New Deal for Abou Diaby Encapsulates Arsenal Fans' Issues with Arsene Wenger

In news that Arsenal fans have heard at least 100 times before, Arsene Wenger confirmed on Friday that midfielder Abou Diaby is close to a return to full fitness.

“Abou Diaby is on the fringe of coming back into full training but he is not there yet,” Wenger told reporters. “He has a calf problem. His injuries are never severe but little 'grade ones.' He is not available yet.”

This in itself was no surprise; Diaby’s propensity to pick up injuries has now become (unfortunately) legendary. The latest issue was picked up during September’s Capital One Cup defeat to Southampton—his comeback game after a more serious knee problem (he had sat on the bench in the league game against Aston Villa days earlier).

The surprise was to come later, as Wenger confirmed that Diaby would be given a new contract at the club—as long as he can prove his fitness before his current deal expires next summer.

“If Diaby is fully fit,” Wenger said (starting with a rather important disclaimer), “he will have a new deal at Arsenal.”

For many Arsenal fans, this was remarkable news. This is Diaby’s 10th season at the club—hey, next season he will be due a testimonial!—yet, due to a catalogue of injury problems, he has only managed to make 42 appearances for the club in the last five of them.

In total he has made 181 appearances for the Gunners, an average of just over 18 games a season (admittedly, this season is not yet at the halfway point).

By way of (a completely arbitrary) comparison, Michael Essien, who moved to Chelsea the same summer that Diaby joined Arsenal, has made 256 career appearances for the Blues—despite spending the better part of the last three seasons out on loan.

Essien, for what it is worth, also suffered his share of serious injuries while at Stamford Bridge; nevertheless, he is nothing compared to Diaby.

The fact that Wenger would so openly admit that he will give Diaby, 28 (he will be 29 before the season ends), a new contract should he return to full fitness seems to encapsulate every general criticism levelled against Wenger; that he is patient to the point of belligerence in his approach, that he puts his faith in existing players over and above the possibilities in the transfer market and that the eye for a bargain he had in his younger years has mutated into a frugality that now suffocates the team.

It is not hard to see why a fully fit Diaby would appeal to Wenger, just as he would appeal to Arsenal fans. At his best, Diaby is a remarkably talented all-round midfielder, a true box-to-box presence who can hurt opposing teams with his dribbling and eye for a pass, while simultaneously helping his side defend with his physical presence and tackling ability.

At his best, as he was in a rare appearance against Liverpool at Anfield in September 2012, he has the ability to dominate any Premier League game in a manner not entirely unlike Patrick Vieira; while that might be a slight exaggeration, if he were always available, he would certainly obviate the need to sign Newcastle United’s Moussa Sissoko—the midfielder the Gunners are currently linked with a £15 million January swoop, per the Daily Mail.

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That has always been the dream with Diaby, of course, but the reality is that his recent career has simply been one setback upon another. He cannot be relied upon and has not been able to be relied upon for five years (in the 2009-10 campaign, he made a career-high 40 appearances in all competitions).

For much of that period, Arsenal have been paying for him to get treatment and nothing more; finally approaching the chance where they could be free of that financial burden, it seems crazy that Wenger would even consider willingly extending that dynamic.

On the other hand, maybe Wenger sees in this situation an opportunity to reclaim some of that lost time and money. After all, if they let Diaby go, any chance they have to make something good from their investment disappears.

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Diaby’s injury record will count against him on the open market, with surely all but the most desperate teams unwilling to offer him anything but a pay-as-you-play deal.

Assuming Arsenal—whose medical insight should be as comprehensive as you can ever hope for—are comfortable that the worst of Diaby’s fitness troubles are behind him (and really, how could they not be?), then they can take advantage of that lack of interest on the open market to offer him a new deal on slightly reduced terms, partly with a pay-as-you-play element included.

Kept on favourable terms, if Diaby can stay fit, as the old cliche goes, his presence will be like a new signing. Wenger would certainly struggle to find a better midfield player for nothing on the open market.

The flip-side of that, of course, is that the Frenchman could easily find a more reliable one.

And on that dilemma, we are back to the wider issues with Wenger's management style. Some will say Diaby should be cut loose and any other manager would have cut their losses long ago. Others will argue that Diaby has previously shown glimpses of brilliance and deserves to be persevered with.

If Diaby does get a new deal, only time will tell which camp is right. But even if the France international becomes a regular first-team player once more, that would not make the criticism of Wenger's general approach any less valid.