Former striker Emmanuel Adebayor has made a surprising confession, naming Arsenal as the club where he experienced the most happiness during his Premier League career, despite his controversial subsequent moves to Manchester City and fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The North London Divide
Speaking to discovery+ ahead of Sunday's north London derby, the Togolese forward reflected on his time in English football. Adebayor is part of a small, notorious group of players, including Sol Campbell and William Gallas, to have represented both Arsenal and Tottenham.
Despite being labelled a 'Judas' by Gunners supporters after his acrimonious departure, the 41-year-old pinpointed his spell under Arsene Wenger as the pinnacle of his career in England.
Arsenal: The Glory Days
"Obviously, with Arsenal," Adebayor stated when asked which English team brought him the most joy. "That's where I scored a lot of goals and was challenging for the Golden Boot."
He elaborated that his contentment extended beyond the pitch, citing the strong Nigerian community in London. With his own parents being from Nigeria, Adebayor said he "found family" in the capital during his time with the Gunners.
Adebayor arrived at Arsenal in January 2006, signed by Wenger from Monaco for a bargain £3 million. Over the next three-and-a-half years, he proved to be a prolific scorer, netting 62 goals in 142 appearances before a big-money £25 million transfer to Manchester City in 2009.
The Fall from Grace
The striker's relationship with Arsenal fans shattered early in the 2009/10 season. After scoring for Manchester City against his former club, Adebayor famously sprinted the full length of the Etihad pitch to celebrate provocatively in front of the travelling Arsenal supporters.
He later expressed regret for the incident in a 2011 talkSPORT interview. "What happened two years ago was an accident and I do apologise to all the fans of Arsenal. Sometimes the emotions, we cannot control them, we are all human beings," he said. "I regret what I have done and I say sorry to everyone."
His villain status was cemented when he joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2011, initially on loan from Real Madrid. He continued to haunt his former club, setting up a goal in a 2-1 Spurs victory in October 2011 and scoring against them himself 13 months later before being sent off for a foul on Santi Cazorla.
While both Campbell and Gallas were demonised for switching sides directly, Adebayor's consistent ability to antagonise Arsenal fans arguably makes him the most controversial figure to have straddled the north London divide.
