outlaw_member
Established Member
As Adebayor's prospected move to Man City draws to a near conclusion, Arsenal fans are left in the aftermath of yet another first team player leaving the clubs ranks in the summer transfer window. For some it has become an all too familiar sight, despite half hearted promises from Wenger that the squad would be kept intact. The fear that Arsenal could end up being perceived as a selling club is certainly a cause for concern, and the departure of the Togolese hitman could reinforce this shady notion. Despite the possibility of the above occurring, most fans are nothing but delighted at seeing the striker leave the club. It would sure be an understatement to suggest that Adebayor has a multifarious set of opinions regarding his capabilities, but even than, the sheer scale of how distant his advocates opinion is from his detractors is simply amazing. If there ever was a case where the Marmite analogy best fit the subject at hand, this is it.
So why did Adebayor follow in the footsteps of Hleb, Flamini and Henry before him? The simple answer is that for once, Wenger wasn't determined to hold on to one of his stars players, hell, one could even assume that he was eased out of the club. So that begs the question, why was Adebayor allowed to leave with such little fight, assuming there was one? The most probable answer is that Wenger did not rate him as highly as some of the other attackers in the squad. It could even be a case of Adebayor outgrowing the role he was bought for, and his ability not correlating with the new duty he was now executing. Some have even gone as far to suggest that he was the distruptive force in Arsenal dressing room, allegations which are far from substantiated. Whatever maybe the cause, the likelihood of it being revealed to the public domain seems unrealistic at best. Despite the many theories that are being bandied around, some like myself are only interested in the performances he put in for the Arsenal cause.
When he first arrived at the club, he was an interesting prospect to say the least, and was unique to the type of attackers Wenger had previously bought. He was considered as the Plan B, or in other words, a target man who was effective at receiving high balls. Playing beside Henry allowed him to keep his feet on the ground, whilst complementing the better forward next to him. It was the Frenchman's departure which gave the rise to Adebayor, and subsequently his fall at Arsenal. Having deployed both van Persie and Adebayor alongside Henry throughout the 06/07 season, Wenger had intended for the duo to collectively carry the goal scoring burden that Henry had left. However, circumstances changed and van Persie found himself injured within the first few months of the season. This left Adebayor and new signing Eduardo to find the goals to put the opposition to the sword. The former did not disappoint, exceeding expectations and returning with a 30 goal haul which was only bettered by Torres and C.Ronaldo in the Premier League. As a result, his standing in the team had grown larger than many had anticipated, and Adebayor wanted to be compensated for his new found status. Despite his achievements, questions still surrounded his ability to live up to his new found role in the team, and for some of the purists, his style of play simply did not warrant him being the main striker of the team. Whatever reservations one might hold for the African Player of the Year, you could safely say that his legacy at the club will be discussed for a very long time in the event that Arsenal continue their barren trophyless spell.
So why did Adebayor follow in the footsteps of Hleb, Flamini and Henry before him? The simple answer is that for once, Wenger wasn't determined to hold on to one of his stars players, hell, one could even assume that he was eased out of the club. So that begs the question, why was Adebayor allowed to leave with such little fight, assuming there was one? The most probable answer is that Wenger did not rate him as highly as some of the other attackers in the squad. It could even be a case of Adebayor outgrowing the role he was bought for, and his ability not correlating with the new duty he was now executing. Some have even gone as far to suggest that he was the distruptive force in Arsenal dressing room, allegations which are far from substantiated. Whatever maybe the cause, the likelihood of it being revealed to the public domain seems unrealistic at best. Despite the many theories that are being bandied around, some like myself are only interested in the performances he put in for the Arsenal cause.
When he first arrived at the club, he was an interesting prospect to say the least, and was unique to the type of attackers Wenger had previously bought. He was considered as the Plan B, or in other words, a target man who was effective at receiving high balls. Playing beside Henry allowed him to keep his feet on the ground, whilst complementing the better forward next to him. It was the Frenchman's departure which gave the rise to Adebayor, and subsequently his fall at Arsenal. Having deployed both van Persie and Adebayor alongside Henry throughout the 06/07 season, Wenger had intended for the duo to collectively carry the goal scoring burden that Henry had left. However, circumstances changed and van Persie found himself injured within the first few months of the season. This left Adebayor and new signing Eduardo to find the goals to put the opposition to the sword. The former did not disappoint, exceeding expectations and returning with a 30 goal haul which was only bettered by Torres and C.Ronaldo in the Premier League. As a result, his standing in the team had grown larger than many had anticipated, and Adebayor wanted to be compensated for his new found status. Despite his achievements, questions still surrounded his ability to live up to his new found role in the team, and for some of the purists, his style of play simply did not warrant him being the main striker of the team. Whatever reservations one might hold for the African Player of the Year, you could safely say that his legacy at the club will be discussed for a very long time in the event that Arsenal continue their barren trophyless spell.
