Abou Diaby watch?

[RomfordPele]

Massively sad for diaby, but should at least force wenger to do what he should have done over the summer - buy big to shore up the midfield and give us some real bite and physical presence.

Fellaini would be the dream, but can't see it happening.

[Xhaka Can’t]

That would be an irresponsible waste of money because Diaby will be back in November.

[Power n Glory]

What slope? What stance?

My argument is we should be rid of a player who has been injured for his career with us and therefore serves no purpose. This is a football team, not a hospital.

Your argument is not focused on Diaby, it's focused on me. I am apparently so corporate minded as to be worthy of study by Barcelona. But what sort of argument is that, in relation to the topic I mean?

If Diaby shouldn't be got rid of then why not? What's the case for him remaining? I heard you say he's an Arsenal player. But beyond that, why should the club keep paying him to be injured?

I agree with Arseblog on this one. Has a good piece.

If there’s frustration it ought to be directed elsewhere, not at him. He didn’t injure himself, he hasn’t tried to sponge off the club, he didn’t give himself new contracts (and it was 2010 when he signed his last deal – not so recent that hoping he could become fitter was unreasonable). It’s fairly clear that Arsene Wenger was desperate for Diaby to make it, he gave him every chance to do that when other players have been moved on when injury blighted their career. It’d be fair to say that the impact of Smith on Diaby has been far greater than that of Taylor on Eduardo, but the Crozilian was, essentially, frozen out and then sold.

The solution is not obvious though. You can’t ‘get rid’ of a player who is going be out of the game for 9 months. Nobody will buy him. Suggestions of paying him off and sending him on his way don’t seem feasible to me either. When has it ever happened? And while I don’t see any real future for him as an Arsenal player, what would it say about any football club that would treat a player that way?

There are, in this world, some right spawny people who, no matter how badly the shit comes down, always manage to escape smelling of roses. They can be racist, adulterous, spiteful, horrible, despicable, violent, mean and stomach churningly awful, yet always land on their feet. Diaby is the opposite. He might, from time to time, land on his feet but he’ll turn his ankle and step on a rusty nail at the same time. C’est la vie.

http://arseblog.com/

What does it say about the fans that can't even sympathise with their own players at this moment? It's a slippery slope. He can't play for the club so we should be ruthless with him? The Barca and Villa reference is in regards to Abidal and Petrov. What they're facing is far more serious than football and this situation we're discussing with Diaby. Their illnesses are not even football related and that's why I'm saying you're arguments are on a slippery slope, especially when you mention how the corporate world would handle things.

I think this is Diaby's decision in the end. He'll probably call time on his career if he thinks he can't go through this again but I wouldn't applaud the club for cutting his contract to save a few pounds. It's a bit rich to preach about the corporate nature of football and the way we're going as a club and then to talk like this and ape the corporate cut throat culture. What happened to being a football club? Maybe I'm being sentimental but I think it would be wrong to cut him loose during his injury.

For me it comes down to this – you can want Arsenal to improve the squad and be more competitive and still have sympathy for a footballer whose career was needlessly ruined in an instant by a moron. The two things are not mutually exclusive. I hope that one day he manages to stay fit for a few seasons and enjoy his football. I don’t believe it will ever be with Arsenal, and I imagine this is a line crossed that will make the manager think that too, but who would begrudge him a few good seasons somewhere else?

Another good point made by Arseblog.

[Kano]

wait for him to heal, then tell he has no future at the club any longer and if he wants to carry on playing football then he needs to find somewhere else to do it.

[Niall_Quinn]

You want Arsenal to be a football club? A professional sports outfit? Then how can they retain players that can't play football because they are injured the whole time? Why do you keep bringing emotional arguments and accusations into this? I never mentioned the word "corporate", you did. I referred to any other job in the real world. Nobody is saying kick him out on the street penniless, in truth he probably can't be got rid of at all now. So you will have your way, we'll be stuck with a guy who can't play but is taking up a spot in the squad and costing money that could be spent elsewhere. That's highly unfortunate. What an ideal excuse for them to avoid signing a proper replacement. Not that we'll need one because Diaby will be back, just like a new signing - but this time, on the 30th attempt, it will all be different and not only will he remain injury free but he'll finally come of age as the magnificent player he has shown himself to be a million miles from on the few occasions he's managed to get on the pitch.

Insane. Could only happen in football. I don't blame Diaby one little bit. I primarily blame Wenger and then the board for putting up with Wenger's blindness in regard to this player.

[Power n Glory]

You've adopted a very cold and hard 'business' like approach to this subject and I bring emotion and sentiment into the argument because it's the argument we often use when saying the club has lost its way.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

I don't think there is a lack of sympathy for Diaby, after all, I feel for the crock as much as any 'sympathiser', so the clever attempt to deflect from the real crux which has caused/triggered the fans' frustration, after their patience to have worn thin, can now cease, thanks.

We've all long known that this crock would never come good as he never manages three consecutive games without being injured. By we, I mean everyone barring the manager who has, season after season, consistently spouted rubbish like "we have Diaby returning from injury who'll be like a new signing", all the while refusing to suitably find a player to fill the role in which he intends to play Diaby. Now, we're on a crucial last lap a la virtual 4th place trophy / finishing above the scum (only bit a pride some Gooners have left), only to be apprised that this crock, who the manager has happened to have placed so much blind faith in, is once again out - this time for a staggering 9 months. Add to that, he wasn't even injured in a competitive game.

Fuck, everything that Wenger is control of is just cyclic. This man never seems to learn from obvious patterns and this has ballooned a toxic atmosphere around the club. Fans have little to no fuse left these days. Hence, they don't require much to get ticked off and certainly won't shy away from airing their dissatifaction to no less a situation than Diaby's.

[Marc Overmars]

No one blames Diaby at all and I think we all feel a degree of sympathy to him, footballers might be a lot of things but it does hurt them not to play.

The blame is with the **** from Sunderland who snapped him and on Wenget for putting a huge amount of faith in a player who we all know will be lucky to play 20 games a season.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I wish Diaby well, but it really is time to call it a day. That is not being cold, it is being realistic. Had this been the 60s or 70s, I'd be happy to go to a Testimonial for his so that he could at least enjoy one big payday.

He gets 52 big paydays a week now - in common with just about everybody else in the EPL, so while I am sure this is a big personal setback for him, at least he will be alright in a big way from a financial perspective. Once the Club's contractual obligations are out of the way, I hope he finds success somewhere else.

But I wouldn't bet on it.

I feel sorry for him for any regrets on what might have been since that horror tackle by that POS Dan Smith, but really, the Club has stood by him and persevered as long as possible.

[Niall_Quinn]

You've adopted a very cold and hard 'business' like approach to this subject and I bring emotion and sentiment into the argument because it's the argument we often use when saying the club has lost its way.

You are criticising me for dwelling on the facts.