"?Abou Diaby has opened up on the nightmare injuries that blighted his career at Arsenal and earned him the nickname the 'Glass Man', citing the psychological troubles he experienced as a result.
"?Speaking to the Dail Mail, the Frenchman offered an insight into the frustration he suffered during his time in north London after being touted as the next Patrick Viera by Arsene Wenger.
After emerging from the Gunners academy, Diaby was heralded as the man to maraud through Arsenal's midfield for the next ten years, however the 30-year-old's career came to a stuttering close after featuring just twice in his final two years at the club prior to being released in 2015.
Back in France with Marseille, Diaby is still suffering with long-term injuries having, featured just four times for the Ligue 1 club last season and has now explained just how difficult a setback it is to deal with.
"It can be painful, on a psychological level. They don't know how much I give every day of my life to try and recover. But hey, what can I do? This is my life story."
If only he had stayed injury-free.
Abou Diaby was literally a beast. #AFC pic.twitter.com/G5df3ak6JI
With his gangly legs and powerful drive, Diaby was unstoppable in the heart of the Arsenal midfield for the 11,712 minutes he did feature, less than 25% of the club's total game time.
However, his career was associated with the physio's room and not the engine room that the Emirates faithful had hoped to see him succeed in, suffering a total of 42 different injuries during his time as an Arsenal player.
"Going into the training ground every day, it was killing me. When you spend all your time with the physio and you see your team-mates enjoying everything, it is very hard," admitted Diaby.