Emmanuel Adebayor turns his back on Milan to stay with Arsenal
Emmanuel Adebayor has ended a year of uncertainty over his future at Arsenal by committing himself to the club and ending speculation that he would leave the Emirates after three seasons in north London.
On Friday, manager Arsène Wenger placed the onus on Adebayor to state his intentions and clear the way for any potential suitors when the Arsenal manager said: "If he does not want to stay he will leave, but I think that he will be still at Arsenal this season."
While Chelsea and Barcelona were monitoring the player's situation, Milan and Internazionale were favourites to buy the 25-year-old having begun their courtship last summer when Adebayor first appeared on the verge of a move.
He chose to stay but, having scored only 16 goals for Arsenal last season, compared with 30 the previous term, the Togo striker appeared unsettled and has offered mixed messages during the last few months about where he would play next season.
Last week the Milan vice-president, Adriano Galliani, appeared to signal an impending bid from the Rossoneri when he said: "I've called Arsenal to inform them of our interest. I've spoken to Arsène Wenger and Adebayor was part of the conversation during which Wenger was friendly."
But when contacted by Observer Sport today and asked if Adebayor would like to leave the club, Stephane Courbis, the striker's agent, said: "No, no." When pressed if Adebayor definitely wanted to stay at Arsenal, Courbis was clear. "Yes. It's the same [situation] as last week," he said, referring to comments that it was up to Wenger to declare his position regarding Adebayor.
