Adebayor Needs To Move on

Every relationship comes to an end, by force or design. And when that happens, whatever party remains needs to move on.

It is also true that you can measure the extent of another's regret and love by the many times he/she continues talking about you. It might be annoying and borderline creepy, but it is the truest indication of regret and pain being suffered.

Most break ups are nasty; understandably so. Time invested, money, and emotions are all sacrificed evetually for nought. However good and noble the intentions, what you put in any relationship most of the time is never enough.

It has been close to four months since one time Arsenal star Emmanuel Adebayor left. His departure was nothing if not acrimonious and poisinous.

Rightly or wrongly, Arsenal fans have called him all sorts names and apparently sang nasty songs about him—though in truth, stadium chants about him couldn't be credited to the Gooners.

A lot has been said since he left, and in the interim, a match has been played; what a spectacle it was for the neutrals. 

His stamp on Robin van Persie, though thuggish, could to an extent be understandable. Since then, the controversy has died down a bit, and for good reason, too.

The topic was getting boring until Adebayor claimed that Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger, chased him away. Chased him away?

If you find it hard to laugh, I don't blame you. Said Adebayor, "I talked with the coach and he told me I was one of Arsenal's best-paid players, that the club was in the red, so maybe they wouldn't be able to pay me any more—it would be better for me to go."

Now, not only is he implying that one of the most loyal coaches in the EPL had turned against him, he is attempting to do a Kaka and claim that he was sold because Arsenal are so in debt that his sale will give the club a breather. Mind you, Arsenal had just recorded the highest turnover in EPL's History.

If the man wasn't a footballer, he would have made a brilliant illusionist: So economical with the truth, it makes politicians look like angels.

He continued, "I asked him, 'Is it your choice or the club's?' He answered, 'It's everybody's choice, from the whole club.' I was pushed out!"

I wouldn't call him a pathological liar, the type that would do anything to gain favour with a new lover, but Arsene Wenger said, "Adebayor will soon realise just how good Arsenal was for him..."

Now we know that he wasn't pushed and we also know that, in fact, Arsenal wanted him to stay.

So, the question then becomes why speak of a club which has been nothing but good to you? Why rubbish a club which made you? The answer is, ironically, what he said about the team.

"My relationship with Arsenal has broken in two. I wanted to stay. It's true that I didn't score a lot of goals last season, but I was often injured."

Adebayor knows that he owes Arsenal—and, in particular, Arsene Wenger—a lot for his development. However, beacuse of his pride and greed, he cannot bring himself to apologise.

He knows whatever he does from now on with City, he always will be regarded as an Arsenal product. If he stays, he probably won't be much of success for a sustained period, and yet should he leave, the calls of "we told you so" will reveberate around the world.

What he needs to do, however, is to move on with his career. The Arsenal chapter has come and gone. Arsenal has been without him and will remain so after him.