Abou Diaby/import

Vassiriki "Abou" Diaby (born 11 May 1986) is a French international footballer of Ivorian descent currently playing for Arsenal. His natural position is as a central midfielder, but on occasions he has played as a left-sided midfielder and second striker for his club.

Early career
Diaby was born in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris, and began his career playing for hometown club Aubervilliers. Diaby's quick progression at the amateur club led to a move to local semi-professional outfit Red Star Paris where he spent a year. After leaving Red Star at age 13, Diaby signed a youth contract with the professional capital club Paris Saint-Germain, despite being a Marseille supporter. Diaby left the club after two years. While attending Paris-Saint-Germain, he also regularly attended classes at the famed Clairefontaine academy. He joined Auxerre in 2002 and was a member of the Auxerre team that won the national U-16 championship that year. His coach at the time, Christian Henna, described him as a "very good technician, elegant, quick". He developed into a tall, powerful midfielder. Diaby signed as a professional at Auxerre, playing seven matches in 2004–05 and six in the first half of 2005–06. His first match for Auxerre's first team came as a last-minute substitute against Rennes on 14 August 2004.

2005–06 season
Before joining Arsenal, Diaby reportedly turned down a move to Arsenal London's rivals Chelsea. He was given the number 2 shirt at Arsenal, vacant since the retirement of Lee Dixon. On 1 April 2006, Diaby came off the bench to score his first goal for Arsenal in their 5–0 rout of Aston Villa, after being set-up by fellow Arsenal newcomer Emmanuel Adebayor.

2007–08 season
On 12 December 2007, Diaby opened the scoring for Arsenal in their 2-1 win against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League.

2008–09 season
He scored his first Premier League goal of the season in the 2–2 draw with Aston Villa on 26 December 2008.

2009–10 season
Diaby started the season on the bench but a back injury to fellow Arsenal midfielder Denílson allowed him to stake his claim as a first-team regular starter. Playing alongside Alex Song, he formed a successful partnership and scored four goals before picking up an injury against Wolves which jeopardised his place in the French squad for the World Cup play-off against Ireland. Diaby grabbed his sixth goal of the season against Aston Villa F.C on 27 December 2009, almost exactly a year after he scored his first Premier League goal, coincidently also against Villa. His solo effort, along with Cesc Fàbregas' brace, placed the Gunners 2nd in the League table until Manchester United regained 2nd spot with a 3-1 victory against Hull City A.F.C.

International career
Diaby was capped 14 times for the France U-19 side, captaining the team in their successful U-19 European Championship campaign in 2005. In February 2006, he made his début with the France U-21 squad.

Diaby had been expected to play in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final against FC Barcelona, as well as the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006, but he missed out due to a broken and dislocated ankle.

On 15 March 2007, he was called up to the French senior squad for their two forthcoming fixtures, making his début for France on 24 March when he came on for Florent Malouda in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Lithuania. He gained a starting place in the following match, playing 57 minutes against Austria, the game ending in a 1–0 victory for France.

Club career statistics

 * (correct as of 20 January 2010)

France career statistics

 * (correct as of 25 January 2008)

Honours
With Arsenal

Runner-up
 * UEFA Champions League: 2005-06
 * League Cup: 2007