Abou Diaby

French association football player (born 1986)

Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending, and was described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and athletic" that could either "dribble past opponents or slip passes to team-mates".[4] Of Ivorian descent, Diaby also possessed "superb touch" and "excellent close control". Diaby's career was hampered by numerous repetitive injuries, a problem that existed from his time in France.[4][5] His physical appearance and positional preference evoked comparisons to Arsenal compatriot Patrick Vieira.[6][7]

Abou Diaby
Diaby playing for Arsenal in 2010
Personal information
Full name Vassiriki Abou Diaby[1]
Date of birth (1986-05-11) 11 May 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1994–1998 Aubervilliers
1998–2001 Red Star
2001–2002 Paris Saint-Germain
1999–2002 INF Clairefontaine
2002–2004 Auxerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Auxerre 10 (1)
2006–2015 Arsenal 124 (14)
2015–2017 Marseille 5 (0)
Total 139 (15)
National team
2004–2005 France U19 12 (0)
2006–2007 France U21 2 (0)
2007–2012 France 16 (1)
Honours
Men's Football
Representing  France
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winner 2005 Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career statistics

change
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4][8][9]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Auxerre 2004–05 Ligue 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 0
2005–06 Ligue 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 1
Total 10 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 14 1
Arsenal 2005–06 Premier League 12 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 16 1
2006–07 Premier League 12 1 1 0 4 0 1 0 18 1
2007–08 Premier League 15 1 2 0 5 1 6 2 28 4
2008–09 Premier League 24 3 5 0 0 0 7 1 36 4
2009–10 Premier League 29 6 1 0 0 0 10 1 40 7
2010–11 Premier League 16 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 20 2
2011–12 Premier League 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
2012–13 Premier League 11 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 15 0
2013–14 Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2014–15 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 124 14 16 0 11 1 29 4 180 19
Marseille 2015–16 Ligue 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2016–17 Ligue 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Career total 139 15 17 0 11 1 33 4 200 20

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National team Season Apps Goals
France 2006–07 2 0
2007–08 0 0
2008–09 0 0
2009–10 6 0
2010–11 7 0
2011–12 0 0
2012–13 1 1
Total 16 1
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Diaby goal.[source?]
International goal scored by Abou Diaby
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 September 2012 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland   Finland 0–1 0–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

change

Arsenal

France U19

References

change
  1. "Premier League clubs submit squad lists" (PDF). Premier League. 4 February 2015. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
  2. "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 12 June 2010. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2019.
  3. "Player Profile: Abou Diaby". UEFA. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "AboU Diaby ESPN Profile". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  5. "Arsenal complete signing of Diaby". BBC Sport. 13 January 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  6. "Wenger compares Diaby to Vieira". BBC Sport. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  7. Vignal, Patrick (13 June 2010). "World Cup 2010: Diaby shines for gloomy France". Scotland On Sunday. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  8. "Abou Diaby Footballdatabase.eu Profile". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  9. "Abou Diaby LFP Profile" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  10. "Abou Diaby FFF Profile" (in French). French Football Federation. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  11. "Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2024.