Frenchman Abou Diaby scored 14 goals in 124 Premier League games during his eight-year spell as an Arsenal player. Diaby could have played more league games if not for the various injuries that affected his output as an Arsenal player. Abou Diaby was dubbed the next Patrick Vieira when he left Auxerre to join the Gunners in January 2006. However, the trajectory of his Arsenal career changed when he was on the end of a poor tackle from Dan Smith during the league win over hosts Sunderland. That tackle led to a series of various injuries throughout his stay in North London.
Abou Diaby was rarely in the Arsenal during the latter years of his career at the club, but he still managed to win the FA Cup title. As a matter of fact, he won the FA Cup in his last season as an Arsenal player as the club was able to end their nine-year wait for a major trophy. The trophy drought came to an end thanks to the comeback win over Hull City in the final.
French international Abou Diaby missed out on the final against the Tigers who stunned the iconic Wembley Stadium by scoring twice inside the first ten minutes. The goals came from the centre back duo of James Chester and Curtis Davies as the Gunners failed to deal with the aerial prowess of their opponents.
Arsenal were given a lifeline when petite Spanish international Santi Cazorla scored a freekick on 17 minutes to pull a goal back for his team. The North Londoners chased the equaliser until the 71st minute when an unlikely source in Frenchman Laurent Koscielny got it for his team. The two teams had to go into extra time after sharing four goals in 90 minutes. In the end, Welshman Aaron Ramsey scored the winning goal in the second half of extra time to give the Gunners the FA Cup title via a 3-2 win.
In addition tothe FA Cup title, Abou Diaby could have won the 2006/07 League Cup title. He featured in the final as Arsenal lost a lead to lose 2-1 to Chelsea.