This is a picture of Emmanuel Adebayor scoring his delicious volley against Newcastle United and he is the man who could become Arsenal's new H.N.I.C. Emmanuel grew up idolising another former AFC favourite, Nwankwo Kanu, and now wears his old squad number of 25. This 23-year-old has copped more than his fair share of criticism when he first donned the famous red and white of AFC and I am now almost ashamed to admit I was also a huge doubter of his abilities. Just under 2 years later he is now one of the most feared strikers in the EPL and is constantly improving. Adebayor stands around 6'4 and has pace, power, size, skill, confidence, goal scoring ability and excellent team play. Adebayor has proven his all-round value in front of goal by scoring headers, a world-class volley (against Tottenham), one-on-ones with 'keepers, placed shots, powered shots, team goals and dribbling goals. Adebayor has all this combined with a huge desire to win, excellent team play and he genuinely worries defenders. He sounds reminicent of Henry when you say all this (although Henry possessed much greater pace and a bit more threat in front of goal) and Adebayor did have the benefit of learning of the great man himself for around a season and a half. I don't think he will ever have the supreme strike rate Thierry did but I think Adebayor can go a long way to replacing the legendary striker. Another huge advantage Emmanuel has is he seems to be very well liked by the fans and his teammates alike. Roll on Emmanuel, you are a club legend in the making, provided your stay extends for another 7-8 years atleast.
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