Arsenal midfield duo Abou Diaby and Denilson should be the first two players (on a very long list) to pack their bags and head straight for the Emirates exit doors when the summer transfer window opens.
As a diehard Arsenal fan, I am simply fed up of watching these two midfielders parade on the pitch like their great when clearly they’re the opposite.
In my opinion, both players lack desire and heart, and quite frankly, have overstayed their welcome at the North London side. To be honest, I’ve just had enough of them.
This is not just a sudden outburst due to Saturday’s result against Manchester United in the F.A Cup at Old Trafford. Truth be told, I have been watching Arsenal intently this season (as I have been every year), and see Diaby and Denilson as major liabilities to the team.
I know some Arsenal fans will be reading this thinking I’m off my head and that I should be positive, but whilst these two ‘footballers’ are on the Arsenal payroll my doubts over the team lifting some silverware will remain intact.
As stated earlier, my opinion on these two are not purely based on their performances from Saturday’s game, it’s based on the entire season and years gone by.
Here are my reasons to support my case over why Abou Diaby and Denilson need to be sold at the earliest opportunity:
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Let me start with Abou Diaby. Although the 24-year-old appears to have some skill in those lanky legs of his, honestly, the Frenchman lacks movement (in terms of tracking back) and holds the ball for far too long in my opinion. I know he has suffered a lot of horrible injuries in the past (and even earlier on in the season) as an Arsenal player, but when I watch him play, I truly believe he doesn’t care about the club. I know that sounds bad to say, but that’s what I perceive from his body language and facial expressions whilst he’s on the pitch. The midfielder has been likened to the legendary Patrick Vieira by several journalists and Arsene Wenger himself in the past, but I fail to see the comparison. The only thing similar between him and Patrick is their nationality, that’s it.
I don’t see what Abou offers the team apart from making up the numbers at the club. Yes he is still young and will supposedly learn and improve his game as the years pass by, but you simply can’t teach football knowledge…you either have it or you don’t. 6 years he’s been an Arsenal player, and in my view, doesn’t seem to have developed since the day he arrived.
Moving swiftly onto Denilson. In my opinion, this guy is just frustrating to watch. The 23-year-old Brazilian lacks pace, desire and above all his positioning, and all round awareness, is appalling. Although his statistics may show that his ball distribution is great, my argument would be – 5-10 yard passes aren’t exactly hard to pull off are they? Like Diaby, I don’t quite get what Denilson offers to the team. It’s come to the point where by when I see him in the starting line-up I know we will struggle to get a result. Reports suggested that Wolfsburg were plotting a move for him during the January transfer window. However, nothing transpired as I believe (in my opinion of course) that the Bundersliga side realized they would have wasted £12 million on a very, very average player.
Thanks to official statisticians on Twitter I was able to find out that Arsenal’s win percentage with Abou Diaby & Denilson starting (since June 2008) stands at 41%. Whilst with only one or neither starting is vastly superior at 64%. This ultimately proves that the Arsenal team suffer when both or either one of them start.
As stated earlier, I think Arsenal must offload a number of players during the upcoming summer, but in my opinion Abou Diaby and Denilson must be the first two out of the door.
Please Wenger do us all a favour and get rid of the deadweight when the transfer window re-opens. Recoup a nice amount of cash from Diaby and Denilson in the summer (as we don’t need them anymore) and find a proper midfield enforcer to challenge Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and young Jack Wilshere for a place in the Arsenal midfield next season, or simply splash the cash elsewhere on the team. I’m not really fussed, just as long as those two are not at the Emirates next season.
Read more of Tony’s articles at the excellent Gunnersphere
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