Emmanuel Adebayor shared his feelings about Mikel Arteta's Arsenal team after a failed title challenge
BANGKOK, THAILAND - MAY 17: Emmanuel Adebayor speaks on stage during the 74th FIFA Congress 2024 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) on May 17, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Pakawich Damrongkiattisak - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Emmanuel Adebayor has shared his thoughts about former employers Arsenal(Image: Pakawich Damrongkiattisak - FIFA, FIFA via Getty Images)
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Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Adebayor questioned in 2023 whether the Gunners had fallen victim to a curse following an extended Premier League title drought. Yet the club's current campaign under Mikel Arteta is presenting them with their strongest opportunity yet to banish such talk.
When Adebayor arrived at Arsenal in January 2006, less than two years had passed since their legendary Invincibles campaign. The Togolese striker netted 62 goals across 142 appearances at the Emirates Stadium but never managed a finish higher than third in the league standings - and they still haven't won the title since that 2003/04 triumph.
During the 2009/10 season, the forward - who would later join Arsenal's rivals Tottenham - provoked Gunners supporters with an extravagant celebration after finding the net against them whilst playing for Manchester City. In an October 2023 interview, he expressed hope that fans had moved past that incident whilst wishing Arsenal success - although he feared a curse had befallen the club after their collapse in the second half of the previous season.
"Last season we were all rooting for them to win the league and they came very close," he told Sky Sports. "When it reached around January and February, I was telling all my friends, 'I hope these boys will not start dropping points.' This is how it was with me when I was playing for Arsenal.
"We'd be first or second and then around February a player would get injured or suspended and that's it. The league is gone. We had a great team but a young team, we needed a leader.
"So when I saw them starting to drop points, even when Man City were several points behind, I said, 'Listen to me, I don't know whether there is a curse on the club, but it's going to be difficult for them to win the league.'"
Adebayor acknowledged that Arsenal had made remarkable progress simply to be competing for titles. He praised the 2023 acquisition of Declan Rice, though even the club's record signing couldn't help them catch a City side who amassed 91 points in 2023/24.
LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta speaks to the media at Sobha Realty Training Centre on March 16, 2026 in London Colney, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta is delivering on the pitch(Image: Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Yet another runners-up finish followed last campaign, this time trailing Liverpool. Yet Arteta has been striving to demonstrate that the finest answer to talk of a curse is to produce the goods on the field.
His squad currently hold a nine-point advantage over second-placed City, who have a match in hand. Winning all seven of their remaining fixtures would see them reach 91 points, whilst they require only 14 points from those games to equal the 84 which earned Liverpool the title last season.
They've also secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals following a 3-1 aggregate triumph over Bayer Leverkusen. Their next opponents are Sporting CP, the same side that knocked them out of the Europa League back in 2023.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Eberechi Eze of Arsenal celebrates scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Arsenal Stadium on March 17, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Arsenal are still alive and kicking in four competitions(Image: Warren Little, Getty Images)
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Following Tuesday's 2-0 home victory over Leverkusen, Arteta was questioned about his priorities as City stand in the way of their first significant silverware since the 2020 FA Cup on Sunday, when two of Adebayor's former teams clash at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.
"Every decision to be honest was focused on today's game," Arteta stated. "What was at stake was huge, we've been three times in the quarter-finals but I don't know how many [in total]. Not that many, I don't think, and that tells you how difficult it is to achieve it, and now we can start to think about Sunday."
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