Determined Diaby fighting fit after boot-camp

ARSENAL midfielder Abou Diaby has compared himself to Zinedine Zidane and insisted he is ready to become one of the best players in the world thanks to surviving a boot-camp organised by French fitness guru Renaud Longuevre that has transformed his game.

The Frenchman approached the coach, who was behind sprinter Ladji Doucoure becoming the 110m hurdles world champion in 2005, in the summer of 2009 and asked him to improve certain aspects of his game.

The pair have been working together ever since and Diaby is less injured and more physically robust than he has ever been in his career.

“Technique is not a problem for me, the ball sticks to my foot. In that respect I am like a Zizou,” Diaby said. “But if I can handle things physically, then I can be among the best in the world.”

Diaby gave Longuevre a long list of aspects of his game that he wanted to improve and over a month during June 2009, the coach set about working on him.

“There are three things I need to correct,” Diaby told him back then.

“I don’t play enough matches per season. I lack continuity because I’m too often injured. I’m not strong enough in duels and, I do a lot of running between the boxes but after a 50-metre dash, I’m no longer lucid enough to find the right pass or put in a good shot.”

“Abou is very realistic, and knew he needed to work to make up for his weaknesses,” Longuevre told L’Equipe in an interview published today.

Diaby had spent two very long periods out through injury: an eight-month break with a broken ankle in April 2006, and another long absence between the end of 2007 and the start of 2008, due to niggling injuries to his back, calf, and thigh.

But the personalised training regime paid immediate dividends: Diaby started 26 Premier League games last season, his highest ever, and won a place in the France side at the World Cup.

“Over and above the increased number of games I played, I feel better both in my body and my head,” he said. “In duels, I’m more aggressive and more decisive. I can now score after running 60m flat out whereas before I had no legs left after 30. And I found it hard to play two games in four days. The physical side of things is no longer the main concern.”

The coaching staff at Arsenal are also hugely impressed with the improvement in Diaby and have encouraged him to continue his cooperation with Longuevre. “He has been less injured in the last year, and a player who is constantly in and out because of injuries cannot perform at the highest level,” said Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger. “Now we can expect a lot from Abou. At 24, he’s entering his prime years. He did what all players should do: the body needs to be looked after just like a car, you must force yourself to maintain it as long as possible.”

Wenger, meanwhile has challenged his young side to show they are winners every time they step out onto the pitch. Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas, who will miss today’s clash against Birmingham at Emirates Stadium with a hamstring problem, expressed his concerns in a Spanish radio interview of the need for his teammates’ “wealth of quality” to be translated into a “winning mentality” and deliver some long-overdue silverware.

Wenger feels once that illusive first trophy comes, the last being the FA Cup in 2005, then more will follow.

“It can be misinterpreted. I think everybody has a great desire to win, but you get a winning mentality as well when you have won,” Wenger said when asked to respond to his captain’s outspoken comments.

“What is at stake for us is not the desire to win, but to make history and to win trophies.’’