EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

Emmanuel Adebayor
Arsenal

Age: 24

Birthday: February 26th, 1984

Birthplace: Lome, Togo (Africa)

Position: Striker

2007/08 Goals: EPL- 24; total- 30

Biography:

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor was born in the city of Lome in Togo or the Togloese Republic (located in North West Africa, a small French speaking country though many other languages are spoken). Football is the most popular sport in Togo. During the last World Cup Emmanuel Adebayor and two other players were dismissed from the national team over a dispute concerning financial pay for the players. He helped Togo qualify for the World Cup by scoring 11 goals in the qualifiers.

Adebayor began playing at a football training camp in Loume; he made it to the U-15 level and was soon signed on by French FC Metz in 1999. For two years he developed on the U-17 team until he advanced to the starting lineup. During the first season he scored 2 goals out of 9 games that he played. However, in his 2^nd year (2002/03) he scored 17 goals out of 35 games. As a result AS Monaco signed him in 2003; he reportedly had strained relationship with Monaco’s manager Francesco Guidolin. He continued to score goals and helped Monaco reach the Champions League finals.

In 2006 Arsenal signed Adebayor for an unknown fee (supposedly about 7€ million).When he started to play he had little style and was scrappy. Towards the end of the 2007/2008 season it was rumored that he could leave Arsenal. However he said, “I am very happy here. Reports which suggest I have threatened to quit are rubbish. I love the club and the fans. We have a great set of players here with a fantastic team spirit. We have had a good season, but next year we want to go one better by winning a trophy.” Adebayor scored a total of 30 goals for Arsenal in all competitions (with 26 in the EPL) suring the 07/08 season and refined his technical abilities. Wenger described Emmanuel as a great acquisition: “Adebayor is a great addition to our squad. He has shown in his performances with Monaco and Togo that he will add great quality to our offensive game. He is tall, good in the air and makes good runs.”

Upon arrival to Arsenal Adebayor said “This is a great day for me, I am looking forward to working very hard for the team and I hope I can give the Arsenal fans a lot of enjoyment in the future.”