It takes a special type of self-assurance for a young player to walk away from a big club such as Chelsea, although Lassana Diarra’s self-belief is so steadfast that he would consider moving on again. The France midfield player is enjoying life with a young Arsenal team flying high at the top of the Barclays Premier League, but, having played for only 20 minutes outside the Carling Cup for his new employers, he has made it clear that he is not prepared to wait for ever.
Diarra is in the unusual position of having started more matches for his country - last year’s World Cup finalists no less – than his club this season, a situation that he describes without petulance as ridiculous.
“For the moment, everything is going fine and I’m learning, but I cannot stay like this for ever,” Diarra said. “I’m not going to wait for a year because I changed clubs in order to play.
“I’m not stupid. If I come to Arsenal and my situation is the same as at Chelsea, then I should have stayed at Chelsea. If I come to Arsenal, it’s to play. In a few months, I’ll have to decide what I want to do.”
While the softly spoken Diarra is not one to make threats, he does have a timetable in mind. Arsenal’s Carling Cup fourth-round tie away to Sheffield United next week should yield a second start of the season, although he does not consider England’s second cup competition adequate preparation for next summer’s European Championship finals. That Gilberto Silva, a World Cup winner, has been consigned to the substitutes’ bench because of the outstanding performances of Mathieu Flamini shows Arsenal’s strength in central midfield, but Diarra is unperturbed.
“I’ve played more games for my country than for my club, which is ridiculous,” he said. “When I came to Chelsea, I was 19, so to wait for a year is OK, but when I’m playing for the French national team with the European Championship coming, I need to play regular football. I cannot stay like this, going to training but staying at home at weekends and sometimes playing in the Carling Cup. I cannot accept this now.
Diarra was indeed most impressive in the Carling Cup game v Newcastle and I imagine Wenger might’ve expected to have made more use of him this season, if it wasn’t for the fact that we remain unbeaten.
Unlike Benitez, Le Prof knows not to tinker too much with a winning formula while we are gathering momentum and if Gilberto’s deemed superfluous while player of the season so far, Flamini, marshalls our midfield, then Diarra is unlikely to get a look-in.
However he should learn to keep his powder dry because we all know the Premiership is a marathon, not a sprint and if he keeps his head down and continues to impress when his opportunities come along, he’ll undoubtedly get his chance to have an impact on the Arsenal’s season