Denilson/Diaby: With The Injury Shadow Overcast at The Emirates, Which Midfeilder Should Wenger place his faith in?

At least going by sentiments of the majority of Gunners on the two, this should be a no brainer; and this post ought to be an overzealous effort at stating the plain to see. Nonetheless, the Brazilian or the Frenchman? I ask again. Not so an easy choice as it appears on the surface. Moreover, if this contest were to be a match, in the eyes of many Gunner fans, the  score ought resemble the Brazil- France 1998 World Cup final at the Stade de France.

Deni and Diaby Celebrate together: Image:soccer-portal.org

However,  I am  hard placed finding a single all season Denilson  fan. Likewise, it's equally hard to locate an all weather Diaby critic. Such is their fate: The former only seems to draw in the critics while the later happens to have mastered the art of winning over hearts.



In spite of the current noise, the arrival at Arsenal for both was a hushed affair quite in contrast to the unseeingly unending debate that the mention of either names seems to spark among Arsenal fans.

Denilson Pereira Neves was signed from Brazilian giants Sao Paulo for 3.4 million pounds in a move overshadowed by the 2006 transfer deadline Chelsea- Arsenal swap- deposed captain William Gallas + 5 million pounds for Shooter Cashley Cole.

Abdou Vassiriki Diaby arrived from Auxerre in the January of 2006 as the 'other guy' alongside Theo Walcott speeding in  from Southampton, and  lanky Togolese star Emmanuel Adebayor from Monaco.

Both acquisitions bore the Arsene Wenger signature: Young and well developed, immensely talented (even more promise), untested and previously unheard players in the football world.

Denilson, then 16, boasted of national caps in all the younger age groups including being a skipper  at the time.  Diaby, 19, was vying for a first team birth at  Auxerre having graduated alongside Hatem Ben Arfa from the acclaimed Clairefontaine football academy in 2002.

Under Arsene Wenger's gifted hands, the two have mushroomed into possession retainers of some repute albeit of contrasting types.

Though both can be employed as defensive midfielders covering the Arsenal back four, and feeding the ball (once regained from the opposition) to the more creative types to launch the attack, both  fall behind Cameroonian Alexander Song in the pecking order for this particular role.

Diaby, with his 1.88m (6' 2''), 78.7kg (174lbs) frame relies more on his muscular frame to shield the ball from opponents and win aerial battles; long legs to emerge tops in the tackle 'Vierra-style'; and surprisingly exquisite ball playing for such a physical frame skills to twist and turn out of tight positions before galloping forward or laying the pass to a teammate. In him, Arsenal have one of the best box-to-box midfielders yet.

Denilson stands at only 1.80m (5'11'') and weighs in almost 10kgs lighter than Diaby at 68.1kgs. His strength is in the intercept and collecting the 50:50 balls in the middle of the pack, a surprising attribute considering that the Brazilian is not exactly that fast thus probably attesting to his ability in reading the game and anticipating the pass before it reaches it's target. Denilson can also pack a venomous shot way outside the 18 yard, a fact that Wenger attributed to the unique anatomy of the foot of some Brazilian footballers.

As with any player through out the Arsenal ranks, both Diaby's and Denilson's passing is above average- though the Frenchman is often chastised for delaying the pass  with too many dribbles, while the Brazilian's short but quick passing at times is too square thus failing to adequately launch the attack forward or clear the ball from dangerous areas.

That said, going by observation, Arsene Wenger happens to prefer Denilson as Song's understudy when the need arises (as is the case currently with Song's heamatoma somewhere around the knee that was suffered in last Sunday's  2-1 Carling Cup final loss to Birmingham at the Wembley).

In the other midfield role available, as both players are unsuited for the Fabregas role (not really unsuited-especially in the case of Diaby- but more of a case of availability of players who are better suited); the rise of Jack Wilshere seems to have limited Diaby's and Denilson's starts for Arsenal as 'the all purpose defense/attack guy', just as much as injury problems have sadly interrupted their progression as players under Wenger's tutelage.

Nonetheless, whenever either has featured for Arsenal-since the gradual transformation from the  4-4-2 formation with the departures of Henry, Gilberto, Pires, Lunjberg and Vierra etc to the darlings of 21 st century football the  4-5-1 or it's various variants (4-3-3 or 4-2-1-1 or 4-1-4-1)-  Diaby and Denilson  have more or less played this midfield role that Jack Wilshere happens  to be making his own.

For purposes of ease of comparison, we shall compare each of the two's best seasons in an  Arsenal shirt.

Denilson: Best Season in Arsenal: 2008/2009

Appearances: 49 Starts (2 off the bench)
Goals: 3
Assists: 7
Shots: 49 (13 on target)
Discipline: 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards, 91 fouls committed, 99 suffered
Trivia: Arguably the best defensive midfielder in England this season eclipsing more illustrious names like  Xavi Alonso then of Liverpool. Most reliable Arsenal player that season clocking up the most appearances and central to a 21 game non-lose streak in all competitions.

Diaby: Best Season in Arsenal: 2009/2010

Appearances: 34 (4 off the bench)
Goals: 4
Assists:7
Shots:56 (21 on target)
Discipline: 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards, 71 fouls committed, 58 suffered
Trivia: Earned himself a call up to the Le Blue squad for their disastrous South Africa 2010 World Cup campaign where he featured in all three group stage matches (against South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay) before France bowed out at this stage.

Denilson vs Diaby: 2010-2011 Season

Appearances: 14 [11]
Goals: 0 [1]
Assists: 0 [1]
Shots: 10 [14]
* Diaby statistics for 2010/11 in [ ]

The Statistics alone, rubbish the stereotypes peddled around. This debate could be a difficult one when the veils are lifted. As Henry recently reiterated, the shoes to fill when Arsene Wenger finally takes his bow would be huge as it's his everyday job to make such decisions.

What is clear though is that both players have made their contributions to the squad, even if not always to the satisfaction of many.

It is also clear that their frequent visits to the dressing room have denied the Arsenal fraternity the benefit of their talents, as often are the times when game x missed Denilson or game y missed Diaby for a better outcome or even if just to allow for the mandatory squad rotation to rest tired legs or cover for injuries.

With Cesc Fabregas sidelined and facing the rush to fitness before The Camp Nou Showdown on the 8th , Alexander Song looking set to miss the Lyton Orient FA Cup 5th round replay tonight and Sunderland at home over the weekend, could the real Diaby/Denilson please stand up!