I want to play football again – former Arsenal star Abou Diaby

The midfielder has managed just five league matches in the last couple of years but hopes to be up to speed by Christmas as he eyes a return

Former Arsenal and Marseille midfielder Abou Diaby has set his sights upon playing competitive football again, but admits that he has thought of hanging up his boots.

Diaby was once one of the great hopes of French football, yet his career has been marked by incredible injury issues over the years.

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The 31-year-old has managed to play just 139 league matches in a career that began with Auxerre in 2004, while he featured just five times in Ligue 1 for OM over a two-year period.

“Retiring? I’ve thought about it, but my conclusion is that I want to work, to rehabilitate myself and to play football again,” he told Canal Football Club.

“I’m going to start my preparation work, I’ve got three or four months in front of me and I’m going to work to my core to get my body back to the level it should be.”

Diaby was released by Marseille in the summer as his contract ended and, given that he managed to play only a handful of times for the Stade Velodrome side, he found that logical.

“I came back from injury at the end of the season but it was too late, it was to be expected that our adventure together would not be continued,” he said.