'I’m an ex-Arsenal and Spurs star - I had the best time at one club despite what happened next'
One of the few stars to have played for both Arsenal and Tottenham has opened up about which of the two north London rivals made him happiest during his Premier League career
Former Arsenal and Tottenham talisman Emmanuel Adebayor has confessed his happiest Premier League days were spent playing for the Gunners. That's despite becoming a despised figure at the Emirates Stadium after switching loyalties to their fiercest rivals.
Only a select few have played on both sides in the north London derby, which is set to reignite on Sunday. Alongside Adebayor, Sol Campbell and William Gallas are the only other men's players to have made significant contributions for both teams.
Despite being labelled a 'Judas' by many Arsenal supporters, Adebayor fondly recalls his time under Arsene Wenger as the pinnacle of his Premier League career. In a recent chat with discovery+, the Togolese star, who also had stints at Manchester City and Crystal Palace, singled out Arsenal as the club where he felt most satisfied.
"Obviously, with Arsenal," said the Premier League legend when asked which English team brought him the most joy. "That's where I scored a lot of goals and was challenging for the Golden Boot.
"I would say I was happy both on and off the pitch because, remember, we were in London, we have a lot of community from Nigeria, my parents are from Nigeria, so I found family here from Nigeria."
Adebayor, 41, first landed on British soil in January 2006 when Wenger signed him from Monaco for a mere £3million. This sum turned out to be a steal after he emerged as Arsenal's most reliable finisher over the next three-and-a-half years, scoring 62 goals in 142 appearances before moving to Premier League rivals City for a reported £25m.
However, it wasn't until he scored against his former team early in the 2009/10 season that he was recognised as a traitor. He notoriously sprinted the length of the pitch at the Etihad Stadium to celebrate in front of his old supporters, an act for which Adebayor later expressed his regret.
"What happened two years ago was an accident and I do apologise to all the fans of Arsenal. Sometimes the emotions, we cannot control them, we are all human beings," he told talkSPORT in 2011. "I regret what I have done and I say sorry to everyone but at the end of the day sorry doesn't change anything. For me it's over.
"I'm looking forward to playing against Arsenal again on Sunday but believe me, if I have a chance to score, trust me I will score but as for the celebration, never in my life will I do something like that again."
Yet his role as the villain still hadn't fully taken shape. To add insult to injury, he later joined Spurs in 2011, initially on loan from Real Madrid, and had another largely successful spell in north London.
Once again, Adebayor made an early mark in the derby when he set up Rafael van der Vaart during a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in October 2011. And 13 months on, he scored against the Gunners before being shown a red card seven minutes later for a reckless tackle on Arsenal favourite Santi Cazorla.
Both Campbell and Gallas were demonised by opposing sides of the north London derby for directly joining their fiercest rivals. However, Adebayor's consistent knack for riling up the Arsenal fans arguably makes him the most controversial figure to have straddled both sides of the divide.