, he's fit enough to move like he has a purpose. Next you'll tell me he's conserving energy in those games.

 

Reinterpret what I say why don't you? I said he gets caught in possession because he is slow and cumbersome. Messi doesn't get caught in possession. When Messi loses the ball it's because he tries to do too much with it, not too little.

 

I think you're confusing a fit and in form Diaby with the one who has been battling to return from injury.

I wouldn't expect any player, no matter how talented he is to hit the ground running after such a long injury lay off.

Give it time, if Diaby stays fit, I think you'll be eating your words

 

Now you are confusing me. So you think Diaby is indecisive? I don't think Diaby is slow pace-wise, I think I remember him being one of the faster men on the team a while back.

I suspect he just looks slow, he is a very tall man to be playing midfield, about 3" taller than Song.

 

I'm sure a good run of games will do him good, but not for fitness reasons. It's more of a confidence and experience issue with him. He doesn't have the confidence to play to his full ability, he's always trying to be careful and conservative. After some games, he may be more willing to stretch his legs and make things happen like we know he can. But like I said before, if he was playing 60-90 minutes in those games, then there wasn't a fitness problem. They "hit the ground running" in training, at least in terms of fitness.