Is it time for Arsenal to sell Diaby? by Nitesh from JustArsenalFans.com
I know that this question has already been asked a lot of times. But from what I’ve seen, opinions are still divided on him, and a lot of fans haven’t been able to decide. So I want to ask one last time: Do Arsenal fans feel it is time to move on Diaby?
Every week it seems like Arsenal are linked with another transfer target and it will continue from now until the start of next season. Many of the rumours are focused on strikers, with Stevan Jovetic, David Villa and Alvaro Negredo just three of the many names connected with a possible move to the Emirates.
Knowing Arsene Wenger, though, the new Gunners who arrive in the summer could well be completely different than the players whose names are in the media. Arsenal fans are hoping for a big name, a striker with proven quality, and the one who springs to my mind is Karim Benzema.
We do not know if Arsenal tried to sign Etienne Capoue from Toulouse in January, but he could have been the player Arsene Wenger was referring to when he said that a club had rejected a late transfer window offer for one of the Arsenal targets. Toulouse had sold Sissoko to Newcastle, and would have been left very light in midfield if they had also sold Capoue.
QPR definitely tried to sign the French international, but were knocked back on deadline day. Harry Redknapp has vowed to try again in the summer, as long as he manages to keep the club in the Premier League. It is believed in France that Capoue is ready to move, and he is ambitious. Toulouse are comfortably mid table in the French Ligue 1, so the 24-year old will definitely not have the lure of European competition to make him want to stay.
A very common question amongst Arsenal fans is why the hugely talented German international with over 100 caps, Lukas Podolski, does not play more regularly. The question of why he does not get a chance in the centre forward position is an equally popular subject, but I will not go into that at the minute.
We hear that Podolski is struggling with minor injuries quite often, and just recently he has not been included in the Arsenal squad to face Bayern Munich or Swansea City for this very reason. Fair enough, if he’s not quite right he shouldn’t be risked.
I am not sure if the media are trying to drive Arsenal fans up the wall, but they are now linking the Gunners with a summer transfer move for another relatively unheard of player. Yaya Sanogo is French, so no surprises there, he is cheap (all good so far), and he is only 20-years old. Add to that the knowledge that he is only playing in the second tier of French football, and you have a recipe for a story designed to underwhelm even the most optimistic Gooner.
There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of Bacary Sagna leaving Arsenal at the end of the season. Since he returned from his injury lay off in October, the 29-year old right back has not rediscovered the form that made Arsene Wenger describe him as the best right back in the Premier league.
After a few games, Gooners started to think that his heart was not in it. With talks about a new contract remaining unresolved, it seemed as if the French international had decided to move on, with PSG being linked with a move for him. The strange thing is, that Wenger would keep selecting him over Carl Jenkinson if he wasn’t giving his all. Sagna spoke yesterday about his form, and admitted his frustration at not playing well, but declared that he was trying his best.
There was optimism and some concern when Arsene Wenger made Olivier Giroud his second Arsenal transfer of the summer. The big Frenchman had fired Montpellier to the French title and top scored in the league, but the Gunners did not have a great recent history with strikers from Ligue 1, as Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho had both scored well in France then struggled at the Emirates.
Giroud did get off to a slow start, taking time to adapt to the English Premier league and getting over his nerves. He was playing well but missing chances, but then started to find the net and his performances steadily improved as well. In 2013, his form has been much better again and his finishing is markedly improved. The striker has been speaking about how being at Arsenal is helping him improve, and he is confident that this will continue.
With the games coming thick and fast in January it is obviously annoying that UEFA and FIFA randomly decide to have a glut of international friendlies to annoy Arsene Wenger and the other Premiership managers.
Arsenal are probably lucky that England are playing at Wembley for the friendly against Brazil this week, so Wilshere, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain won’t have to go far from home to be involved in the set up, but Santi Cazorla and newboy Nacho Monreal will be travelling back to Spain to face Uruguay. We should be very glad that game isnt being played in South America!
Arsene Wenger will be a relieved man today, apart from all the stress of trying to sign a few decent players for Arsenal of course, because the manager of France, Didier Deschamps, has seen sense for a change and not picked Abou Diaby for the French squad to play against Germany in a friendly next week. Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny will join up with their French team mates, but Wenger has no problem with that, it was the risk of Diaby being pushed too far too soon that was his concern.
Arsene Wenger could be heading for another argument with Didier Deschamps over the Arsenal player Abou Diaby. The French midfielder’s injury problems are well documented, and Arsenal fans know better than anyone that Diaby could pick up another knock at any time. That is why Wenger has called for the France boss to leave Diaby out of the squad to play Germany in a friendly on February 6th.
Deschamps is due to announce the squad tomorrow and, if last year is anything to go by, he will probably completely disregard the worries of Arsenal and Wenger. Deschamps ignored Wenger and played Diaby for the full 90 minutes against Finland, despite taking a knock to the ankle, which probably had a part in Diaby’s latest injury. He had just returned from that problem when he limped off the pitch against Chelsea.
Gilles Sunu – France (Togo), 2009-2011, 2 games, 0 goals
Gilles is the son of former Togolese international, midfielder Manu Sunu, and there was a time when he looked like being the next hotshot striker to emerge from the Gunners’ academy, perhaps even following in the footsteps of Emmanuel Adebayor and representing both Arsenal and the Togo national side. Unfortunately, Sunu was another deemed not good enough by Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff, and he departed in 2011, for our feeder club Lorient, with whom he had previously been on loan.
With the African Cup of Nations about to begin, we are running a series of articles looking at the role that African players have had at Arsenal. by Ed Dove
Armand Traoré – Senegal, 2006-2011, 30 games, 0 goals
Much was expected of Armand Traoré when the young left-sided player signed for Arsenal in 2006. Almost deer-like in his movement and stature, the youngster impressed with expert control and scintillating pace. Always looking to attack and develop the play, Arsenal’s youth sides benefited from having such a proactive figure at left back, bringing others into the game, and developing the Gunners’ method.
