EMMANUEL EBOUE has voiced the deep sense of anger felt within the Arsenal dressingroom towards the Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor as he suggested his former team-mate and close friend had disgraced football with his antics at Eastlands last Saturday.
Adebayor, who has accepted a three-match ban from the English Football Association for the stamp that left Robin van Persie with a bloodied face during City’s 4-2 victory, has also come under attack from Cesc Fabregas. The Arsenal captain claimed that Adebayor ought to have been sent off for a potentially leg-breaking challenge on him in the first half.
Eboue, together with Alex Song and Kolo Toure, who also moved to City over the summer, was particularly close to Adebayor. But Eboue has not spoken to him since Saturday’s match, which contained a series of flashpoints, including an off-the-ball incident in which Adebayor slapped Song in the face, and the goal celebration by the Togo striker for which he is facing a further FA charge.
It has emerged that Toure visited the Arsenal dressingroom after the game to offer apologies, although it is unclear whether that was at Adebayor’s prompting.
“For me, Adebayor, he didn’t do well,” Eboue said, “and that is no good for football because you have a lot of young people who watch the game and then, they see that. But I am happy that the FA gave him a three-game ban, I am very, very happy about that.
“And, because I know him, I think he will think about that and he will take it on. Now, he will try to play his game because that was no good for football. I am very disappointed about it.
“In the dressingroom, we were very disappointed because we don’t know what happened to Adebayor. When he was in our team, we were together, we did everything together, so we don’t know what happened. After that, Kolo has come into our dressing room and he said sorry to everyone. That was very, very nice.”
The closeness of Eboue, Song, Adebayor and Toure was best illustrated last December, after Eboue had suffered his nightmare against Wigan Athletic, when he was booed off by the Arsenal support at Emirates Stadium. He went home, switched off his phone and locked himself away.
His three friends came to his house the following day and they raised his spirits. They helped to save his Arsenal career. But the relationship with Adebayor has now fractured. “I haven’t spoken to him since Saturday because I am very disappointed in him.”
Van Persie accused Adebayor of deliberately setting out to hurt him and it was clear Fabregas feared the same motive was behind the challenge on him. Speaking to reporters after Arsenal’s 3-2 Champions League win over Standard Liege on Wednesday, he rolled up the left leg of his tracksuit bottoms to reveal a three-inch gash around his calf. The impression of three stud marks was also visible. “I think this is a red card here,” Fabregas said. “I was lucky my foot was in the air when it happened.”
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has also been fiercely critical of Adebayor, claiming that his behaviour “surprised and shocked” him. Fabregas added: “All I tried to do when he was at Arsenal was to create opportunities for him to score. I think I didn’t do too badly for him. It is a bit strange.
“It is football and we don’t think about him any more. He doesn’t play for Arsenal and we just have to concentrate on our game and our play. I have no idea why he acted like he did. We always respected him, you know. It is difficult. You’d have to ask him. I really don’t know.”
Fabregas was asked whether Arsenal’s dressingroom was happier without Adebayor. “If this is true or not,” he replied, “it just stays in the dressingroom.”
Adebayor is now ruled out of City’s weekend match at Old Trafford and he will also miss home games in the League Cup against Fulham and West Ham in the Premier League.
Carlos Tevez has given City encouragement that he may be fit enough to take over in attack from Adebayor in Sunday’s derby. Tevez has been nursing a damaged knee since returning from international duty at the end of last week, with the Argentina team doctors estimating that he would be missing for two or three weeks.
However, the former United striker was able to get through a carefully planned training session yesterday and the strapping around his right knee has now been removed. His involvement at the weekend is still shrouded in doubt but City’s medical staff are increasingly optimistic about his chances providing he does not suffer an adverse reaction from pushing himself to return ahead of schedule. - Guardian Service
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