Does Abou Diaby Deserve One More Chance, or Should Arsenal Sell Him?

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Since departing French side Auxerre and joining Arsenal in 2006, French midfielder Abou Diaby has been tipped as the future Patrick Vieira and the next big thing. The 23-year-old has shown glimpses of amazing promise, but it seems just as the lanky midfielder is hitting his stride, he is struck down with injury.

Diaby has also failed to maintain consistency—often playing a sensational game one week, and then disappearing the next with a host of mistakes to his name.

2008-2009 was supposed to be Diaby's liftoff season, the year he made his mark. Sadly, it was much the same as previous campaigns—a few stunning performances, but too many poor performances and injuries.

Diaby is blessed with long legs and a solid frame; he has good strength and is relatively quick. He has a powerful right foot and is capable of pulling moments of brilliance.

With Arsene Wenger looking to seriously upgrade his midfield and defence, he is likely to sign a big-name central midfielder who can take over the defensive duties from Cesc Fabregas.

This means that Diaby's fellow teammates Alexandre Song and Denilson will be battling for a place, along with Diaby, on the Arsenal bench. Plus with up and coming youngsters Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin, and Mark Randall, there may be too many central midfielders.

Diaby is capable of playing on the wings, but Arsenal have too many specialist wingers who would most likely perform better than Diaby.

Should Wenger sell his promising midfielder?

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan were said to be extremely interested in the Frenchman during the January transfer window. The Italian giants were reportedly set to offer close to £15 million for the former Auxerre man.

Selling Diaby would bring in some much-needed cash, which would prove useful in Wenger's summer shopping spree. Arsenal could also use Diaby as part of a trade scheme. He could be a handy offer for the likes of Jérémy Toulalan or Lorik Cana.

But selling Diaby would mean saying farewell to the muscle and size of the midfielder, and a bit of creativity.

Does Abou Diaby deserve one more chance, or should Arsenal sell him?

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