Flashback: The story of Adebayor's unforgettable celebration against Arsenal
It was the 80th minute of the match, a cross flew into Arsenal's penalty area from the right side, Emmanuel Adebayor jumped into the air and headed the ball into the net. The Togo international scored against his former side, increased City's lead to 3-1 and, most memorably, produced one of the most (in)famous goal celebrations in Premier League history.
Adebayor's journey to the big time
Emmanuel Adebayor, Togo's most famous footballer, was born in 1984 in Lomé, the capital of the West African country. Adebayor spent most of his youth career there before he was spotted by scouts from French top-flight side FC Metz, who brought him to France in 1999.
He made his Ligue 1 debut in November 2001 at the age of 17. Following Metz's relegation, he played a season in Ligue 2, where 13 goals in 34 league matches prompted a summer 2003 move to Monaco. He featured nine times in Europe as Monaco surprisingly reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League final against FC Porto in Gelsenkirchen, for which he was an unused substitute in his club's 3–0 loss.
In January 2006, Adebayor moved to the Premier League. Arsene Wenger signed him to Arsenal. He was given the nickname 'Baby Kanu' due to his resemblance to former Arsenal Nigerian star Nwankwo Kanu, whom Adebayor had idolised as a kid. The next month, in February 2006, Adebayor made his Arsenal debut in a Premier League match at Birmingham City and scored after 21 minutes, with Arsenal winning 2-0.
Adebayor had a successful spell at Arsenal. He scored a total of 62 goals in 142 appearances. Especially valued by Arsenal fans were his eight goals against arch-rivals Tottenham in the North London derby (later, his role completely reversed in this rivalry).
Adebayor left Arsenal in the summer of 2009 after three and a half years. In July 2009, Adebayor signed a five-year contract with Manchester City.
A dream start at City
Manchester City were at the start of the era under new owners from the United Arab Emirates. In addition to Adebayor, the Sky Blues acquired Kolo Toure also from Arsenal, striker Carlos Tevez, who was taken from their city rivals Manchester United, and many other great signings in that transfer window.
Adebayor made a great start to his tenure at the Etihad Stadium. He scored a goal on his debut for City against Blackburn already in the third minute of the season-opening match.
On his home debut, Adebayor scored in a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Then, he scored in his third consecutive Premier League match for City, heading the winner in a 1–0 away victory against Portsmouth. In the fourth week, City welcomed Arsenal to the Etihad.
An epic match, an epic moment
Adebayor next faced his former club in a blockbuster clash. Aside from the obvious motivation, he was also looking to score his fourth goal in as many matches. He not only succeeded in that extraordinary feat but his goal celebration would go on to be remembered to this day.
Overall, the match between City and Arsenal was amazing. It was a highly intense battle full of emotions with a number of tough tackles somewhat obscuring the quality of the contest.
The home side led at half-time after a Micah Richards goal. However, the second half started in style. Arsenal's Robin van Persie equalised, then Craig Bellamy gave the Sky Blues the lead back. And what happened after Adebayor's goal was total madness.
After scoring Adebayor sprinted with all his might the length of the pitch to celebrate by knee sliding with a poker face expression right in front of the Arsenal fans. In the last ten minutes, the score was made 4-2 thanks to goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips on one side and Tomas Rosicky on the other.
Behind the curtain
Adebayor was subsequently suspended for two games and fined £25,000 by the FA. But what led him to that overly offensive and unsportsmanlike goal celebration?
Apart from the sheer emotion of the goal, Adebayor stated that he was not the one who provoked the Arsenal fans, but that they had provoked him. Adebayor said: "I was being abused by people who six months ago were singing my name. The abuse was for no reason. It wasn’t my fault I left, it was Arsene (Wenger) who wanted to accept the offer for me."
Although Adebayor apologized for his behaviour, this incident became another spark in the topic of racism in (not only) English football. Adebayor later told the Daily Mail: "When I celebrated, the FA fined me, they punished me. Nothing happened to the Arsenal fans. So it (racism) started with me and long before me.
"I remember getting to the stadium and Arsenal fans were there. All I heard was the chant, 'Your mother is a whore and your father washes elephants.' And now the same FA are trying to stop racism? I’m sorry. It doesn’t work that way."
In 2011, Adebayor angered Arsenal fans even more when he transferred to their arch-rivals Tottenham. However, all other football fans remember Adebayor mainly for his goals. A world-class striker and the all-time top scorer of the Togolese national team, Adebayor also played for Real Madrid, Crystal Palace, in Turkey, in Paraguay, and he ended his career at a club called Semassi in his home country of Togo.