Jack Wilshere

This is going to be the reason we won’t sign the central midfielder we so desperately need, its pretty infuriating but not that unexpected.

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Abou the player or Abou the OA member? :smiley:

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Can’t help but feel if Wilshere was European you might change your tune tbh, but fair enough.

I remember RAWK members raving about this performance, maybe Diaby’s last good performance for us?

And maybe this was Wilshere’s last good performance for us

Both can open up the midfield in a way we haven’t had with Cazorla missing, but Wilshere’s obviously the only 1 left.

Maybe even the only one of any particular note.

Apart from 4-4 against Newcastle for other reasons. :weary:

Nah, man, that’s where you’re wrong, I get as excited about english talents as you do, I was/have been a huge fan of Jack’s, of Ox’s, of Willock’s, of Nelson’s and if we sign him no doubt Sancho. :sunglasses:

But simple fact is, if Diaby were fit almost a full season he would’ve done far better than Jack did at Bournemouth, and he wouldn’t be on the chopping block but rather being planned as an important member of the team, as he was at the same age as Jack, having come off more time out of action, going into the 12-13 season.

As far as I’m concerned it was. I honestly don’t know what planet people are living on when they act like Diaby was some kind of superstar. They must have been watching a bunch of matches that I for some reason didn’t know were on.

Or like most player related opinions they were fabricated from hype and over expectation rather than actually watching the player.

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Diaby is in the top 2 of most overrated Arsenal players in the 131 year history of this club. Together with Theo Walcott.

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Im so sorry I should have known better. :sob:
If anyone should know that better its me.

No, Diaby’s one close to full season, 09-10, he was hugely underrated (this was addressed in full in my BPOAT), that at the age of 23-24, when his development had already been hugely interrupted. He was then France’s probably only good player in the world cup that summer. He was also good in his age 22-23 season in 08-09, though interrupted by injuries.

People have just always loved to hate on him, because they didn’t understand his amazing, breathtaking elegance. A bit like what Özil would probably be considered if he were a little more godly talented and barely played a half-season straight in his career.

He wasn’t.

Haters gonna hate.

[QUOTE]FRANCE are still looking to unearth a new Zinedine Zidane, but they at least seem to have found the next Patrick Vieira. Abou Diaby was a ray of hope in France’s lacklustre 0-0 draw with Uruguay in their World Cup opener on Friday, stepping out of the shadow of Vieira, who is now in the twilight of his career and did not make the squad. A surprise starter against Uruguay, the powerful 24-year-old midfielder was his side’s best player by a long way and now seems an automatic choice for coach Raymond Domenech. Diaby, who had been convincing when he came on in France’s three warm-up games, treated the France fans to a performance reminiscent of Vieira. His lanky frame and the ability to win the ball and advance it up the field with calm authority brought to mind Vieira in his pomp. Diaby, who plays for Arsenal in the role once filled by the former France captain, is now ready to do the same for the 1998 World Cup winners. “I tried to do my job but I really wanted us to win this game,” said Diaby, putting aside his own display to admit it was two points dropped by France. “Personally I think I can do even better.”

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/sport/world-cup-2010-diaby-shines-for-gloomy-france-1-1366877[/QUOTE]

That was a poor squad, but Diaby wasn’t the only good player in that squad. They had Lloris, Evra, Ribery.

If you meant he was the only one with a good performance you should have worded that different imo.

Well if some random journo for the prestigious Scotsman thinks that I guess it must be correct. :joy:

I think you are perhaps conveniently forgetting how fucking awful France were that season. They were so bad they almost lost to Ireland in the knockout and Abou Diaby was able to look like a good player.

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Diaby was sensational in that match vs Liverpool, and because of that I’m convinced that he was basically Vieira but actually a bit better.

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That’s what I meant.

No, I remember how bad they were. But I also remember that Abou stood out in an incredibly broken side, and the scotsmen was just the first article to show up on my google.co.uk search but he was widely considered that summer to be one of the only French players to save face.

That wasn’t the only match he was sensational in. He had a number of high quality performances in 08-09 and 09-10. That was certainly the most memorable, though, because of how long he had been out of the team and how brilliantly he played.

We can’t compare Diaby with Jack Wilshere, please.

The only things in common are the injuries.

Wilshere is a typical english boy with certanly a talented factor, but overrated by the media, overrated by fans, overrated by himself.

Abou is different.

Abou was (unfortunately was because despite he isn’t finished his career, it’s right to talk abou him as an ex player) the son of a football culture born in the french banlieue and developed in their technical centre.

Abou was capable to use the brain, to dictate the tempo of his game and the tempo of the game of who were playing around him. It’s not a fact many great players like him, Henry, Gallas, Anelka, Matuidi, the same Mbappe, our Olivier Giroud, Benatia, Saha have started their career launched by the Clairefontaine Academy.

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Meaning he wasn’t shit. Not that he was good/great/amazing.

Diaby is one of those mythical players that get better with every game they don’t play.

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This is such bullshit it’s unreal, Diaby has far more haters/detractors than he does those backing him, you need only look at any discussion of Diaby to see that in evidence (here we have another example, of course). If anything, crap like this being repeated over and over–as this very same line or variation of it has been for years and years now–is why his talent has been chronically underrated. But he has always been a figure that people have loved to criticise (because of his frustrating injury proneness and other factors), and the line you’ve just gave is the go to among those who like to pose as the sober, heady realist and have a joke at his expense, when in reality they (you) missed a trick.

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