EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR HAS suggested that he worked with “children” during his time at Arsenal, claiming you only had to say “how are you” to Thomas Rosicky and he would get injured.
The Togolese striker joined the Gunners from Monaco in January 2006 and would spend three-and-a-half years in north London before making a controversial switch to Manchester City.
He left Emirates Stadium empty-handed, having failed to add to his trophy collection, and has suggested that a failure to compete for major honours was down to Arsene Wenger placing too much emphasis on slight, fleet-footed playmakers.
Adebayor, who is now on the books of Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir, believes injury-prone Rosicky epitomises Arsenal from that era, with the unfortunate Czech having seen his career ravaged by regular spells on the treatment table.
“I was the strongest player on the team, despite the fact that I weighed 73kg,” Adebayor told French publication So Foot .
“Chelsea had [Michael] Essien and [Michael] Ballack in midfield. We had Rosicky.
“If you said as much as ‘how are you’ to him, he would then be injured for two-and-a-half months.”
Adebayor went on to suggest that Rosicky was not the only problem within Wenger’s ranks, with Arsenal lacking the physicality as a collective to compete with the very best in the business
He added: “In the small games, talent can make the difference, but you can’t win with children at Old Trafford.”
Adebayor netted 62 times in 142 appearances for Arsenal, with the 2007-08 campaign proving to be his most productive as he found the target on 30 occasions in all competitions.
After leaving for Manchester in 2009, the 33-year-old striker has gone on to represent City, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
He moved to Turkey in January and has been back among the goals of late, with a hat-trick netted in his most recent outing against Galatasaray.
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- Omni
