Emmanuel Adebayor was once adored at Arsenal. Between 2006 and 2009, he scored 62 goals, bagged eight in North London derbies alone, and was crowned African Player of the Year in 2008. Then came the summer of 2009 and Manchester City’s petrodollars.
When Adebayor departed for City, Arsenal fans felt betrayed. What turned betrayal into outright war was what happened on 12 September 2009. After scoring against his former club, he sprinted the length of the pitch and dropped to his knees in front of the Arsenal away end in the most provocative celebration the Premier League had seen in years. A steward was knocked unconscious by thrown objects. The FA fined him £25,000.
Then came the Tottenham chapter. Signing for Arsenal’s fiercest rivals in 2012 ensured the hatred was permanent. He even scored against Arsenal on his birthday in a Spurs shirt. For the majority of Gunners fans, the ledger was closed forever.
Speaking on Premier League Productions recently, Adebayor gave his verdict on Viktor Gyokeres and Arsenal’s title chances: “This is the time we need a striker who can bring the league to the club. It’s him, if they are to win the league, he needs to score at least 10 more goals until the end of the season. If he scores 10/12 goals this season, you can’t win the league with your top striker scoring just 10/12 goals.”
The analysis itself is fair enough. Gyokeres has 15 goals this season and Arsenal are deep in a title race with 12 games left. The pressure on him is real. But Arsenal fans couldn’t care less about the tactical substance because of one word sitting right at the top of that quote.
“We.”
“WE” ????????? https://t.co/fYWZO0vYOs
— ‘ (@SherzCapone00) February 26, 2026
Social media erupted. Arsenal supporters berated Adebayor relentlessly for his use of “we,” insisting he had forfeited any right to that pronoun the moment he slid across the Etihad turf in celebration, the moment he pulled on a Spurs shirt, the moment he said he watches Arsenal and simultaneously wants them to win and lose.
@OS_Arsenal_ – He must’ve been speaking french cos ain’t no way 😂
@Alii_Bomaye – He’s a French speaker so it’s understandable.
@segunalabs01 – Don’t mind that Emmanuel Adebayo, he’s a hypocrite. Arsenal fans don’t claim him so he should move on
@bundus92 – Exactly, which we? Don’t need no back stabbers supporting us
@KitaraOdong – Ma said “we” hahahahhahaha
@JuniorOla163518 – If I see this guy and some other ex players celebrating our title with us when we win,they’ll be problems 😭
@zeddie – He’s from Togo, so definitely speaking French. 😭😭😭
@AFCKizza – We ain’t been we since 08 bruv
@The_Darksirius – In that same interview he said City will win it lmao
But not everyone piled on. A quieter, more measured corner of the fanbase pushed back and made some uncomfortable points.
@trsnfr – He loves Arsenal. Club and fans treated him poorly when he left. But he never wanted to go, he was forced out. Still not entirely sure why. Probably gazidis penny pinching
@THABANGMURIDILI – You don’t know how this guy was mistreated by wenger. If he’s a fan let him be.
@ThatFlyGooner – The club sold him. He didn’t want to leave, he just wanted a pay rise. Then fans sang that his mum’s a wh*re and that he should have died on the coach in Angola — and you want him to not give anything back? Please. He’s Arsenal. Let him be.
@movingnigerian – Yes We. Once a gooner, always a gooner. The fans were at fault. Cursing his parents is unacceptable after the fantastic performances he put in for @Arsenal
It is hard to argue with the moral arithmetic there. Arsenal fans did chant “It should have been you, killed in Angola”, referencing the 2010 terrorist attack on the Togo team bus in which three people were murdered and Adebayor survived by lying on the floor for 40 minutes. That those words were ever directed at a human being, let alone one who had just survived a massacre, is indefensible. The celebration at the Etihad, the Spurs move, Adebayor has explained his actions against the backdrop of that abuse. Whether you accept it or not is another matter.
The “we” was probably genuine, not a power grab, but a slip from a man who, despite everything, has never fully emotionally disconnected from Arsenal. He has admitted as much himself. And maybe that is the most honest thing about this whole messy saga.
Arsenal fans don’t have to forgive him. But the ones defending him have a point worth hearing.
