While much of Sunday's North-London derby's attention both pre and post match focused on former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togo international towered above the abuse with another fine display to cap an excellent first month in the white of Tottenham.
The 27-year-old has been much maligned over the course of his relatively short career in England with issues amounting over his temperament and work rate in recent years. Former fans favourite with Arsenal; Adebayor followed teammate Kolo Toure to big-spending Man City in a move that proved relatively unprofitable for the player and the club.
Numerous disagreements with Roberto Mancini ensued and a loan move to Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid followed. 8 goals in 22 games in all competitions for the Spanish giants was not enough to earn Adebayor a permanent move, with the striker instead making another loan move, this time to Tottenham having played the enemy, scoring 9 goals in 13 games against Spurs in the past.
A past that he has now put behind him, Adebayor looks a different player to the one accused of laziness by many whilst with City, with Harry Redknapp finally getting the best back out of an undoubtedly brilliant talent.
In just 4 league games for the club, Adebayor has proven pivotal to the way that Tottenham play, and has also brought out the best in those around him, ending on the winning side in all 4. An average WhoScored rating of 7.89 in the league ranks him as the 6th best player in the division, and it is easy to see why.
De Ja Molineux
A debut against Wolves saw an Emmanuel Adebayor evidently keen to impress a Tottenham fanbase that no doubt needed impressing. An area of his game that has clearly improved is his willingness to get involved, highlighted by his last game for City, also against Wolves.
In his last Premier League start prior to his Spurs debut, despite scoring a penalty in an eventual 2-1 defeat, Adebayor had just 41 touches of the ball - less than any other outfield starter for his side. Back at Molineux this season Adebayor again opened the scoring, this time after 67 minutes, and had 67 touches of the ball compared to strike partner Defoe's 35.
Home Truths
On his home debut, this time confronting the full force of the White Hart Lane faithful, Adebayor stood up to his critics. 93 touches was only bettered by Spurs' midfield duo of Parker and Modric and proved his willingness to impress. 5 shots heralded 2 goals while a team high of 4 key passes saw the striker unfortunate not to add an assist.
He did manage to tee up a teammate next time out against Wigan, and despite failing to score, picked up a rating of 7.3 for his efforts; his lowest of the season thus far is indicative of the 27-year-old's consistency at his new club. All was building up very nicely for a showdown with Arsenal, and the clubs hatred for one another has led the fans to have one thing in common at one stage or another - a mutual disdain for Emmanuel Adebayor!
Rising above the inexcusable abuse, Adebayor made sure that he had scored or assisted a goal in every game possible for Spurs in the league thus far with a delightful chipped ball for Rafael van der Vaart to dispatch the opener. A goal against his former employers could, and perhaps should, have followed, with many keen to see the extent of the man's celebrations following an infamous incident at City, but his part was played after 85 minutes, and he was replaced.
Improvements Under Redknapp
Rated only behind former Arsenal teammate Samir Nasri as the best summer signing by WhoScored so far, Adebayor's stats have been exceptional across the board. With an average of 43.8 passes he is the 4th most active Spurs player in this regard, unsurprisingly behind the likes of Parker and Modric. He has also been a target to aim at for Spurs' defence, winning an excellent 67% of his aerial duels.
A pass success rate of 87% is therefore hugely commendable, particularly for a striker, while 2.5 key passes per game is only bettered by wingers Bale and Lennon. In addition, Adebayor has netted more goals from fewer shots than Defoe, van der Vaart and Bale, proving his clinical touch in front of goal and that Harry Redknapp has wheeled and dealed fantastically once again.
