It takes a special type of self-assurance for a young player to walk away from a big club such as Chelsea, although Lassana Diarra’s self-belief is so steadfast that he would consider moving on again. The France midfield player is enjoying life with a young Arsenal team flying high at the top of the Barclays Premier League, but, having played for only 20 minutes outside the Carling Cup for his new employers, he has made it clear that he is not prepared to wait for ever.

Diarra is in the unusual position of having started more matches for his country - last year’s World Cup finalists no less – than his club this season, a situation that he describes without petulance as ridiculous.

“For the moment, everything is going fine and I’m learning, but I cannot stay like this for ever,” Diarra said. “I’m not going to wait for a year because I changed clubs in order to play.

“I’m not stupid. If I come to Arsenal and my situation is the same as at Chelsea, then I should have stayed at Chelsea. If I come to Arsenal, it’s to play. In a few months, I’ll have to decide what I want to do.”

While the softly spoken Diarra is not one to make threats, he does have a timetable in mind. Arsenal’s Carling Cup fourth-round tie away to Sheffield United next week should yield a second start of the season, although he does not consider England’s second cup competition adequate preparation for next summer’s European Championship finals. That Gilberto Silva, a World Cup winner, has been consigned to the substitutes’ bench because of the outstanding performances of Mathieu Flamini shows Arsenal’s strength in central midfield, but Diarra is unperturbed.

“I’ve played more games for my country than for my club, which is ridiculous,” he said. “When I came to Chelsea, I was 19, so to wait for a year is OK, but when I’m playing for the French national team with the European Championship coming, I need to play regular football. I cannot stay like this, going to training but staying at home at weekends and sometimes playing in the Carling Cup. I cannot accept this now.

“When [Arsène] Wenger signed me, he knew the player I am. I’ve been in this kind of situation before, so it’s not new to me. I’ve waited for a long time, but I’m 22 and cannot wait as I have in the past. I know Arsenal are a very good team, playing good football and top of the league, but I want to play. If I’m not playing by Christmas I may have to go somewhere else.”

Diarra’s resolution may spring from a turbulent start to his career during which he stopped playing football after falling out with Le Mans, his club at the time. He is reluctant to go into details, but it is clear that the break made him more determined to grasp his second chance.

“What I accepted at 16 I would not accept now,” Diarra said. “There was a very bad relationship between me and the club when I was with Le Mans and for 18 months I gave up football. I had a bad relationship with the club, so I went back to school and spent time with my family.”

Diarra was offered a way back into the game with Le Havre, where he was so successful that he was identified by Chelsea as a potential successor to Claude Makelele. The 22-year-old developed into a useful squad player at Stamford Bridge, making 31 appearances in two seasons, but became frustrated by a lack of opportunities. It is interesting that he speaks more warmly of Avram Grant than José Mourinho, whom he blames for being repeatedly played out of position at right back.

“There were some bad moments and good moments at Chelsea, but that’s football,” Diarra said. “One day you’re very happy and the next day the situation can change. There were some little problems that I will keep in my heart and after that it was difficult to stay there.

“I changed because I’m a midfield player, not a right back. I can’t say I hate playing right back, but I prefer to play in midfield. I want to touch the ball and pass to people. Playing right back is just running up and down.

“I know Grant well and he’s a good man who helped me when I was there. He can do good things for Chelsea because he’s a good man. Mourinho was a good manager, but they’re very different people. Grant needs time as it’s not easy to work at Chelsea.”

Diarra’s closest relationship at Chelsea was with Makelele, whom he resembles physically and in his style of play, but, after two years as an apprentice, he was ready to go his own way. “I want to show who I am, not the new Makelele but Mr Diarra,” he said. “The Chelsea players said he was my father, but he’s my friend.

“He was my favourite player when I was growing up, so we spent a lot of time together. He taught me to stay confident and believe that anything can happen. When you’re young, you want everything to happen very quickly, but sometimes you have to wait.”