Diaby: I’m not replacing Alex Song – I want to attack!
Diaby says he is Arsenal’s Yaya Toure not Alex Song by AM
Abou Diaby has hogged the limelight with his superlative performance against Liverpool. Following Alex Song’s departure to Barcelona, there were questions about who is going to take up the role vacated by him. Diaby says that Coquelin and Arteta are the ones who will step into Song’s shoes, while he will be Arsenal’s Yaya Toure. The Frenchman said – “In our teams, Yaya Toure and me have similar roles. I am not Alex Song. We have many players who can take his place like Francis Coquelin or Mikel Arteta, who likes to play deep. I want to get forward – that’s me.
“I have defensive duties as well so I need to have a good shape defensively and, as soon as we get the ball, go forward.
“I have to thank the manager because I have had tremendous support and as a player it is really important to have that support. Support from your team-mates as well – I have to say that during this period they helped a lot.”
Along with Diaby, Arteta was brilliant as well at Anfield. His positional sense was excellent and he covered for the full-backs really well.
Arteta’s defensive capabilities have provided Diaby the perfect platform to go on his adventurous and powerful forward runs. Diaby does have lot of resemblance to Toure in the way he plays. His lanky legs, easy dribbling and good upper body strength are similar to the Manchester City man. If Diaby can stay away from the medical room, he might finally come close to replacing the man he was predicted to replace many years ago – Patrick Viera.
Diaby will be crucial for us this season if he stays fit and full credit to Wenger for keeping faith in him all these years. COYG!!!
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About Zidane Diaby!!
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Abou Zidane Diaby**
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If he stays fit he will be unstoppable,fingers crossed
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Yeah Diaby is going to be better than Yaya Toure at some point. Just don’t ever forget what arsenal did for you..
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Yaya toure is not ð limit.. Even ð sky is limitless!
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Hey Arsenal fans,dont be too much excited by a single performance,we are still somehow inferior to contest for any trophy,
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No problem son…u can attack because u good @ it…just make sure u get back and help out when we need to defend..u done it well enough against liverpool
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Wow there has been so many articles on diaby on this site! Well deserves it!
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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never seen such a strong big player with so much ball skill, he has everything! Stay Fit!!!
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Thank God Diaby knows his playing style. Because people comparing him with Song is silly. Hes an attacking player, defensively hes not that good. Thats why for me Arteta was man of the match against Liverpool, he worked so hard for the midfield to stay cohesive it was incredible.
Diaby as a Yaya Toure? Yeah thats more like it. Arteta behind him as a DM? Splendid. I just wish we had signed a DM exactly for that reason, to ease the pressure off Arteta and in case (touch wood) of injuries.
Go Diaby!!!
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Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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TV5 HARD AS NAILS.
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Abou Zidiaby! You are so elegant on the ball and exuded confidence/swaggar against Liverpool. TOP STARRRR!
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Your job is to do what AW tells you yo do!
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got a weird feelin diaby didnt lik song?
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good for you abou. just do what you do best
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Too much expectation on this guy too soon based on one perfomance.man shitty coming up soon.we’ll see how good he really is when he faces yaya toure in that midfield battle
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guys coquelin is a fantastic defensive midfielder. Trust wenger he knew why he sold song. unity and discipline is important for team success.
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Diaby, off course you are not Song. You are actually a good player.
Don’t be too hard on Yaya when in a couple of weeks we play most of our previous team that decided to move to Manchester.
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Have always like Diaby. Just hope he doesn’t pull a RVP when his contract comes up. Too often we have players who are injured for 3/4 of their career, then have a sterling season (fully fit I might add), and then when their contract comes up, they look for greener pastures. (Am I still bitter about RVP leaving …. F*#k yes!). Show the gratitude by performing like a champion every week, then re-signing.
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what if we have both Song and Diaby. Plus Carzola….
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Some people here were slaughtering Diaby and how they wanted him sold. After 3 excellent performances people are in love with him now. I just hope real Arsenal fans get behind each and every Arsenal player (Aaron Ramsey comes to mind) and support Wenger and the club.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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@Gunner4life
What about Squillachi? We need to get rid of some players … Surely?
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RVP = Robin Van PRI*K
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@KickuPtheArsene
Fair enough. He was a diaster signing.
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diaby was tremendous in his early seasons and almost single handedly took us to the champs league final and had he played we would have won.. he’s did some great things in an arsenal shirt (kicking john terry in the face my personal favourite) and its great to see him back on form long may it continue.. never doubted you big man, all the best
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Diaby needs more games to prove himself. One game performance is not enough!
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its better to give him atleast two more games to prove himself tha he can!
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lets not get too excited by ‘Ya Ya Diaby’ just yet…
one swallow don’t make a summer and doubtless we will lose him for the season ahead in the next fortnight…
this oh so injury prone liability – ‘sse’s himself’…
give me a break
he has so much negative equity baggage hanging from his gangling frame – it will take more than just one very good performance to balance the scales
and lets just leave the ‘YA Ya Viera’ prefix’s in a deep dark box for the time being….
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I’ve been a diaby critic forever, and I’d hate to jump the gun and say he’s an arsenal legend or on the same playing field as zidane (zizou is incomparable)….but he was brilliant at Anfield, and has been very impressive in the first 3 games this season. Maybe the impressive thing is he’s stayed healthy I dont know. But what I do know is his potential is starting to show and he needs matches and support from the fans. I’m very happy for him and can’t wait to see him and Ya Ya go at it, should be brilliant
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Stop talking…just keep fit and play well…u can be whatever u wanna be…
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He has matured as player and just like RVP and Rosicky, he is proving to be a much better player after the injuries. I have no doubt that Wilshere will be a much improved player when he comes back. The only reason why this guys are better after the injuries is because AW gives them all the support they need and has so much faith in them.
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I couldn’t believe how well Diaby played against Livervurst.
He was absolutely brilliant. But I agree with a few posts above…he needs more consistent performances to change my mind how I have felt about him for a long time. I really hope he keeps playing this well because we sorely miss direct attacking flair that he possesses. Keep going Diaby!!
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