Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor: ‘If I have the chance to score against Arsenal, trust me, I will score’

Posted Saturday, October 01, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor is hoping he can score against former club Arsenal once more this weekend in the north London derby between the two bitter rivals.

The 27-year-old is on loan at Spurs for the season from Manchester City, the club for whom two years ago he scored against the Gunners at what was then still Eastlands and infamously ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the away fans.

The former Metz and Monaco forward confirmed there would be no repeat of this celebration if he did score for Spurs on Sunday, but admitted he had every intention of netting against Arsene Wenger’s side.

“When I signed for Tottenham, [Gunners midfielder] Alex Song said: 'Adebayor, are you doing this on purpose because it's Arsenal?'" Adebayor told the Guardian.

“I said: 'No, brother, I'm professional and the only choice I have is Tottenham. It's a fantastic club and I'm back to see my family. It's going to be fun to play against you.'

“If I have the chance to score against Arsenal, trust me, I will score, although I would never again celebrate like I did.”

The striker spent the latter half of last season on loan at Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, where he scored on his debut – a habit he had with Arsenal and the Citizens, and repeated at his new London club this season.

The Togolese striker had an incredible scoring record against Spurs prior to joining them on loan, with eight goals in nine appearances.

White Hart Lane manager Harry Redknapp will doubtless be delighted he is playing for them this season, and the coach admitted the two had spoken in the past about the forward’s controversial celebration in front of the Arsenal travelling fans in September 2009.

“I just said, OK, he shouldn't have run to the fans, but they are giving him almighty abuse,” the former Portsmouth and Southampton manager said.