Abou Diaby and the risk of a new Arsenal contract

Abou Diaby

Although Arsenal fans can sometimes be aggrieved and frustrated by Arsene Wenger’s policy in the transfer market, the way the French coach sticks by the players he believes in must be admired.

The Gunners boss frequently speaks about his belief in the players he has hand-picked to play for the north London club, despite some surely testing his faith.

One such player must be Abou Diaby; once seen as the heir to Patrick Vieira’s throne, now a man that has struggled for a considerable portion of his career to be fit enough to play.

The France international has been the victim of ankle ailments and has only managed 22 appearances for Arsenal in the space of the last four seasons.

Despite Diaby’s much-publicised problems, Wenger has been quoted as saying that he will stand by the midfielder and offer him a new contract if he can get back to fitness.

However, regardless of the fact that Diaby is said to be close to returning to action again for the umpteenth time, Arsenal may well be better cutting their losses on a player that they can no longer depend on.

When Alex Song was allowed to leave the club to join Barcelona, there was a train of thinking that Diaby’s presence in the squad would fill the void of defensive midfield enforcer.

The Frenchman has been unavailable and the Gunners have recalled Mathieu Flamini into the mix; seemingly the side have progressed without Diaby’s physical presence.

The next six months will be massively important for Diaby’s career. However, even if he does have a prolonged spell away from the treatment table the midfielder surely has a lot of work to do to earn a new Arsenal deal before his contract expires this summer.