THE MAN OF GLASS
When Abou Diaby came to Arsenal at 19, Arsene Wenger thought he’d got the new Vieira... but injuries took a heavy toll – on his mind as well
‘HE’S PLAYED ONLY SEVEN GAMES IN THREE AND A BIT SEASONS’ ‘THESE DAYS IT’S HARD TO FIND PEOPLE WHO ARE LOYAL LIKE WENGER’
ABOU DIABY lets out a wry smile. He is talking about nicknames. In France, he knows what they call him. ‘They say I’m “L’Homme de Verre”. It means that I’m made of glass,’ he explains. ‘It can be painful, on a psychological level. They don’t know how much I give every day of my life to try and recover. But hey, what can I do? This is my life story.’
Over the hour that follows at Marseille’s training ground, the former Arsenal midfielder details the profound ‘frustration’ of his life story. Diaby, only 19 when he signed for Arsenal in 2006 from Auxerre, was supposed to be the heir to Patrick Vieira. With those powerful, gangly long legs and skilful guile, Arsene Wenger believed he had uncovered another midfield powerhouse that would drive Arsenal to greatness.
Instead, Diaby’s Arsenal career became synonymous with the treatment room. When he left in 2015, British newspaper websites counted 42 injuries in nine years.
He has played only seven games during the last three-and-a-bit seasons for Arsenal and Marseille and it is distressing to hear this calm and gentle giant, still only 30, admit that he would be thrilled to play ‘just 20 more games’ in his career.
‘A lot of things have been done over the last few years,’ Diaby begins. ‘Basically, it was big rehabilitation. I have worked a lot on the calf, on the scar tissue, on the knee problem, on the ankle problem . . . ’ Diaby starts laughing, pointing to different parts of his legs: ‘This could go on a while!’
He is more certain when it comes to diagnosing the moment that his career was for ever changed.
Diaby was 19 and only five months into his Arsenal career when Dan Smith of Sunderland crashed into the side of his ankle with the force of a sledgehammer. It makes the cut on YouTube compilations of ‘football’s worst ever tackles’. Wenger has since described it as an ‘assassin’s tackle’ and in the days after, he was so incensed that he called for legal action.
‘Of course it is the moment that killed everything,’ Diaby says. ‘That’s where it all came from. It gave me a big restriction on my ankle and I overcompensated with other parts of my body. Before that, I’d never had a muscular injury, my lifestyle was good.
‘But really, there is no resentment any more. I left it behind a long time ago. The only thing I wish is that it had happened later in my career. If it happened when I was 28, things might have been different. Between 19 and 27, I would have had time to progress, play every week and be the player I should have been.’
The complications of the shattered ankle seemed to go on and on. Four operations and over 20 muscular injuries followed as a result.
Diaby did find a sense of continuity for Arsenal between 2009 and 2013, reaching over 100 appear- ances for the club. But just as he turned 27, he suffered a cruciate knee injury in training.
He would make only two appearances in his final two seasons at Arsenal and for Diaby, the challenge became increasingly psychological.
‘Going into the training ground every day, it was killing me. When you spend all your time with the physio and you see your team-mates enjoying everything, it is very hard.
‘I had to get out and do rehab elsewhere. I did rehab in France, Qatar a few times, I went to America. It was an escape and allowed me to be more focused on myself.’
After a while, he stopped attending Arsenal games. ‘I couldn’t sit there every game in the stands and watch. I just wanted to play so much. Every time fans spoke to me, it was, “When are you back?”, “How long will it be?”.
Out on the grass, Diaby’s issues became of mind as well as body.
‘Over time, I had a bit of fear in my play. When I came back from the first big injury, I was fine. I remember in one of my first training ses- sions, I was racing around, jumping into tackles and Lauren pulled me aside and said, “Calm down, Abou, you have just come back from a long-term injury. Take your time, be calm”. At some stage, when I had started to miss whole seasons and got older, the fear became greater.’
Diaby had conversations with sports psychologists at Arsenal but admits he might have benefited from further work with counsellors outside the club.
‘Maybe I should have done that more,’ he admits. ‘After the cruciate injury, at 27, I thought about retiring. It crossed my mind a few times. I won’t lie. The cruciate injury was from nothing, it just happened in training. I turned and it went. I had this initial reaction, upset and frustrated. I was thinking, “Yeah, that’s it — now, I quit”. But I went home, calmed down and set about recovering again.’
There is an extensive hinterland to Diaby’s character, nurtured by his faith. He is a devout Muslim and while living in Hampstead, he would attend the mosque every Friday.
‘It helped me a lot, particularly navigating through bad moments. I’m a Muslim but we are all brothers, all human beings.’
After finally cutting the cord with Wenger in the summer of 2015, Diaby joined Marseille. After spending nine years at Arsenal, Diaby is better placed than most to explain the outlook for his old club and indeed Wenger.
‘He is an incredible coach,’ he says. ‘He always pushes you to reflect on your game, he always wants you at your best. He gives you a lot of confidence.
‘Nowadays in football it is hard to find people this loyal. It is a virtue but people want titles and I understand that. Arsenal have always qualified for the Champions League. But, please, you must understand, the first one who wants to win is him. I spent nine years with him and he hates losing. He hated it so much.
‘There is a desire to win the title but it does seem those “Arsenal” moments in February or March are crucial. It’s where you have to win. At that point, Arsenal lose points where they should be winning.’
So how to nurture that winning feeling? ‘Maybe that comes at some stage when you realise that to finish third or second is not good enough.
‘As an ex-Arsenal player, as an Arsenal fan, I really want them to get a title. The club deserve it.’
Diaby will continue watching from afar. ‘My target is to finish my career as well as I can. If at least I can play 15 or 20 more games, I can be happy. I played last week, I don’t have any problems. Twenty games, it would be fantastic. If I go more, it would be something of a miracle.’