Emmanuel Adebayor has aimed a dig at Arsenal over their treatment of former club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The former Togo international has criticised the decision of Arsenal to freeze the 32-year-old out of the side.
Aubameyang began this season as captain and expecting another great campaign. After becoming the quickest player in club history to hit 50 goals, it looked like he could go down as an Arsenal legend.
However, this season has been a nightmare for the Gabon international. In December, he was dropped from the squad due to disciplinary reasons, before then being stripped of the captaincy by manager Mikel Arteta.
Read: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: The events that led to him losing his Arsenal captain role
According to the Daily Mail, Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal currently lead the race for his signature.
His potential exit from the side he has scored so many goals for would have come as a shock at the start of the season. But he’s not the only striker to go from hero to zero in the club’s history.
Adebayor’s history at the Emirates
Former Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor lit up the Emirates Stadium with his performances between 2006 and 2009. He scored 46 goals in his 104 appearances and drew in the fans’ admiration in the process.
Adebayor fell out with former boss Arsene Wenger in a very public manner. Once, in an interview with Sky Sports, he branded the Frenchman ‘fake’ and gave an example of why.
He said: “I had a meeting with Arsene Wenger in his office when he told me I had to leave because he didn’t see my future anymore in Arsenal. So I didn’t have any other choice than joining Man City, who I was very happy to join.
“And the next day when I joined Manchester City, I saw him doing a press conference in London saying that I wanted to leave because the money was big and everything and since that day that is where the hate for Arsenal came from.”
After scoring a goal for City against his former side at the Etihad Stadium, he sprinted the whole length of the pitch before knee sliding in front of his old fans. The crowd hated it, whilst the Togolese man revelled in it. In 2011, he signed for Tottenham Hotspur on loan, making the move permanent a year later.
He dislikes Arsenal, and the club’s fans dislike him, so it’s no surprise that he’s not taking their side in this recent saga.
Emmanuel Adebayor backs Aubameyang
The Premier League great offered some words of support for the Gabon international before taking his chance to slate the London club.
He said: “When he had the first problem with Arsenal, I knew he’d have to go through a lot because that’s Arsenal for you. You can do whatever you do. They never know how to forgive.
“He’s a strong player; he’s a good player, he’s a fantastic player. I wish him all the best. We want him to fight back. He’s my African brother. We want him to keep representing Africa the way he was doing before the problems.”
His comments about forgiveness are fascinating. Adebayor left Arsenal in 2009. Yet he is still an unpopular figure today. Aubameyang’s future, meanwhile, is firmly up in the air, and it will ultimately be the club’s choice as to whether they can re-integrate him into the side or move him on.
Featured Image Credit: Getty