In 2009, Emmanuel Adebayor used the torrid abuse he had received from Arsenal fans to justify his controversial goal celebration during Manchester City's 4-2 win over his former side. Adebayor had joined the Citizens earlier that year from the Gunners, evoking fury among his former supporters. And when City and Arsenal eventually came face to face in the Premier League, the Togo international was naturally afforded a white-hot reception before and during the game as a torrent of abuse rained down from the terraces. "I was being abused by people who six months ago were singing my name," Adebayor later reflected. "It wasn't my fault I left, it was Arsene who wanted to accept the offer for me. They were all clapping Kolo but they were shouting personal abuse at me before the match had even kicked off." With the game locked at 2-2, Adebayor would silence the taunts however by scoring his side's third goal, running the length of the pitch to slide on his knees in front of Gunners fans. "I scored and wanted to show people it is not a good idea to abuse me.
I really didn't understand it at all. I was running on pure emotion and when you take emotion out of football we are going to have a big problem. People say I had time to think about because I ran the length of the pitch but that is not true. I was abused all match and scored a goal I knew would win the game for us. Ten seconds is nothing - your emotion is going to last a lot longer than that."
The celebration might have been cathartic for Adebayor, but it ensured he was further reviled by Arsenal fans - even more so following his move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2012.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
