Abou Diaby has finally made his way away from Arsenal, a club where he spent so many frustrating seasons.
The 29-year old playmaker has joined Olympique de Marseille on free transfer.
While, he is quite excited about the new chapter of his career that’s about to open, he is also quite regretful of the fact that he could not prove himself as a player at the Emirates Stadium.
He stayed over there for quite a long period, but, regular injury setbacks just did not let him settle down.
In 9 years, Diaby just played 125 league games in Arsenal t-shirt.
He had been seen as a potential superstar when he was signed back in 2006 and upon his arrival, it was believed he would turn Arsenal into quite a force, but, not even a single season went by in which Diaby put on the kind of show that was expected off him.
In his first press conference at Marseille, Diaby reflected on his time at Arsenal and expressed his regrets about how it unfolded.
He was quoted as saying, “My Arsenal career was a bit of a mixed bag. While I did go through some very tough phases, there were some good days as well. One thing I would always consider myself fortunate for is that I got the opportunity to play under the guidance of Arsene Wenger who is an absolutely brilliant manager.”
“Of course, I would have liked to have been able to display my full ability and give a lot more to Arsenal, but, unfortunately, luck did not have it that way. However, that’s finished and I need to look towards what lies ahead. I want to turn out to be a consistent player for Marseille and I will work as hard as I can for that.”