Tuesday May 02 2006 08:05
Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby will miss the Champions League final after fracturing and dislocating his ankle during Monday's 3-0 victory at Sunderland.
The 19-year-old Frenchman suffered the injury as a result of a reckless challenge by the Black Cats' Dan Smith, leaving Gunners boss Arsene Wenger fuming.
"Diaby looks to have a very serious injury, and that is in my opinion a shame because it was a bad kick and an unnecessary one," raged Wenger.
"It's a big blow to lose a player like that. It's one thing to lose the player, but the other thing is I believe the spirit of the way he has been kicked - and (Cesc) Fabregas a few times - is just not acceptable.
"When you play football and you play against people who do not try to play, it's very difficult to take.
"An accident can happen and you will accept that, but the way this happened is not acceptable.
"On one side, I'm very happy with the players and the way they played, but on the other hand it's sad because you can see players can damage their career just because some people are on the pitch and do not even try to play football.
"It's part of respecting the game. If an accident happens because both go for the ball and play with the right spirit, it's okay.
"But what happened there is just not acceptable. The only one who didn't see it as a red card was the referee."
Diaby joined the Gunners from Auxerre in January and although he is yet to establish himself as a regular starter he would almost certainly have been on the substitutes' bench against Barcelona.
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