Sunday’s North London Derby will no doubt bring back memories of one striker who donned the colours of both teams and was never far from the spotlight.
Emmanuel Adebayor joined Arsenal from French side Monaco in 2006 and enjoyed his time at the Gunners where he scored 62 goals under the tutelage of then boss Arsene Wenger. However, he severed ties with the Arsenal faithful in 2009; ditching them for Manchester City and scoring against the Gunners at the Etihad.
After being subjected to taunts, instead of celebrating with his new fans, he ran to the opposite end of the pitch and slid in front of the travelling Arsenal supporters, who were visibly furious. After a short loan spell at Real Madrid, he then committed the cardinal sin of joining Tottenham – which undoubtedly banished any well wishes towards him from the Red side of north London.
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However, the Togo striker did admit he didn’t want to leave Arsenal in the first place, telling Canal Plus in 2010: “Arsene Wenger can never say that I wanted to leave. It was because Arsene didn’t want me anymore. If Arsene has a big heart we can go on a TV show to have a debate and he will never say I told him I wanted to leave the club.
“He’ll never say that. He knows it full well. I respect him enormously, and he knows that, but the most annoying thing about the whole story is when people say I wanted to leave for the money.”
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(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
In 2012 the Gunners had the last laugh when they put their arch-rivals to the sword in a 5-2 victory at the Emirates Stadium – Adebayor put Spurs ahead on 10 minutes and celebrated wildly, before Per Mertesacker’s equaliser opened the floodgates for the home side.
The forward was not on the pitch for much of the game after being sent off for a horrendous challenge on Santi Cazorla – a wild lunge when already on a booking – and he was mocked by Arsenal fans as he trudged towards the tunnel.
After a goal laden spell at Spurs, he moved to Crystal Palace, where he struggled for form and fitness, before a move to Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir in 2017. While not quite as extreme as the highly publicised transfer of Sol Campbell from Spurs to the Gunners in 2001, it is safe to say the former striker does not have many friends at Arsenal.