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Striker: Wenger called and said he wanted me at Arsenal

By on May 3, 2017

Emmanuel Adebayor has revealed how a phonecall with Arsene Wenger led to him making a move from Monaco to Arsenal back in 2006.

Adebayor was a relatively unknown striker plying his trade in France when he made a surprise £2.5m switch to the Emirates during the 2006 January transfer window.

The Togo international went on to score 62 goals in 142 appearances for Arsenal over the next three-and-a-half years before making a controversial move to Manchester City in 2009.

Adebayor has now revealed how his move to Arsenal came about with the 33-year-old recalling the time he received a shock call from Arsene Wenger while he was back in Togo during the winter break.

The striker initially thought it was a joke so hung up the phone but the boss immediately called back and told Adebayor he wanted him to join Arsenal.

Adebayor was understandably desperate for the move to happen as he was struggling to get game time at Monaco and two days later he was an Arsenal player.

He’s quoted as saying by the Daily Star:

“I was not getting a lot of playing time at Monaco, it was the winter break so I went back to Togo. I was playing a game of football with some friends when one of my friends ran over with a phone.

“He told me it was Arsene Wenger, I thought he was playing a joke on me. I took the phone and hung up.

“Wenger immediately called back and said, I recognised his voice it was him. How could you not recognise it, he was everywhere on television and was so well respected for what he had achieved at Arsenal.

“He told me that he wanted me at Arsenal, I told him, ‘If you want me I will jump on the first flight to London and sign on the dotted line’. In just two days I signed for Arsenal, I could not believe it.”

Adebayor was a strange player as he had bags of ability but I always thought he was just never going to be world class and of course as we all learned, his attitude stank.

After a short stint at City, he went on to play for Real Madrid, Tottenham and Crystal Palace while he’s now playing for Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey.