Emmanuel Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor (born February 26, 1984 in Lomé, Togo) is a Togolese football (soccer) player who currently plays for Arsenal F.C.. He plays upfront, as a striker. He had previously played for FC Metz and AS Monaco. Nicknamed "Sheyi", he is of Nigerian descent via his parents who were born in the Osun State in south-west Nigeria.

Club career

Metz and Monaco

Adebayor started his professional career at a training camp in Lomé. He made it to Under-15 level and was spotted by French club, FC Metz. After a trial, Adebayor joined the club in 1999, and after playing at Under-17 level for two years he moved up to the first team. In his first season, he played nine games and scored twice, however he could not stop them from being relegated. In the 2002-03 season Adebayor scored 17 goals in 35 games, which attracted the attention of top clubs including Arsenal F.C. and Juventus.

However, it was AS Monaco who signed him. In the 2003-04 season he scored seven goals in 17 matches for them, helping them to reach the UEFA Champions League final with two goals in ten games.

Arsenal

On January 13, 2006, Adebayor signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, which is rumoured to be around £3 million. He was assigned shirt number 25, which previously belonged to, amongst others, Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu. In an interview with Arsenal.com, Adebayor said that he chose that shirt number because he idolised Kanu while he was a young player. Like Kanu, he also wears the number 4 shirt when playing for his national team. The two players also share an extraordinary physical resemblance, earning Adebayor the affectionate nickname 'Baby Kanu' in homage to the former Arsenal man. In fact, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger even described Adebayor as "Kanu with pace" when he signed him.

On February 42006, the forward made his Arsenal début in a Premiership match at Birmingham City F.C. and scored after 21 minutes; Arsenal won 2-0. At the end of his first season for the Gunners he had scored 4 goals in 10 matches. However, Adebayor was cup-tied for Arsenal's 2006 UEFA Champions League run and missed the final against FC Barcelona, as he had appeared for Monaco in the Champions League earlier that season.

In the 2006-07 in English football, Adebayor has proved to be an able replacement for injured captain Thierry Henry. It was on September 172006, when Adebayor won a place in the hearts of Arsenal fans for ever. Adebayor scored Arsenal's winning goal against rivals Manchester United, to give Arsenal a 1-0 win at Old Trafford (football ground), their first league win of the 2006-07 season. Cristiano Ronaldo lost possession of the ball to Cesc Fàbregas, who then threaded a through ball to Adebayor, who stroked the ball under goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak. Earlier in the game, Adebayor had himself been brought down by Kuszczak to earn Arsenal a penalty. Unfortunately, Gilberto Silva had his penalty saved.
On November 82006, Adebayor scored the only goal of the match to send a youthful Arsenal side into the quarter finals of the Football League Cup against a vastly experienced Everton F.C] side, popping up at the back post unmarked to head home the winner. On December 22006, Adebayor continued endearing himself to the red side of north London by scoring the first goal in Arsenal's 3-0 Premiership win over Tottenham Hotspur.

On December 132006, Adebayor once again demonstrated his knack of scoring crucial goals as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win at the JJB Stadium against Wigan. In the 88th minute, after a long ball from Fàbregas, and a well timed run, Adebayor was able to poke the ball under and between the legs of the advancing Chris Kirkland. On December 162006, Adebayor came on for Arsenal when they were losing 2-0 at home to Portsmouth F.C]; he scored within minutes, slotting in a perfect cross from Theo Walcott and Arsenal went on to draw after his cross was slotted home by Gilberto Silva, via a mis-control from Walcott. Adebayor's next appearance for the Gunners on December 232006 resulted in him converting the third goal, a penalty, in a 6-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers. He further contributed by assisting another two goals, firstly for Alexander Hleb and the second for Robin van Persie.

His next goal came in the second leg of the semi final of the Carling Cup. With the scores at 0-0 (though Arsenal holding an advantage due to a 2-2 draw in the previous leg) Adebayor slotted past the goalkeeper his left foot after Tomas Rosicky had cleverly played him through.

Adebayor was sent off in Arsenal's 2-1 Football League Cup Final 2007 loss to Chelsea. He was shown the red card after a fracas towards the end of the match involving both Chelsea and Arsenal players. It was alleged that he had thrown a punch at Frank Lampard. The FA subsequently gave him an additional one-match ban and a fine of £7500 for failing to leave the field of play immediately, as well as a three-match ban for the red card.

After a fruitful preseason, displaying vast improvements in terms of his shooting ability and attacking prowess, his 2007-08 campaign has started brightly. After dispatching a penalty during the 3-1 win over Portsmouth, his two goal brace against Tottenham Hotspur was instrumental in a comprehensive 3-1 win in the first North London derby of the season and one of the goals he scored during that game was arguably his best ever goal. Denilson slid the ball into him and from the edge of the area, Adebayor took one touch to flick the ball up into the air and launch a spectacular volley past Paul Robinson.

The Arsenal faithful have taken Emmanuel Adebayor to their hearts audibly. This is underlined by the frequent use of the chant "Ade-bay-or, Ade-bay-or". It is sung to the same tune as the famous Portsmouth F.C] song "Play up Pompey, Pompey Play Up!", otherwise known as Westminster Chimes.

International career

On the international front, Adebayor helped Togo national football team qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany by scoring 11 goals in the qualifiers, more than any other player in the African qualifiers. He has been nominated twice for African Footballer of the Year.

His first footballing action following his move to Arsenal came for Togo at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, where he was only a substitute (football) for the country's first match, following a row with the coach. Adebayor first vowed to leave the tournament and return home, although he later rescinded and resumed training with the side. He played in Togo's two remaining fixtures, where he impressed despite not scoring; Togo were eliminated after losing all three matches.

Adebayor was axed by the Togo national team following the row over bonus payments. However, Adebayor as been brought back into the Togo fold as of September 2007.

Club career statistics