Arsenal’s African Players Number 8 – The infamous Emmanuel Adebayor

Adebayor played 142 Scored 62

His legacy will always be one of the most hated men to play for Arsenal. For so long it looked like it could be different as he spearheaded a young gunners squad in title challenges. At the time we would lack the experience to have the mentality to deal with the run in. Often our striker’s loss of form would coincide with the pressure affecting us in April/May. Nonetheless his goal to game ratio was 62 in 142, which at 3 million is value. Hindsight suggests he would have got even better under Arsene Wenger’s guidance.

To this day he will argue he didn’t want the transfer to Man City but was forced out of the club, hence not deserving the abuse he received from Gooners. Whether that’s true or not, he should give more respect to the club who gave him the chance to become as rich as he has. Whether it’s our fan base, Mr Wenger or his ex-teammates he hasn’t had a lot of positive things to say. He certainly enjoyed scoring against us and wasn’t shy about returning in the colours of our bitter rivals.

Whenever he faced us, we quickly learnt he was unpopular with the likes of Vanpersie and Fabregas, perhaps why the club were happy to cash in. He hasn’t come close to the scoring record he had with us, earning a reputation as someone who would play well during loan spells, then lose his form once a deal was permanent. Essentially instead of maximising his potential, he’s chased money round Europe, currently plying his trade in Turkey.

The man has some fascinating stories to tell and clearly, he and his family have been through a lot, to the point where he can put the game into perspective.

He won’t care what gooners think but he can’t deny he was never the same player once he left.

Dan Smith

12 Comments

  1. Cant forgive him for the goal celebration against us ………………..I did the same celebration with a trolley full of like for like goods I`d bought from LIDL`s in a Tesco store !…..cheaper brands, but just as good saving me loads of money !

    Just been reading a source of infomation from the only other site I comment on and the person in question has had contacts from Arsenal in the past, but this info` is from his family, here is a apart of what he wrote ………………………..” my daughter is a language tutor and is contracted to teach Spanish and french speaking players English in the PL.. One is Torreira who she has coached weekly for over 9 months and he and two other players detest Emery(not Ozil) who appears to have favourites like AW. The weather issue is a red herring.”

  2. I think he was unfairly maligned in the press at the time of the transfer saga. There were rumours of him not getting along with some of his team mates, RvP in particular.

    Going to Man City and then somehow ending up at Spurs tarnished his reputation with us, but he scored some wonderful goals with Henry and at crucial times too.

    I liked him as a player but hated his guts a little when he ran halfway down the pitch to throw it our faces. On the flip side, what did the fans expect when they hurled abuse at him?

  3. Ornstein script:

    “Where to begin with Arsenal. Well everything is prefixed by their budget, and their wage bill. So what have they got to work with?

    “Missing out on the Champions League was a crushing blow in terms of the transfer market because they were confident of bringing in players like Wilfried Zaha if they’d made it through.

    “They’d still like to sign Zaha, and he would like to sign for Arsenal, but it’s very unlikely they’d be able to get the money to bring him in.

    “Crystal Palace’s asking price is up to £80m, Man United have a sell on clause in the Zaha contract which would reduce what Palace earn, so it would require Arsenal to make a major sale.

    “Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the only conceivable candidate for that and I don’t think they’d want to lose their top scorer from last season. There would need to be a huge market for him also to get the price they need.

    “But Arsenal, as we know, also want a central defender. It’s emerged that William Saliba from Saint-Etienne is one of their options. The suggestion is he’d be loaned back for a season which wouldn’t be ideal as they need a centre-half now. There’s no confirmation on that but talks are ongoing.

    “I was told that after the Europa League final that Unai Emery, who had always put his faith in Shkodran Mustafi despite a number of high profile mistakes, has decided enough is enough with him and he is no longer in favour of keeping him, so he could be sold. Arsenal have tried to sell him almost every window since they signed him.

    “Left back: they are continuing talks for Kieran Tierney. There is optimism around the deal that it will be done. They’re ready to go with medicals etc if they can strike a deal around the fee, but that hasn’t happened yet and Celtic will look to drive a hard bargain of course. They’ll look to create a market around him, drive the price up towards £25-30m, but some feel Arsenal can do it for under £20m.

    “They still want a box to box midfielder, we’ve talked about that before, and a wide player.”
    On the recruitment process and who is involved

    “Raul Sanllehi is the leading the recruitment process, he has Frannie Cagagio who is a senior scout. Huss Fahmy who is negotiating contracts since Dick Law departed, and he’s involved in the process of course too.

    “Unai Emery, and he’s got some people around him too who are influential. Of course it’s not the same kind of power that Arsene Wenger but Emery is very much in the fulcrum and the decision making process and pursuing targets.

    “And then Edu is starting at Arsenal as the Technical Director in the week after the Copa America finishes. So it’d be naive of us to think he’s not involved in the decision making process in some way.

    “Sanllehi is a contacts man, he works on relationships, so I’m sure he’s working with key agents who can help Arsenal fill the positions they need but with so little money to do it, it’s not going to be easy.”

  4. For me, this person comes in just below judas RVP.

    He thought he was as good as Henry, demanded the same kind of money and was shown the door…good riddance.

    Just like judas, I have never missed him, thought about him and loved it every time he got sent off.

    Le Coq, I must have missed the confirmation regarding Edu coming back…is this factual?
    Good news if it is I believe.

    1. Ken, I think Arsenal are just waiting to confirm it after talks with Ornstein ! 😆

      1. Either him or kev….I know a lot of fans think highly of both men, but for me, until it’s on the offical website, I don’t believe a w ord of it.
        Facts over opinions every time for me.

        Poor old Sue, you must be having kittens with all these rumours and speculations, according to Untold Arsenal, we have been linked with over 100 players…don’t know how thet are going to play all of them during the Emirates Cup!!!!
        Well worth £22.00 to see them try though…

  5. Top 5 former players I hate are:
    1. Cashley Cole
    2. Robin Van Pursestrings
    3. Samir Nasri
    4. Alexis Sanchez
    5. Adebayor

    My Top 5 Favourites
    1. Henry
    2. Bergkamp
    3. Seaman
    4. Adams
    5. Wright

  6. We were right to get rid he was okay at first but his performances dropped off then he did that what Doughnut!!

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