Abou Diaby Biography

Name :
Abou Diaby

Born :
May 11, 1986

Birth place :
Paris, France

Height :
6' 2'' (1.88m)

Weight :
174 lbs (78.7 kg)

Position :
Midfielder

Squad Number :
2

Previous Club(s) :
Auxerre
Paris Saint-Germain

Joined Arsenal :
January 13, 2006

2005/06
Abou joined the club from Auxerre in January 2006 and upon joining said: "I am so happy to have signed for Arsenal. The Club has great history and a squad which is full of high quality players. This is a very exciting time for me and I'm looking forward to a successful career here."

The midfielder scored his first goal in an Arsenal shirt on April 1 in a 5-0 home win over Aston Villa and went on to make 11 starts and five substitute appearances before a nasty injury ended his season. He was ruled out for nine months after fracturing and dislocating his ankle against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on May 1.

Arsène Wenger was far from happy with the challenge that injured the Frenchman: "This boy is just 19 years old, at the start of his career, and this injury is tremendously serious."

2006/07
Abou made his return to first team action on January 9 when he came on as a substitute in the 6–3 victory over Liverpool in the League Cup.

On February 25 in the Final of the same competition, Abou was involved in the incident that saw John Terry knocked unconscious though no blame was attached to the Arsenal man.

He made 13 starts and five substitute appearances and again scored his only goal of the season against Aston Villa. In March, Abou was called up to the French national squad for the first time by coach Raymond Domenech,

2007/08
After two seasons spent mainly on the sidelines the Frenchman started to become an integral part of Arsène Wenger's squad. Abou underlined his growing importance with a stunning strike against Derby at Emirates Stadium on September 22, his first goal at Arsenal's new home.

He revealed the true extent of his ankle injury and the implications it could have caused: “The doctor told me that I might not come back, but I was always thinking that I would come back."

Abou scored four times during the campaign in his most productive season since joining the Club.

2008/09
Abou continued to establish himself at the heart of the Arsenal midfield as he made considerably more starts throughout the season, appearing in Arsène Wenger’s starting XI 25 times.

He became a key player for the Club as Arsenal reached the Semi Final of the Champions League, and he started at Old Trafford in the first leg of the tie.

Abou declared that he was stronger, more confident and more focused than before. “It was a difficult time but now this period is in the past,” he said. “I am trying to be focused on what I am doing now and in the future as well. Definitely mentally I am stronger because I had a lot of problems in the past.”

2009/10
If he stays injury-free we'll see the best of Abou. That's a regular refrain when fans discuss the French midfielder and, in 2009/10, they pretty much got what they wanted.

Fair enough, Abou succumbed to calf and knee problems early in the New Year but he made 35 starts in all competitions - 10 more than his previous season's best. And at times he was Arsenal's most dynamic player. Abou transformed defence into attack with a twist and a driving run, he sniffed out seven goals and his physical presence was priceless when Alex Song was not around to provide midfield muscle.