Following the persistent injury problems that plagued his career former Arsenal and France international Abou Diaby has announced his retirement at the age of 32.
Tipped to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Vieira upon signing for Arsenal in 2005, Diaby saw his career ravaged by injury complications.
Why has Diaby retired at 32? Five key things to know…
- Identified as Vieira’s long-term successor, Diaby garnered plenty of attention after signing from Auxerre in 2005.
- The mountainous midfielder instantly wowed Arsenal fans with his lung-busting runs from box-to-box.
- Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse in 2006 after a horror tackle from Sunderland defender Dan Smith, which broke Diaby’s ankle.
- The Frenchman never truly recovered and – apart from the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons – managed just fleeting appearances during nine-year stint in north London.
- Diaby previously considered retiring in 2013 after suffering a cruciate ligament injury with Arsenal.
During his nine-year tenure with the Gunners, Diaby mustered just under 200 appearances across all competitions, while making 16 senior appearances for the France national team.
Fortune has certainly not favoured the 6 ft 4 in midfielder who also managed just 22 matches during his final four years at Arsenal, and after trying to rejuvenate his career with Marseille between 2015 and 2017, he has now hung up his boots.
The news will be met with great sadness among the Arsenal faithful who are still lamenting the unfortunate events that led to Diaby never truly fulfilling his potential with the club.
Abou Diaby missed an incredible 250 games through 18 different injuries during his time at Arsenal.
pic.twitter.com/8RhXz4SrU4
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 25, 2019
Such was his ability when he burst onto the scene over a decade ago that current France and Manchester United star Paul Pogba lavished praise on his idol, who he has previously claimed was a better player than him.
In May 2018 Pogba was asked to list off the players he felt were superior to him, to which he responded: “[Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos, David Silva, [Kevin] De Bruyne, Yaya Toure even Abou Diaby. Box-to-box, he was exceptional but unfortunately he had a lot of injuries.
“Look at him when he was he was at Arsenal – he was exceptional. People forget about him.
“In the France team, he was enormous. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I won’t forget him, I learned a lot from him.”
With the midfield problems Arsenal have endured in recent seasons, there is no question Diaby would have fixed those issues, brining an aggression and tenacity that had been lacking prior to this season.
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How fans reacted…
There was notable sadness from, not just Arsenal fans, but football fans like, as Diaby was one of the finest box-to-box midfielders on his day; unfortunately, those days did not come around as much as they should of.
A simply brilliant player ruined by injuries. He was what everyone convinces themselves Pogba is. I'll never forget his game against us at Anfield.
— Jack Boughen (@JackBoughen) February 25, 2019
Diaby could have been a generational player. He had everything & still had so much more room to grow prior to his injury. Paul Pogba said in an interview that Diaby was better than him, which really says a lot. Tonight, he’s announced his retirement. Best of luck in the future!
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) February 25, 2019
Abou Diaby has announced his retirement from football.
Who could forget THAT performance at Anfield?
pic.twitter.com/yT6WTvY2qw
— Arsenal FC News (@ArsenalFC_fl) February 25, 2019
Massive shame had so much potential and injuries scarred him.
— Red White Gooner
(@RedWhite_Gooner) February 25, 2019
To be very honest., he’s one of the finest footballers I’ve had to watch! Slick player!
— ‘Femi (@thefemisiwoku) February 25, 2019
Abou Diaby was a player who could have been World Class at Arsenal if not for his injuries. One of the first midfielders I watched at #Arsenal.
Shame that injury got the better of him. Happy retirement and best of luck for the future!
— Aawez Hashmi (@aawezh) February 25, 2019
The post Idolised by Paul Pogba, ravaged by injury: Ex-Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby retires at 32 appeared first on Squawka News.
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