by ‘Ifreke Inyang

Abou Diaby has expressed his delight at the vote of confidence from his manager. Earlier this week, Arsene Wenger spoke highly of the 26-year-old’s exceptional talent and insisted that “he is the first player who would be on the France team sheet in midfield when fit”.

“That makes me feel confident – it is always nice to have the confidence of the manager,” Diaby told a webchat with Chinese fans hosted by Arsenal.qq.com. “I’m fit now, I have been training since the beginning of pre-season and also did a rehabilitation session during my holidays – so now I feel great.

“I know that when I am fit, I can be good on the pitch. My main target this season is to be fit and if I am then everything will be good for me.”

However, the challenge for the former Auxerre prodigy, is to prove to Wenger during this pre-season, that his injury-stricken days are well behind him.

“It is definitely important – I need to be fit in order to complete the whole season,” he admitted. “It is so important that I stay fit because last season I was injured many times and couldn’t play much, so this year is crucial.”