Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Amos 
Date:Friday August 1 2008
Time: 7:22PM
UK time is: 06:18:23
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Adebayor to sign a new contract
In an interview broadcast on Arsenal TV today Adebayor has revealed that he will put pen to paper on a new contract with Arsenal 'in a matter of days`.
Adebayor insisted that he had never at anytime told anyone that he would leave Arsenal. Claiming his 'phone was switched off while on holiday he said that he was unaware of much of what had gone on until he arrived back to rejoin the team.
"You can put whatever you want in the papers" he said "There has been a lot of people talking on behalf of Adebayor but I have never said I would leave the club." Adebayor told Arsenal tv.
"I can say that here today. I'm ready to sign a contract. I've very good here, I'm very well here and my heart is with Arsenal. I had three years on my contract and am looking to add one or two more."
In a press conference given earlier in the day Arsene said "The player gets a bad publicity against his own fans for things he has not said. That's sometimes difficult to repair. There's disappointment from the fans because they feel the player wants to go and in this case Adebayor came out to say I want to stay at the club."
Explaining that his relationship with Wenger was still strong Ade assured us "When we started talking about my contract I never told him I'd be leaving this club and he knew my desire. My desire was to stay at this club so for me he's like my father, he's my boss so whatever he tells me I'll do it, so our relationship at the moment is always strong."
While many of the quotes came from third parties including independent agents not directly connected with the player or any of the clubs involved it is clear that some sort of dialogue had been going on between Arsenal and others which at least explored the possibility of Ade going. This though may have been an all too public game of contract brinkmanship between player and club. One which both sides have now decided needs to be repaired.
Immediately post season Wenger was determined to keep the current squad together believing its development would yield even greater success if he could do so. On the basis of that objective this has to be good news for the club. Is there anything for Adebayor to repair with fans? To reach the levels of support he enjoyed last season - yes. But as Ade himself said today, what he did last season is already behind him and what he does next season is all that matters now.
Fans were willing to forget Vieira`s sequence of summer flirtations provided he did the business on the pitch. Ade should expect to be treated no differently.
Join Vital Arsenal
Want to comment on this article? It's easy to register , simply click the link and enjoy getting involved (you can even win prizes!)
Message Board To visit the message board, click here. Get involved
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for the British GP
Seconds Out! Vital Boxing is here!
Your Comments
Oh dear, he's started talking about himself in the third person.
monkeyg
It seems that Arsene has given him a bit of a talking-to as well, so fair enough. If Arsene still trusts him enough to give him a contract extension, ok then, let's see if the big man is true to his words: http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=494692&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Wenger+-+Ade%27s+priority+was+to+stay+at+the+Club
Lou the Gunneress
A spot of damage control before a couple of home games methinks. Originally I came out and said I didn't believe the quotes attributed to him, but it's taken a month to deny them which is not really believable. But like I've said all along, I never thought he wanted to leave, it was contract brinkmanship as you say. I guess we've gotto forget about it now, as we have with Cesc last summer. But really, Arsenal have once again been very, very slow with the PR machine and this all looks quite hollow to me.
Little Dutch
I can't wait for Bendtner to score a couple of goals against the good opponents this weekend. This guy has to be put in his place and sweat for his first-team spot which he really thought was automatic and granted last season (he said he was "happy" that no matter what, he's playing - but just RvP & Edu were out and Bendtner was kind of his like-for-like understudy). I had my doubts about the big Dane, but he's impressed me with better performances and work rate so far, this kid really wants to go up the pecking order. Watch out Ade.
Lou the Gunneress
Fantastic news as far as I'm concerned. Now this drama is over we can all crack on and look forward to the new season. 8-)
flv
Hmmmm, Ade says he didn't say he wanted to leave yet claims, "I'm glad I've come to a solution to stay at Arsenal." Seriously, who runs Arsenal's PR, a ******** 5 year old? That's pathetic.
Little Dutch
£30 Million still sounds better
KingGunner
Is it me or is it impossible to love players with long names? Wright adams henry pires bergkamp............ljungberg grimandi owusu abeyi lauren bisen etene?? see where im coming from
KingGunner
KingGunner we were never going to get £30million - that was all paper talk.
I've no doubt he was tapped up and was tempted to leave, but the tappers were not prepared to pay the high valuation the club placed on him. Arsene obviously preferred to keep him but set a high price so that if he had to sell the profit would help with rebuilding the team.
I'm glad he's staying because we've had enough disruption, he does offer us a 'plan B' and he already knows how to play in this team. As long as he continues to work hard (and he'll have to as there is more competition up front this season) then most fans will get past it.
Passenal
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3896559,00.html
That didn't take long. Do these tossers ever just contemplate chowing down on a nice big bowl of shut the ***** up?
Little Dutch
£30 easily possible as darren bent went for nearly £20mill!! He looks more like kanu every day. Prob is with this guy is he only gets played 4-5-1 due to his qualities. 4-4-2 the only arsenal way please.
KingGunner
I hope fans don't believe this nonsense. I love how he says he was on vacation the whole time and was never anywhere near newspapers or the internet and that he didn't know he'd been linked with other clubs. It's pure bullsh-it, he was seen on skysports news during the Euros at a press conference, being asked about the Milan transfer, contradicting himself all over the place. I just finished watching the half-hour Emirates Cup press conference with AW and Clichy on the official site. Reporters kept badgering AW about the whole “exodus” and Ade issues, of course AW kept saying Ade is under contract and is staying. He also answered with this new official story about things reported in the press that the player supposedly said but didn’t really say, thus hurting the player’s relationship with the fans. A reporter then directly challenged AW telling AW that he himself (the reporter) had sat down next to Ade weeks ago (I think during Ade’s appearance in Switzerland during the Euros) and had recorded Ade saying the things widely reported in the press — about being worth a lot of money to Arsenal and that he was worth a lot more than he was being paid, and so on. The reporter offered to have AW listen to his recording as proof. I can accept Ade back in the team but please don't try to fool me with no revisionist spin. Cesc was on vacation with his family too (incl. in the USA) but he knew immediately about the quotes attributed to him and the day after released a firm denial.
jaelle
those first two paras made me laugh my arse off! AS IF
merlin
How very noble of him. What a****. If you believe any of this then you're as fickle as your rivals up the road believing that David Bentley is suddenly a life long Spurs fan.
stillthewhizz
Yep. And Ade didn't wink when he said all that.
Lou the Gunneress
-wink +blink
Lou the Gunneress
This whole thing is ******** nonsense. I don't believe a word he's saying ...... but do you know what, as long as he put 110% in on the field, then I'm willing to let him earn our forgiveness. I honestly believe Ade has been taken in by his agent, who thought he could get him a massive payrise. Everyone makes mistakes, and if this benefits Arsenal Football Club then it's all I give a crap about!
Rocky7
Let's see how long it takes for the Armoury people to put the "Ade 25" shirts on display now lol
Lou the Gunneress
Funny you should say that, but I looked at the pictures of the new away kit launch and saw a pic of a guy with the new home shirt with 25 ADEBAYORon the back. I had to think to myself "what the ***** mate?"
Little Dutch
Initially, I thought that his NOTW interview was made up, and Ade has just confirmed that. However, his agent made all the noises, and it will take some time to forgive Ade for that - after all, he is Ade's official rep. Ade cannot seriously think that us fans are that naive/stupid.
prits
Yeah I saw that pic on arsenal.com too! I was wondering if he's actually the PR people faking it there lol..
Lou the Gunneress
And there's not just 1, there's 2 guys wearing the Ade shirts in that pic! The other guy's wearing last season'a white away shirt. Really suspicious..!
Lou the Gunneress
Yeah, does seem odd that they chose that photo! I reiterate, Arsenal's PR ******** amateur.
Little Dutch
Jaelle, i agree with you. What a pathetic excuse. Wenger tried to spin this and turn it into a joke. He's probaby just being mature and protecting the player for the benefit of Arsenal. As for Ade, i am not sure he will give 110% for the team. Let's wait and see. He had problems before at Monaco and with the Togo federation, openly complaining in the press that he wasn't getting the respect he deserves from coaches. I don't think this will happen at Arsenal though because I hope Bendtner gives him a run for his money. The 30 goals Ade scored plus the fans chanting his name went to his head. He should watch his offside line.
Gael-Force
I suspect there may be a buy-out clause that allow him to leave next season. That's what usually happen when a player 'extend' his contract under such circumstance
Joe_@**
I totally agree with LD and Jaelle's comments, this is so bad a PR spin it's unbelievable and has everything to do with ensuring there aren't any boos this weekend, they really must think us fans are stupid. I now wish Bendtner and Vela have fantastic seasons and overshadow Ade so his opinion of himself can down a notch or two. I thought during the course of last season that it had all got to his head and this summer's stories have confirmed that. He has a lot of work to do to with the fans and its gonna be funny seeing him kiss or point to the badge.
Gooner_Vin
That Ade explored the possibility of getting more money elsewhere is clear. Just as it is clear that the club explored the possibility of selling him for big money. In the end neither seems to have been possible. The club got the player to extend his contract in exchange for a deal acceptable to both which secures his contract value should they wish to sell him later. Ade was happy to use his success last season to get as much money as he could for himself but then the club were happy to use that same season to get as much money for the club as they could. It's sordid but part of the game.
Amos.
now i dont want to get on bad side of ye fans on this one but what i cant understand what he has said now saying he never wanted to go etc which is fair enough....so why dint he stop all the spec an say its not true from day 1 insteasd of lettin it drag on for weeks, im sure he wud of went to milan an barce paid the 25m + if they made an offer, the player disrespected the fans most, bacically he wanted to go no1 came in for him so there for hes plan B was to sign a new contract an say i never said i wanted to leave...now who belives that must be bonkers.... also berba an ronaldo are doing exact same to there clubs
123spurs
Arsenal's PR must do a better job then this! It is outrageous and in a way insulting to fans wrapping the story of Adebayor's stay in such a see-through manner and keeping the fingers crossed that this goes through. It is to a certain point true that Adebayor never literally said "I want to leave" but there were numerous statements in which he implied it. It would have been less damaging to come out honest and say that there were disagreements over the wages rather than try to take us for a ride like that. We've all witnessed the slow re-introduction of his image on the official www, while just a few weeks ago the only place one could see Ade's face was on the squad list (along with Hleb btw). And if I was in his place, I'd issue a massive apology to the fans for not coming out earlier and straightening things out. According to some info, Ade's shirts were not printed for a while now and only Barca's inability to flog Eto'o for a large sum of money (on time) prevented them from making an official bid for him. With all said I think it's time to move on, spur him on as 100% Adebayor can only help the team this season, which is all that matters.
G4L
What PR errors? What options did Wenger have to react to this saga? He had nowhere to go apart from supporting Ade's story. If he had blown Ade's cover he would not have given him room to climb down from his monumentally greedy and stupid stance. Arsene knows that most people are not that stupid to buy this and its just another day in football management. And as for Ade, I think people are being too generous saying that he was taken in by his agent. Ade milked this wilfully, driven by his own ego. This saga has been much worse than that of Flamini (last year and this) and of Vieira too. At least these two never thought they were bigger than the club, unlike Ade. Really sometimes I just wish we would have sold him on principle, but business-wise this outcome is probably the best one for the club. I won't be singing his song this season though.
Andy-bayor
Well playing stupid as if nothing had happened and as if there were no tensions, withdrawing him from all Arsenal merchandise and pics (even the one with him and Alan Smith in the dressing room for the new away shirt was removed), and serving us with "there was never a rift" dinner is insulting. As I said it would have been better for Ade to admit that he wanted an improved contract, which in the end he will get, and to apologize for the tardiness in refuting certain quotes that were attributed to him during the off-season. Your claim that Ade was driven by his own ego is also an assumption (albeit a viable one) just as the 'taken-by-the-agent" side of the story. The whole thing seems to be over now (until the end of this season at least), but the damage is done. It will take a monumental effort from him (and some good spin from Arse.com) to win the fans over again. But to paraphrase one well-known line, he who has not sinned, let him cast the first stone :P
G4L
PR might be poor, but because Ade is not straight and - more importantly - was not FORCED to be straight by his manager, Arsene then couldn't just get up and contradict Ade after he decided to deny it all. Wenger could only follow that line, and it's pretty poor to read above that Arsene was then forced to eat sh-it in front of the press. Seems like a failing of Arsene here rather than our PR department. AW is a gentleman and allows allow players a lot of latitude –sometimes to a fault. I know he did what he felt best to protect his team's interest but really Ade does deserve a good old horse-whipping. The only 'right' PR would have been to sell him and make a point of how much money we made out of him! As most people say, we just have to get on with it now and hope he pushes the team forward.
Andy-bayor
I am with you on all issues AndyB, and I just hate the way things are being served as if nothing had happened. A lot of factors have influenced the PR's work at AFC, including Wenger and his policy with the players, but there are/were a lot of other options that could have been suggested/approved in order to limit the damage Ade and his agent have done to Ade's image. I am (or rather was) one of the staunchest Ade-supporters last year but I'd love to see NickB get a run in front of him.
G4L
Andy, I think the criticism is aimed at Arsenal's PR, rather than personally at Wenger. Wenger did what he's always done - stick by his players even if they have made mistakes. The club's PR dept should have told Ade to issue some form of apology instead of claiming that the fans cant hate him coz he never stated that he wanted to leave.
prits
Did you guys watched the ATVO Juve match highlights? They said sth like "With Ade committed to the club, there's an optimistic atmostphere around the team." Ack, makes me sick to hear that.. This kind of silly spin would only make Ade's head bigger if he heard this. :/
Lou the Gunneress
Hope he nuts Bendtner again, or Gallas that would be perfect!
HuddersfieldYiddo
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
Denilson Completes Sao Paulo Move (Saturday June 15 2013)
Santos Returns (Saturday June 15 2013)
Hello Mr. Chips (Friday June 14 2013)
Bendtner: 5 Clubs Are Interested In Me (Thursday June 13 2013)
Cesc Puts Paid To Exciting/Worrying Transfer Talk (Tuesday June 11 2013)
Arsenal and Citeh To Play in Finland (Wednesday June 5 2013)
Bacary Weighing Up His Options (Tuesday June 4 2013)
VIDEO: Wenger Hints At Rooney Interest (Tuesday June 4 2013)
Denilson Released (Monday June 3 2013)
Moment of the Season (Monday June 3 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | Amos. | 40 |
| 2. | Naijagunner | 24 |
| 3. | Regiboy | 22 |
| 4. | shewore | 18 |
| 5. | Rocky7 | 12 |
| 6. | Sajit | 12 |
| 7. | Little Dutch | 12 |
| 8. | Deltaforce | 11 |
| 9. | Bradysleftpeg | 9 |
| 10. | Gooner_Vin | 8 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Newcastle | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 4 | - | 1 | Wigan |
| Q.P.R. | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 1 | - | 1 | Man Utd |
| Fulham | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 0 | - | 0 | Everton |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1. Man Utd | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 43 | 89 |
| 2. Man City | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 32 | 78 |
| 3. Chelsea | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 75 |
| 4. Arsenal | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 35 | 73 |
| 5. Spurs | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 72 |
| 6. Everton | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 63 |
| 7. Liverpool | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 28 | 61 |
Breaking League News
| Kinnear In Car Crash Drama
» Newcastle : 17/06/2013 22:58:00
|
| Toivonen To Talk To City
» Norwich : 17/06/2013 19:50:00
|
| Newcastle United Is Dying
» Newcastle : 17/06/2013 19:45:00
|
| Liverpool: Reds Looking To Land Cissokho
» Liverpool : 17/06/2013 18:34:00
|
| A New Mind-Set.
» Chelsea : 17/06/2013 18:07:00
|
| Reid Agrees 12 Month Extension
» WBA : 17/06/2013 17:55:00
|
| Pre Season Ticket Latest
» Aston Villa : 17/06/2013 17:26:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|