The first time I saw Vassiriki Abou Diaby was, unlike most of you, not in an Arsenal shirt but in the blue of his native France on a wet Friday night in Belfast back in July 2005. He was the star of the show as France swept aside a very good England team (containing Ryan Smith, late of this parish) to clinch the UEFA under 19 championship title. Windsor Park is a dump so why would anyone want to spend a wet Friday night there? Well, I had heard and read stories linking Arsenal with a bid for France's "new Patrick Vieira" who had been a star of the tournament so I wanted to see this teenage sensation with my own eyes. He didn't disappoint, running the show alongside the wonderfully talented Yohan Gourcuff and Younes Kaboul (!) Always comfortable in possession his real asset appeared to be his ability to carry the ball at pace at the heart of the opposition and create openings either for himself or a better placed teammate. Sign him up AW I thought.

Speculation abounded but, as is so often the case, the summer transfer window finished with him still an Auxerre player. We did not have to wait too long though and finally snapped him up in January 2006.

So, just over three years on, what do we make of Abou Diaby? The jury is still out. Yes, he did lose a year’s playing time after that horrific assault by Sunderland’s Dan Smith at the end of his first season, but he has had ample opportunities this season with Flamini’s departure and Fab4’s injury to make a real name for himself and I, for one, feel underwhelmed so far.

He really is a curious character – summed up by his no 2 squad number. (Just like Gallas why can we not give players more suitable numbers?) Anyway, more importantly, just what is his best position? AW has tried him right across the middle and up front too but he has yet to make any position his own. Despite his obvious height advantage he is very poor in the air, despite his powerful, leggy frame he can’t tackle and despite his undoubted ability on the ball he continually surrenders possession very cheaply. (He’s also injury prone) On the other hand, he possesses wonderful technique and has several nice tricks in his locker to beat opponents. He also has a great engine, complimented with superb acceleration and can finish with elegance. His classy goal at Villa on Boxing Day encapsulates Diaby at his best.

So how do we accommodate such a talent with these deficiencies and what does the future at Arsenal hold for Diaby? It’s a really tricky one. I crack up when people say he’s the new Patrick Vieira. He’s a totally different player and needs a defensive anchor alongside him to flourish. So if Fab4 makes a full recovery and has (hopefully) at least a few more seasons with us I can’t see how we can integrate Diaby into one of the central positions in a 4-4-2. Given Diaby’s defensive weakness it’s Fab4 plus one of Denilson / Song. The only way he can be accommodated is in a 4-5-1, as a link man with Adebayor / Bendtner. Thinking back to that night in Belfast, France had one mobile striker who continually drifted wide and dropped deep to accommodate Diaby’s central bursts. Look at his goal against the (albeit defensively depleted) barcodes last week and you get a flavour of what’s possible with such a formation.

In summary, I think Diaby is a counterattacking midfielder suited best to Champions League (and the odd Premier League) fixtures away from home where AW deploys a 4-5-1. Can we afford to retain such a luxury with so many pressing deficiencies elsewhere? I think he’s a big game player with the undoubted class to turn it on when it counts and, looking at our fixture list in April / May, I have a funny feeling that the next two months could define his Arsenal destiny. Over to you, Abou!