Thanks for the memories, Adebayor
It wasn’t planned as such, but seeing as the club official website have finally confirmed his departure, I thought I might as well jump on the bandwagon. And so I’m going to pay tribute to Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor.
For me Adebayor will be remembered not only for his goal against Villarreal at El Madrigal (which was stupendous to say the least). Instead the memory that will long live is that of the goal he scored at Old Trafford two seasons. To understand why, you need the appreciate the circumstances of and around it. We started off poorly that year and were languishing closer to the foot of the table rather than the top. Utd were flying at the top and many expected them to give us a footballing lesson. However, it was our boys who taught them a lesson and I believe many will remember with me that pass from Fabregas to set up Ade’s key goal.
That goal gave Adebayor the believe that he could be a success at the Emirates. It also marked perhaps the start of many more goals where Cesc set it up and Ade finished it off. I’ve always maintained that Fabregas was integral to Ade’s success. Not that I back this up with any stats but generally if Cesc had a bad game, then so did Ade. For that reason alone he is different compared to his predecessor the great Henry. While TH14 made his goals, Ade he needed quality service to deliver.
One of the downsides if you can call it that, is that Wenger’s bargain buys succeed a bit too quickly sometimes. For Adebayor, read Anelka. Somewhere along the line, Arsene needs to ensure that his younger players keep their head down and don’t believe the hype. We have seen plenty of players do it for a season or two and then fizzle away. The Shearer’s, The Henry’s of this world always did this and that is why there are revered.
Sometimes it is a little annoying to think that Henry left for around £14 million whilst Ade is worth £25 million. However I guess the extra amount is what you pay for “potential” these days as he is still young. If Drogba at the age of 30+ can still bull doze his way through, Ade will definitely exceed at least the individual goals he has perhaps set himself. And yes we are talking about goals, not his pay packet.
Of course this does not mean Adebayor’s achievements must be ridiculed. He gave us service for 3 and a half seasons and in this modern game that is not too bad especially when you see that a few players depart after half a season.
Ade needs to work hard and then, only then, will he be a success. Despite his departure, we are not weaker. I don’t believe we need another striker to replace him as we have enough striking options. An overwhelming number of Arsenal fans including me are not too sad to see you go Ade, but thanks for the memories nonetheless.
PS: What about that goal he scored at WHL against Spurs?! That was a pretty good goal as well wasn’t it?!
