Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor has suggested that he was pushed through the exit door at the Emirates Stadium during the summer of 2009. The striker had been of interest to Manchester City during the transfer window, and the 34-year-old insists that Wenger forced him to pursue a move or end up plying his trade for the reserves.
He said: “I had a meeting with Arsene Wenger in his office when he told me I had to leave because he doesn’t see my future anymore in Arsenal. I have to move on in my life.I was like ‘I’m going to stay.’ He was like ‘no there is not even a fight organised. We are not going to organise any fight for you. You move out or you stay here and don’t play any games.”
Back then, Adebayor had been contacted by the Citizens, who were under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group, and though he initially accepted personal terms, he had second thoughts about leaving the Gunners. The striker had built up his reputation during his three-and-a-half seasons with the north London side, but ultimately he had to move on after his relationship with Wenger reached a new low.
Since then, the striker has become a pantomime villain with the Gunners faithful, and his career has gone through different phases in the Premier League with City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, and he is presently in the ranks of Istanbul Basaksehir, who ply their trade in the top-tier of Turkish football.
The Capital outfit finished four points behind Besiktas in the quest for the title last term, but they have since made good progress in terms of their results. Basaksehir are currently trailing Galatasaray only on goal different in the pursuit of the Turkish crown, and it could go down to the wire to once more to find out a new champion.