The fourth week of the Premier League may be well over, but one talking point in particular has had lingering consequences that will play out over the weeks to come. Emmanuel Adebayor’s vendetta against Arsenal and the fans that spurned him manifested itself in last Saturday’s game between Arsenal and Manchester City at Eastlands stadium, the upshot being that he will sit out at least the next three games.


In what was the pick of the weekend’s action, a City team pushing for Champion’s League football ran out 4-2 winners over a sluggish Arsenal side who matched their hosts for chances and possession, but failed to match their desire and clinical finishing. Missing only the creative genius of Arshavin, Wenger sent out a team that should have realistically run out winners against a City side that was missing Tevez and Robinho, relying instead on Bellamy to partner the thus far prolific Adebayor up front. Behind them sat a midfield of De Jong, Ireland, Barry and Wright-Phillips, and it was hardly surprising that it was Arsenal who controlled proceedings for long stretches in the first half, City occasionally bursting forward with real intent but lacking any great creativity or skill. Gallas should have scored with a free header just outside the 6 yard box, but in the end it was a freak goal at the other end that broke the deadlock. A Micah Richard’s header pushed onto the post by Almunia bounced back onto the hapless keeper and into the net. It set the tone for what would be characterised as an unlucky game for the Gunners; Mark Clattenburg failed to penalise Garth Barry for handling the ball in the area, and Adebayor did well to stay on the pitch after first stepping on Cesc Fabregas’ ankle in a wild tackle in the first half before intentionally stamping on Van Persie’s face in the second.



To attribute the lopsided scoreline purely to poor refereeing would naïve however. In fact, a handful of Arsenal players must shoulder most of the blame, notably Clichy, Diaby and Almunia. Clichy was partly at fault for the three second half goals: he lost the ball in dangerous places and was out of position for all three, leaving the rest of the defenders completely exposed and allowing City to finish off their rapid counterattacks. Diaby was simply not an adequate replacement for Arshavin. Again he showed flashes of brilliance but spent most of the match mired in mediocrity, gifting the ball away and lacking any sort of cutting edge. This season will surely be make or break for him; he simply can’t keeping putting in wildly inconsistent performances at the highest level, and unless he’s able to display the form that Wenger knows he’s capable of every week, this season may be his last.



Almunia has almost always been excellent since taking over from his German counterpart Jens Lehmann two years ago, and is an unsung hero for Arsenal, but mistakes have started creeping into his game with alarming regularity. If he doesn’t want to share the same fate as his predecessor and be forced to watch from the stands as one of his colleagues deputises, he needs to do the same as Diaby and show a little consistency.



Two defeats in two in trips to Manchester is a bitter pill to swallow for the fans after such a scintillating start to the season. The early optimism has been swept away by a Mancunian tide of blue and red, and has been replaced by the same old worries that have infused the terraces of the Emirates for the last couple of seasons. Still, there were some positives to take from the game. Rosicky looked extremely bright when he came on with 40 minutes to go, and he got the goal his performance deserved. Gallas and Vermaelen somehow still look great together despite having conceded an average of two goals a game so far. And Alex Song continues to make strides towards being the defensive midfielder Arsenal so desperately needs.



There is also comfort to be taken from Adebayor’s antics - the terrible fouls on Fabregas and Van Persie, and running 90 yards up the pitch to goad the Arsenal supporters after scoring—a performance which attracted the attention of the Manchester police for “incitement to riot”. They completely overshadowed what was essentially a huge statement of intent from a team trying to usurp Arsenal’s Champions League spot, which with any luck will relieve some of the pressure on Wenger and the team.



Adebayor managed to remind everyone why he’s sort of the player that a manager would do anything to have on his team, whilst simultaneously being the sort of player that no self-respecting manager would touch with a ten foot pole. A story goes that after a really lacklustre performance at a home game, Emmanuel returned to his car which he had parked on the Holloway Road, only to find it had been keyed by angry fans. How did they know it was his car? Because he had his name and shirt number emblazoned on all the head rests. How long before he falls out with the City fans, who can be just as unforgiving as their north London counterparts? Not soon enough as far as I’m concerned. He has somehow managed to replace Ashley Cole as the most hated ex-Arsenal player, and we can only hope that his three match ban will give him time to reflect on what a complete ass he is.