Diarra reveals Wenger broke promises that drove him from Arsenal after just five months

Lassana Diarra has delivered a damning verdict on his five-month stint at Arsenal, claiming Arsène Wenger broke promises of regular first-team football that persuaded him to leave Chelsea for the Gunners on transfer deadline day in January 2007.

The French midfielder, now 41, made his feelings public while still at the club, telling L’Equipe in December 2007 that he had already made up his mind to leave. “We’re halfway through December, and I’ve decided: I want to leave Arsenal,” he said. “The bottom line is the coach doesn’t need me. They don’t want me. I don’t understand, because I’ve got more value in the French national team.”

Diarra was unambiguous about where the breakdown began. “When I signed for Arsenal I was made promises by the people who recruited me. But since the start of the season the only matches I’ve been involved in have been low-key, and to be honest I’m getting fed up with it.” He was careful, however, to stop short of a personal attack on Wenger at that stage. “With Mr Wenger, there’s no problem whatsoever. I’m not going to criticise him or speak badly of him. But I signed for Arsenal because I was led to believe I was going to be playing, and there would be healthy competition. That hasn’t been the case.”

Diarra secured a reported £5.5 million move to Portsmouth in January 2008 and won the FA Cup four months later when Pompey defeated Cardiff City in the final. His performances at Fratton Park persuaded Real Madrid to pay £17 million for him after just 11 months in the Premier League.

Once settled in Madrid, Diarra’s tone towards Wenger sharpened considerably. Asked by Spanish newspaper El País what he had learned from his fellow Frenchman, he was blunt. “Me? Nothing. I did not learn anything from Wenger. He just taught me to doubt everything. The relationship I had with him was not good.”

By contrast, Diarra was effusive about José Mourinho, under whom he had worked at Chelsea. “I learned more with Mourinho. Mourinho taught me to fight. I spoke looking into his eyes. If you had a problem, it would be discussed. Wenger never addressed me until I told him I was going. He talked to others, but not me.”

The midfielder’s conclusion on his time in north London was as stark as it gets. “I feel like I never played for Arsenal. If people do not remind me of them, I forget about them. It’s erased from my memory.”

After three years at Real Madrid, Diarra went on to play for Anzhi Makhachkala and Lokomotiv Moscow before eventually retiring.