Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born
11 May 1986) is a French
international footballer of Ivorian
descent currently playing for Arsenal. His natural position is as a
central midfielder, but on
occasions has played as a left-sided midfielder and second striker
for his club.
Club career
Early career
Diaby was
born in Paris
and began
playing for his local club Red Star
Paris before joining Paris
Saint-Germain at age 13 despite being a Marseille supporter, subsequently
leaving the club two years later. While attending
Paris-Saint-Germain, he also regularly attended classes at the
famed Clairefontaine
academy
. He joined
Auxerre
in 2002 and was a member of the Auxerre team that won the national
U-16 championship that year. His coach at the time,
Christian Henna, described him as a "very
good technician, elegant, quick". He developed into a tall,
powerful
midfielder. Diaby signed as a
professional at Auxerre, playing seven matches in 2004–05 and six
in the first half of 2005–06. His first match for Auxerre's first
team came as a last-minute substitute against
Rennes on 14 August 2004.
Arsenal
2005–06 season
Before joining Arsenal, Diaby reportedly turned down a move to
Arsenal's rivals
Chelsea. He was given
the
number 2 shirt at
Arsenal, which had been vacant since the retirement of
Lee Dixon. On 1 April 2006, Diaby came off the
bench to score his first goal for Arsenal, in their 5–0 rout of
Aston Villa, after being set-up by
fellow Arsenal newcomer
Emmanuel
Adebayor.
2007–08 season
On 12 December 2007 Diaby scored against
Steaua Bucharest in the
Champions League, opening the
scoring for Arsenal in their 2–1 win.
He scored his second
Champions League goal for Arsenal on 8 April 2008, opening the
scoring and giving Arsenal the advantage over Liverpool F.C. at Anfield
.
2008–09 season
Diaby
started in Arsenal's away Champions League group stage
game against Fenerbahçe
, scoring in an 5–2 victory. He then scored
his first Premier League goal of the season in the 2–2 draw with
Aston Villa on 26 December 2008. Diaby finshed the season scoring
Arsenal's third goal in the 4–1 win over
Stoke City.
2009–10 season
Diaby started the season on the bench but a back injury to fellow
Arsenal midfielder
Denilson allowed him to
move in to the first team. He then played alongside
Alex Song and formed a successful partnership
scoring four goals before picking up an injury against Wolves which
endangered his place in the France squad for the World Cup playoff
against Ireland.
International career
Diaby has been
capped 14 times for the
France U-19 side,
captaining the team in their successful
U-19 European
Championship campaign in 2005. In February 2006, he made his
début with the
France U-21
squad.
Diaby missed the
2006
UEFA Champions League Final against
FC
Barcelona, as well as the
UEFA U-21
Championship 2006, in which he was expected to take part with
France, due to a broken and dislocated ankle.
On 15 March 2007, he was called up to the French senior squad for
their two forthcoming fixtures, making his début for France on 24
March when he came on for
Florent
Malouda in a
Euro 2008
qualifier against
Lithuania. He then gained a
starting place in the following match, against
Austria, playing 57 minutes,
ending in a 1–0 victory for France.
Honours
Arsenal
International
Club career statistics
- (correct as of 7 November 2009)
| Club |
Season |
League |
Cup |
Europe |
Total |
| Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
| AJ
Auxerre |
2004–05 |
4 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
0 |
- |
6 |
0 |
- |
| 2005–06 |
6 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
0 |
- |
6 |
1 |
- |
| Total |
10 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
0 |
- |
12 |
1 |
- |
| Arsenal |
2005–06 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
1 |
1 |
| 2006–07 |
12 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
1 |
1 |
| 2007–08 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
28 |
4 |
2 |
| 2008–09 |
24 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
36 |
4 |
2 |
| 2009-10 |
10 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
4 |
3 |
| Total |
73 |
9 |
6 |
19 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
4 |
1 |
114 |
14 |
9 |
France career statistics
- (correct as of 25 January 2008)
| France |
EURO |
World Cup |
Qualifying matches EURO |
Qualifying matches World Cup |
Friendly internationals |
Total |
| Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
| France |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
References
- Arsenal.com: Diaby - My history with Paris St
Germain
- Arsenal complete signing of Diaby
- History, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed 3
March 2009.
- Includes FA Cup,
League Cup and FA Community
Shield
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
