25. Emmanuel Adebayor

‘Ade’ enjoyed his best season as a professional footballer in 2007/8. He hit 30 goals in 48 appearances and carried the attack while Robin van Persie and Eduardo were injured.

The Togolese targetman has every attribute - pace, skill, strength and aerial ability - plus a tremendous work-rate. There were many great goals to choose from but the stand-out strikes were the volleys at Tottenham and Newcastle.

However Emmanuel is not only spectacular but consistent as well. Between last December and early February he scored in nine consecutive games for Arsenal, hitting the net 12 times in total. Just after that run he also ended an odd anomaly of not having scored in the Champions League. That goal came in the final seconds at Milan.

That was another example of Emmanuel’s handy knack of scoring big goals in big games. But then we could have predicted that after he notched just 21 minutes into his debut in January 2006 after moving from Monaco.

He received a Champions League runners-up medal in 2004 with the French side but started his career as a 17-year-old with Metz. Emmanuel has twice been nominated as African Footballer of the Year and his 11 goals for Togo in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup was the best on his continent.

He finished third in Arsenal.com's Player of the Season poll last term.

 

MY YEAR

May

Emmanuel was rested for May’s first game, featured in the following two and then sat out the season’s final two games with a groin injury. When asked if he was hopeful of keeping his star striker Wenger said: "At the moment his future is at the Club. He has a long contract and we want to keep him at the Club. I am hopeful I will be able to keep him.”

April

Emmanuel returned from a two-month injury absence with a bang, bagging a brace in Arsenal’s victory over Man City on April 4. Three days later, the striker was at it again, this time an incredible scissors kick at El Madrigal helped Arsenal to vital 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the Champions League Quarter-Final first leg. A substitute appearance against Wigan was to follow but Emmanuel was back in the starting line-up and back in scoring form on April 15 for the Gunners’ second-leg win over Villarreal.

March

Emmanuel did not feature for Arsenal in the whole of April but did make his return from a hamstring injury on the international stage. The striker scored the only goal of the game in Togo’s slender victory over Cameroon on March 28.

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