Abou Diaby played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending.
63 Facts About Abou Diaby
2.
Abou Diaby's career was hampered by numerous repetitive injuries, a problem that existed from his time in France.
3.
Abou Diaby was born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, but was raised in the Parisian commune of Aubervilliers.
4.
Abou Diaby began his football career playing for hometown club CM Aubervilliers.
5.
Abou Diaby spent four years at the academy while simultaneously training with Red Star.
6.
Abou Diaby made his debut with the club that same month and scored his first goal three months later against Aston Villa.
7.
Abou Diaby is a former French youth international having earned caps at under-19 and under-21 level.
8.
Abou Diaby made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania.
9.
Abou Diaby has represented France at one major international tournament; the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
10.
Abou Diaby participated in all three group stage matches the team played as a starter.
11.
Abou Diaby was born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, but was raised in a housing development in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris.
12.
Abou Diaby is the son of a long-distance truck driver and developed an interest into the sport of football after becoming fascinated by several players who played on the 1998 FIFA World Cup-winning team, most notably midfield stalwart Patrick Vieira, whom Diaby describes as "a monument to French football".
13.
Abou Diaby was adept at playing other sports such as basketball and boxing.
14.
Abou Diaby became interested in accountancy after taking a course at the age of 17, while he was at the Auxerre youth academy.
15.
Abou Diaby began his football career playing for hometown club CM Aubervilliers in December 1996.
16.
Abou Diaby started his career at the club playing on its under-13 team in the Division Honneur Regionale of the Ile-de-France region.
17.
Towards the end of his development at Clairefontaine, Abou Diaby departed Red Star to play domestic football with professional club Paris Saint-Germain, despite being a supporter of Marseille.
18.
Abou Diaby spent a year at the Camp des Loges, the club's training center, from 2001 to 2002.
19.
Abou Diaby finished the season with the team with 11 appearances and one goal as the team finished first in its group.
20.
Similar to the previous season, Abou Diaby regularly trained with the first team, while concurrently featuring as a starter on the club's reserve team.
21.
Abou Diaby returned to the team in March 2005 making his European debut in the team's UEFA Cup Round of 16 first leg tie against domestic rivals Lille.
22.
Abou Diaby made three more appearances as a substitute to close out the season.
23.
Abou Diaby was replaced with former France national team coach Jacques Santini.
24.
Unlike fellow youngsters Sagna and Kaboul who were quickly establishing themselves at their respective positions, Diaby only featured in five league matches during the first half of the season.
25.
In Europe, Abou Diaby featured as a starter in the team's first round defeat to Bulgarian club Levski Sofia in the UEFA Cup.
26.
Midway through the campaign, Abou Diaby was deemed surplus to requirements by management.
27.
Abou Diaby was set up for the goal by fellow club newcomer Emmanuel Adebayor.
28.
Abou Diaby underwent three surgeries to repair the injury and was told by doctors that the injury could possibly be career-ending.
29.
On 25 February 2007, while participating in the 2007 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea, Abou Diaby, while attempting to clear the ball out of the Arsenal defense, accidentally kicked rival defender John Terry in the face.
30.
Abou Diaby remained a fixture within the team for the rest of the campaign, mostly as a substitute as he only started in consecutive matches once.
31.
In December 2007, Abou Diaby scored goals in back-to-back matches for the first time in his career.
32.
On 29 March 2008, Abou Diaby was sent off for the first time in his professional career in a league match against Bolton Wanderers for a studs-up tackle on defender Gretar Steinsson.
33.
Abou Diaby was defended by Wenger who stated "I don't think Abou Diaby's tackle was malicious, it was more protective".
34.
Abou Diaby appeared regularly in the campaign for the first time in his Arsenal career.
35.
Abou Diaby finished the campaign with career-highs in matches played, goals, and assists.
36.
Abou Diaby featured primarily as a substitute after returning from the injury.
37.
Abou Diaby made just four substitute appearances during the Premier League campaign and one in the UEFA Champions League.
38.
On 13 January 2013, Abou Diaby made his return against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
39.
On 15 November 2014, according to some English newspapers, Abou Diaby suffered a hamstring injury which would keep him off the pitch for the next three months.
40.
In July 2015, Abou Diaby signed for French Ligue 1 side Marseille after being out of football since leaving Arsenal in June 2015.
41.
Abou Diaby ultimately made just four appearances for the season across all competitions.
42.
In October 2016, Abou Diaby had to undergo an operation on his right ankle after suffering for weeks with persistent pain.
43.
Abou Diaby was ruled out for a period of four months following the surgery.
44.
On 25 February 2019, Abou Diaby announced that he was retiring from football, aged 32, most recently having played for Marseille in 2017.
45.
Abou Diaby announced his retirement on French television channel RMC's.
46.
Abou Diaby was forced to withdraw from the squad after suffering an injury while playing domestically.
47.
In qualifying for the 2005 European Under-19 Football Championship, Abou Diaby appeared in all six matches as France finished both the first qualifying round and the Elite Round undefeated.
48.
Abou Diaby, subsequently, started every remaining match, including the championship match against England.
49.
At under-21 level, Abou Diaby made his debut on 28 February 2006 in a friendly match against Slovakia.
50.
On 15 March 2007, Abou Diaby was called up to the senior team for the first time by coach Raymond Domenech for UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania and a friendly against Austria.
51.
Abou Diaby described the call-up as a "huge surprise" primarily because he has just returned from his ankle fracture just two months prior.
52.
Abou Diaby made his senior international debut in the qualifier against Lithuania appearing as a substitute for Florent Malouda.
53.
Abou Diaby was later named to the 23-man team to serve as a possible backup in the holding midfield role.
54.
Abou Diaby was credited by Scottish newspaper The Scotsman as being the team's best performer in the goalless draw.
55.
Abou Diaby featured as a starter in both of France's remaining group stage matches against Mexico and South Africa.
56.
Under manager Laurent Blanc, Abou Diaby was penciled in as a starter in the team's first two competitive matches of the new season.
57.
Abou Diaby returned to the team for its 9 February 2011 friendly against Brazil.
58.
In March 2011, Abou Diaby was called back into the team for matches against Luxembourg and Croatia, but, for the second time in the season, withdrew from the team due to injury.
59.
Abou Diaby returned to the team in June 2011 for a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Belarus and friendly matches against Poland and Ukraine.
60.
Abou Diaby is often described as a typical box-to-box midfielder; a midfielder who is adept both offensively and defensively.
61.
Abou Diaby is not a defensive-minded player and he's not a holding player.
62.
Abou Diaby makes more of a physical impact in a game, in midfield.
63.
Abou Diaby is more of a dribbler, more offensive and makes more penetrating runs.