Updated February 13th, 2020 at 18:04 IST

When Adebayor ran the whole length of the pitch to mock Arsenal fans

Former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor signed for Paraguayan side Olimpia on a free transfer. Here, let's relive his infamous celebration against Arsenal

Reported by: Sreehari Menon
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Former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Paraguayan club Olimpia on a free transfer on Tuesday. The striker re-unites with former Manchester City teammate Roque Santa Cruz at the Paraguayan outfit. Olimpia would be Adebayor’s 10th professional football club after stints at Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Crystal Palace and AS Monaco among others. 

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Adebayor celebration: Former Gunner celebrates after scoring against Arsenal

Emmanuel Adebayor lit up the Premier League during his time at Arsenal, scoring 46 goals in 104 league appearances. The Togo striker then moved to Manchester City for a reported fee of  £25 million in the second season under the City Football Group project. Adebayor started life at the Etihad Stadium in great fashion scoring in four consecutive games, including one in the controversial match against Arsenal. The striker's move was not well appreciated amongst fans and the City striker was jeered continuously, only for Adebayor to score a goal and silence the critics. The former Arsenal man ran the whole length of the pitch and celebrated his goal in front of the Arsenal supporters. The match ended 4-2 in Manchester City’s favour, but many Arsenal players including Alex Song, Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas criticised Adebayor’s conduct and the Togo striker was subsequently banned for three games.

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Adebayor celebration: Watch Former Arsenal star run the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Gunners

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Adebayor celebration: Former Manchester City striker on why he celebrated against Arsenal

In an interview later with French magazine SoFoot.com, Adebayor stated that he suffered racist abuse from the Arsenal supporters which sparked the Adebayor celebration. When asked about why Adebayor ran the whole length of the pitch to celebrate in front to the away supporters, the Togo striker said that the adrenaline was one of the critical factors while adding that he would not have regretted paying €2 million fine to English FA to do that again. The Former Tottenham man added that he wasn’t going to stand there listening to people hailing abuses at his family, adding that he felt ‘untouchable’ when the fans threw phones, bottles at him when he slid his knees in front of his former club’s supporters. He added that he felt like being released from prison while adding that the celebration felt like a deliverance.

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Published February 13th, 2020 at 18:04 IST