From Ade
Evening Myles,
I agree with Andy Pinker’s points almost 100%.
Except for one reference: Abou Diaby.
Diaby wasn’t ruined by Wenger, he was ruined by Dan Smith in a ghastly two-footed challenge that shattered his ankle in a meaningless final game of the season against Sunderland.
Every true Arsenal fan knows that Diaby was an awesome talent and that almost every time he pulled on the Arsenal shirt he was beautiful and thrilling to watch in equal measure.
Maybe Andy is a younger fan, and never saw Diaby in full effect and if so, fair enough. Those who never watched Diaby closely throughout his brief and fragile career might assume he was another poorly coached prospect by AW.
But that’s not right and it’s not fair.
Diaby possessed a sublime talent, cruelly diminished by that reckless two-footed assault and subsequently endured season after season of treatment, interrupted by the occasional match where his immense ability would flicker briefly before an inevitable injury would force him to leave the field.
The zenith of this period came on the 2nd September 2012 away at Anfield when Diaby ran the whole show for 90 mins and Arsenal won 0-2.
If you need a refresher, watch this:
https://youtu.be/D6khpoTY6oQ
So Andy, I’m sure you’re sincere in your views and I respect them all but I urge you to revisit your judgement of Diaby.
He was the closest player to PV4 I’ve yet seen.
Myles says:
Diaby could do things Hleb & Fabregas couldn’t do