Wenger praises Adebayor who has exceeded expectations
Arsene Wenger warned Arsenal's Premier League rivals there is more to come from Emmanuel Adebayor after the Togolese striker scored a second half hat-trick at Pride Park.
Adebayor, who has shouldered the responsibility of becoming Wenger's striker-in chief following Thierry Henry's departure for Barcelona last summer, took his tally for the season to 30 against Derby.
That is double the amount the Arsenal manager anticpated Adebayor would score before the campaign started. Now, after a such a prolific
season, the Frenchman refuses to make any more predictions.
He said: "I didn't think he'd get 30 goals this seson - I thought it would be 15.
"There's more in the locker than he's doing at the moment. Who knows how many he can score in the future?"
Adebayor's treble came after he replaced the injured Robin Van Persie at half time and Wenger added: "He took advantage of the work done in
the first half and it was easier for him."
Goals from Nicklas Bendtner and Robin Persie scored either side of
Jay McEveley exploiting Arsenal's trademark failure to defend
setpieces, put the Gunners in front at halftime.
After that it was not only easy for Adebayor but also his team-mates.
Such was the dominance of Wenger's team, it was difficult to
determine whether they were unplayable or relegated Derby County
completely out of their depth.
Wenger had no doubt it was the former and Derby boss Paul Jewell
said: "Arsene said to me he wouldn't like to play against his team
when they're in that mood."
Adebyaor increased the visitors' advantage and a reply from Rob
Earnshaw only served to prompt the Gunners to move up a gear. Theo
Walcott crowned another promising display with the fourth before
Adebayor completed his hat-trick and the rout.
Adebayor's third means he has scored 24 in the Premier League, which
is five more than the Rams have managed all season.
To make matters worse, the Rams need five points from their last two
games to avoid being the Premier League's worst ever team. Jewell,
however, is more concerned about next season than the immediate future.
Jewell added: "It would be nice to get five points and past 15 but
the most important game for me now is the first one next season."
1 Comments
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Posted by GamingNut – 29 Apr 2008, 3:49 AM
That was definitely some game, and Emmanuel Adebayor has already been proving himself as a more than capable and fitting replacement for Thierry Henry, and I imagine that he will only continue to excel as time goes on. Of course time will show for itself, but I don't think fans need to worry.