Emmanuel Adebayor has committed his future to Arsenal and that should come as a welcome relief to fans of the North London club.
He was booed by some sections of the Arsenal support on Saturday when they took on Juventus, but there was much less booing and much more cheering during Sunday’s game against Real Madrid. The fact that he dispatched the penalty that gave the hosts a 1-0 win may have played a part in that.
It is more likely that the more discerning Arsenal fan has realised that Adebayor is absolutely crucial to the team if they are to have any success at all. He is so essential to their cause that I am amazed that any Arsenal fan would jeer him or boo him. Yes, he has messed people around during the summer but he is staying and he is priceless for this Arsenal team.
Watching the Emirates Cup game yesterday against Real Madrid was like watching any number of Arsenal games over the past couple of seasons. Great passing and movement, wonderful patterns weaved across the pitch and a master class in keeping the ball. Arsenal, as always for a football lover, were a pleasure to watch. Having said that, the penetration and goal scoring threat they showed could be summed up in just two words. Emmanuel Adebayor.
Once again, despite having huge admiration for the way Arsene Wenger’s team play the game, it is difficult to see where the goals are going to come from if Adebayor were to get injured or suffer a loss of form. He is the only player in the side who is direct and poses an obvious goal threat.
It must be a strange experience to be a fan of this current Arsenal side. They play the game with grace and patience and with exceptional pace, accuracy and artistry. They weave patterns across the field of play that mesmerise the opposition and get the side into wonderful attacking positions. All of that must be wonderful to watch for the Arsenal faithful. Unfortunately for them, all too often, the move stops there, breaking down on the edge of the opposition’s penalty area without a shot or a cross being produced.
Although yesterday’s game was relatively meaningless, I did hear some frustration in the home crowd when yet another glorious move ended with one pass too many and no threat to the Madrid goal. I don’t know the actual statistics, but Arsenal must have had 65% of the possession yesterday and they rarely troubled Dudek in the Madrid goal.
Not only did we see few attempts on goal, it is also hard to remember any crosses being whipped into the six yard area or flashed across the goal. All I can remember is Arsenal trying to pass and walk the ball into the net. It is great to watch for the neutral but I get the feeling that it might not always great for the Arsenal fans.
I appreciate that this was a gentle pre-season warm up game and you can’t read too much into these type of games but the pattern displayed by Arsenal yesterday may have been depressingly familiar to an Arsenal fan.
It is against this background that I believe Adebayor is so crucial to the success of the side. He is the player who will run directly at goal, he will have a shot and he will get into the box if anyone should ever put a cross in.
In short, as far as I can see, Adebayor is the only ‘cutting edge’ that Arsenal possess. Without him the side is beautiful to watch but completely toothless. Without him I think Arsenal would struggle. With him, they might just have half a chance.
Arsene Wenger has a very clear ideology of how the game should be played. He believes in it passionately and he is not going to change now. His way of playing the game is cultured, technical and pleasing on the eye. What it doesn’t do is place the opposition under too much pressure, put the opposition in two minds about how Arsenal are going to come at them and, I think, it doesn’t always thrill their own fans.
Highbury used to be known as the library because it was allegedly so quiet. People have said that the Emirates, although a wonderful stadium, lacks atmosphere. Boring, boring Arsenal and 1-0 to the Arsenal seemed to be songs and reflections on the Gunners that were long gone.
Fans get really excited by seeing attempts on goal and crosses into the box. Maybe watching Arsenal is more entertaining for the neutral than it is for their own fans?
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