Emmanuel Adebayor gives in-depth recounts of THAT goal celebration vs Arsenal
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Labelled a traitor and ingrate by Arsenal fans, some of whom vandalised his car during his last season at the club, we all remember what happened at the reunion at the Etihad in September 2009.
Adebayor was plying his trade for Manchester City and, after earlier stamping on Robin van Persie, he netted to score the Citizens' third goal in a 4-2 win.
Rather than celebrate in front of the home support, the Togolese striker opted to run the full length of the pitch before provocatively sliding on his knees in front of the travelling Gunners fans, arms outstretched.
The celebration sparked fury amongst the travelling supporters, before Adebayor's teammates began to pull back the striker to avoid more trouble.
While he's been asked about this many times in the past, it's only now that the 33-year-old has spoken out about the 100 yard sprint, that earned him £25,000 fine and Premier League suspension, in such length.#OnThisDay in 2009, Emmanuel Adebayor left Arsenal to join Manchester City.
— Planet Football (@planetfutebol) July 18, 2021
Most players don’t celebrate goals against their former clubs but Adebayor isn’t most players. #MCFC pic.twitter.com/Di2avAUxCP
When asked why he did it, Adebayor, who plays for Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir, told French publication So Foot:
The adrenaline. Afterwards, I got told the English FA wanted to give me a nice fine, but even if I would have had to pay €2 million, considering what I went through, I would have still done it.
I wasn't going to stand there, listening to five thousand people insult my family when they had nothing to do with it. During that moment, I felt like I weighed 20 kilos when I felt like I weighed 2000 kilos before the game.
When I start to run, (Shaun) Wright-Phillips tries to catch me. He's small, so a shoulder barge sends him flying. Then there was (Gareth) Barry, very slow - a quick juke move and he's left behind. Around the centre circle was Kolo Touré, and he quickly realised it was better to just let me do my thing.
When I slide on my knees, arms wide in front of the fans, I felt untouchable. People were throwing everything - phone, bottles of water. I never flinched. Everything flew past me. Pew, pew, like in the movies!
It was like having a sensation of being in prison for so many years and suddenly being told: "Brother, take the door and leave. Now, you are free." That's what I felt, a deliverance.
