Lassana Diarra

Lassana Diarra (born March 10, 1985 in Paris, France) is a France football (soccer)er of Malian descent, who plays for FA Premier League club Arsenal F.C.. His predominant position is defensive midfielder, but he can also play at right back. On August 31, 2007 with minutes left before the transfer window closed Arsenal announced they had reached an agreement with Chelsea F.C. for the player. He will wear the number 8 shirt.

Club Career

Early Career

Diarra suffered rejection many times as a youngster. The first at FC Nantes Atlantique, where he was deemed too "small and lightweight", at 5'8" and 9 stone, to succeed. Diarra admitted to thinking he thought his "football career was over". His next stop was Le Mans Union Club 72, where Diarra claimed they "didn't seem to care" about him. The Ligue 2 side then refused to supply the letter confirming his exit from the club, meaning Diarra would be helpless for 18 months. It has been said that Diarra faced a string of rejections that had initially made him return to school at the age of 16.

Le Havre

Diarra started his career at Le Havre AC, a France football team currently playing in the Second Division. A standout in his defensive midfield role, his reputation started to grow, and impressive performances saw his selection to the French U-21 squad. Along with the reputation came club interest, and Chelsea F.C. became potential suitors. With Claude Makélélé getting ever older, Chelsea's wide network of scouts tagged Diarra as the 'new' Makélélé and promptly paid £1m for his services in July 2005.

Chelsea

He immediately became a member of Chelsea FC first team squad for 2005-06, but did not get much first team football. His Chelsea debut came in the Champions League in October 2005, when he was given a brief run out as a substitute when Chelsea were 4-0 up against Real Betis. However, he was not expected nor was he expecting to come straight into the side. Learning behind a master of his position, he improved throughout the season, showing impressively when playing for the reserve team. He impressed against Huddersfield Town F.C. in the FA Cup third round, winning rave reviews from both managers, teammates, and media sources. Diarra also completed the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's last two games of the season at Blackburn Rovers F.C. and Newcastle United F.C., as manager José Mourinho rotated his squad.

Diarra was named Chelsea F.C. young player of the season for the season of 2005-06. Due to Chelsea's defensive injury setbacks during the 2006-07 season, he was often asked to play at right-back. He played full Premiership games against Blackburn Rovers, Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough, with some success, and also played in Chelsea's win over in Arsenal in the Football League Cup Final 2007 at the Millennium Stadium. On July 29 reports surfaced suggesting he could be on his way to Arsenal in pursuit of first-team football. His contract with Chelsea was due to expire in January 2008, and having made no move to extend it he was sold to Arsenal on 31st August 2007, before he could leave on a Bosman ruling.

Arsenal

On transfer deadline day August 31, 2007, Diarra completed a move to Arsenal FC. He will wear the number 8 shirt, vacated by the departure of Fredrik Ljungberg. On his move across London, he cited Gunners manager Arsene Wenger as one of the main reasons for joining the club, along with the style of football Arsenal play.

Honours

Chelsea F.C.
- Football League Cup: Football League Cup Final 2007
- FA Cup: FA Cup Final 2007
- Community Shield: Runner-up 2006, 2007