Emmanuel Adebayor

Name Emmanuel Adebayor
Born February 26, 1984
Lome
Togo
Position Striker
Squad Number 25
Previous Club(s) Metz
Monaco
Joined Arsenal January 13, 2006
Arsenal Debut Birmingham City (a)
Premiership
February 4, 2006,
Won 2-0


25. Emmanuel Adebayor


Emmanuel made himself a firm favourite with the fans last season by notching a goal in each of his three games against Tottenham and a crucial late winner at Manchester United.

The tall Togolese striker has added a new dimension to the Arsenal side since signing from Monaco in January 2006 and took just 21 minutes to open his account at Birmingham on his debut. However Emmanuel’s contribution to the side can not be measured solely in goals. His pace and willingness to chase down defenders can create countless openings for his colleagues.
Emmanuel’s talent was seen early. He made his debut for Metz at just 17 and scooped a Champions League runners-up medal in 2004. He has twice been nominated as African Footballer of the Year and his 11 goals for Togo in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup was the best on his Continent. At the start of this season he had amassed an impressive 37 international caps.

                                             My Year

April

Only in the Premier League game with Liverpool did Emmanuel not trouble the scorers in April. The Togo man plundered a second-half hat-trick against Derby in his highlight of the month but also scored key goals against Reading, Liverpool and Manchester United.

March

A strangely barren month for Emmanuel in the League, but he did notch his first goal in Europe. Slotting home against AC Milan, he was also a key contributor to goals against Aston Villa and Bolton.

February

Three goals and two assists signalled another profitable month for the Gunners’ leading marksman. Emmanuel’s brace helped inflict a first home league defeat on Manchester City, and he followed that with a clinical late strike against Blackburn. He started four of the five games in February, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute in the defeat at Old Trafford.

January

Eight goals in six games during January - quite a return for Arsenal’s Togolese striker. Emmanuel was in blistering form during the first month of the New Year and remains one of the favourites to scoop the Golden Boot. Notching with his left foot, right foot and even three times with his head, the 23-year-old was simply marvellous. Arsenal are lucky that Togo failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.

December

Four goals for the Premier League’s leading marksman in December. Ade began with a stunning header in the win at Villa Park and a sublime volley four days later away to Newcastle. The Togo striker continued his fine goalscoring record against Tottenham before finishing the month poaching the third of four goals against Everton.

November

After a barren October, Emmanuel got back on the goal trail with a fine strike at Reading, having hit the post earlier in the game. He featured in all but the final game of the month, starting three times.

October

Emmanuel experienced mixed emotions in October. His form continued to be good despite not scoring. On the international scene however, Togo failed to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. He featured in all of Arsenal’s game, being substituted only once, against Slavia Prague.