Emmanuel Adebayor believes reaching the FA Cup final with Crystal Palace would rank as his best achievement in English football.
The forward, who came off the bench against his former side Arsenal on Sunday, teed up Yannick Bolasie’s equaliser at the Emirates for the 1-1 draw that took Palace to 39 Premier League points and inched them closer to safety before Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final with Watford at Wembley.
Adebayor does not have particularly fond memories of playing at Wembley – he was part of the Tottenham side who lost 5-1 to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final in 2012 – and despite spending three years at each of Arsenal, Manchester City and Spurs, the 32-year-old has no major honours in England, his only piece of silverware being the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid in 2011.
“It is good to go back to Wembley, especially with Crystal Palace. I played with three big clubs in England with Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham and I’ve got the chance to go to Wembley with the smallest among those four clubs I have played for and it is even more beautiful,” Adebayor said.
“It means this club has something special, they have a good manager and a good team and we don’t play the best football sometimes which is normal because of the players we have got – but trust me it is a beautiful club and I am just enjoying myself again.
“It would be one of the best in my career. I did not play in the FA Cup final for Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham. For me it would be my best moment in England. Which is normal because I did not win anything with Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham. Let’s get out there, enjoy our football and take it from there.”
Before returning to Wembley, Adebayor and his Crystal Palace team-mates face Manchester United on Wednesday in what could be a dress rehearsal for the FA Cup final. Victory would also benefit Arsenal, whose supporters needed no invitation to boo their forward on Sunday. Adebayor however is focused only on Crystal Palace, refusing to pick a winner in the Premier League title race but claiming another of his former clubs, Tottenham, will prove themselves perennial challengers at the top of the table.
“I have to be happy about where I came from and what I have become today – I have to forget about all the haters,” he said. “All the Arsenal fans boo me and when I look back I understand where everything went wrong but there are certain things in life you cannot come back to any more, you just look at it and say: ‘OK I made a mistake’. We all do things at some stage of our lives that we are not supposed to do but the most important thing is to keep moving.
“The best team of the season will definitely win the league, we have only three or four weeks to go and we will know very soon who will win it. For me, my battle is against relegation now and we are kind of safe, that is what I know.
“[At Tottenham], with Mauricio [Pochettino] it was quite hard, when he first came in. We could all sense he would be a great manager for the club because he is working hard every day. I am not surprised with where they are. I know the qualities. Eriksen is there. Harry Kane is playing some fantastic football and scoring some amazing goals, which will all knew he had in the locker. Mousa Dembélé is flying now. Dele Alli is a player with huge potential to be one of the best midfielders in the world. They have got a good squad. They just need to keep going and keep believing. Whatever happens this season, they will be up there again next season.”
