Some of this I put down to never getting a proper run in the side. Course that's due to constant injuries. Catch 22 I suppose.
With RVP he would play half a season and then get injured with a bad tackle or on International Duty. Least RVP could play at least 15 game without getting injured and when he did play he would show his class. Diaby plays well 1 game then crap for another 3 then injured. Least RVP was consistantly good and we knew what he was capable of. What has Diaby ever showed during his time with us?
you can't compare RVP with Diaby. RVP at least showed world class talent when he did play, Diaby shows good talent sometimes. Massive difference in not calling for RVP to be sold and for Diaby to be sold. If you look at their appearances each season Diaby comfortably plays less than RVP who, over his career at Arsenal plays quite a few more games. League Appearances: RVP - 05/06 = 24, 06/07 = 22, 07/08 = 15, 08/09 = 28, 09/10 = 16, 10/11 = 25, 11/12 = 27. Diaby - 05/06 = 12, 06/07 = 12, 07/08 = 15, 08/09 = 24, 09/10 = 29, 10/11 = 16, 11/12 = 2.
Thought we couldn't use stats to prove points on this forum! Interesting that. Never realised he'd been with us so long though I suppose when you think about it it sounds right, we just never see him. I wasn't implying they're comparable players rather, like RVP, they're both hampered by injuries. Van Persie is a world class player but I do think (and I appreciate it's contentious!) that Diaby has it in him to be a really good squad player. On his day I believe he can be better than Ramsey, Denilson, Benayoun and Arteta (and I rate Arteta). I know at some point you've got to bite the bullet and say enough but you can all but garuntee he'll never get injured again when he leaves us!
I think we get insurance money when a player is out injured. His salary doesn't really count. So sticking with a long-term injured player isn't really "instead of" someone else. One of the reasons perhaps our wage bill looks so high? To calculate the "real" wage bill you should deduct the incoming insurance, at least for the long term injured like RVP, Vermaelen, Diaby, Wilshere, Eduardo etc. Selling some of these players will not get you as much on the budget as you might think.
Stats only make sense when I use them because I am the only person who has any sense on this forum I've got stats to back it up
I know we get insurance from international FA's if a player is injured on international duty - I really don't think there is an Insurance company that will cover a salary during an injury. Could you imagine the premiums we would be paying monthly to cover a wage bill in excess of £100mn - RIDICULOUS
