Debate: We are packing you out Adebayor!

Another summer transfer window and another major departure from Arsenal is in the pipeline.

The close-season exodus of talent from north London has become the norm in recent times and shows no sign of abating with Emmanuel Adebayor edging closer to a lucrative move to Manchester City, although last night the deal was held up over the Togolese player’s personal terms.

From Patrick Vieira, through Ashley Cole and Thierry Henry to Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini, Arsene Wenger has been unable to hang on to key members of his squad, whether due to players’ ambitions or their financial demands.

The case of Adebayor has some notable differences, however. Robin van Persie, for example, is unlikely to be regretting signing a new four-year deal at The Emirates now Adebayor is set to depart. Neither is the pull of a return to Barcelona for Cesc Fabregas likely to have been strengthened by the news that the striker could be joining Carlos Tevez at Eastlands.

As for the fans, don’t expect to see too many crying into their beer at the prospect of his defection. Adebayor’s flirtation with AC Milan and Barcelona last summer is still fresh in the memory of supporters. And while his previous campaign may have been punctuated by injury, his perceived lack of dedication to the cause, especially in the Champions League semifinal games against Manchester United, left a bitter taste in the mouths of many a Gooner.

The 25-year-old’s comments, at the back end of last season, that Arsenal had ‘gone backwards’ no doubt only served to strengthen the belief that Wenger should not have tried so hard to convince his striker to stay by handing him a new £80,000-a-week deal a year ago.

It is understood Wenger remains ready to do business with City for around £25m. That still represents a very healthy return on the £3m Wenger is adamant he paid Monaco for Adebayor threeand- a-half years ago.

It leaves plenty for the Arsenal manager to sign what he considers to be a ready-made replacement in Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh and a much-needed central midfielder, with Udinese’s Gokhan Inler back on his radar.

A fee of £6m for Chamakh might sound like another Wenger punt, but the 25-year-old Morocco striker has only one year left on his contract. Now that Eduardo has recovered from the horrifically shattered ankle that threatened his career, Arsenal’s strikeforce is shaping up to be more potent than it has been in recent seasons.
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Wenger, by contrast, looks increasingly like a manager who believes his team’s chances of another top-four finish will not be damaged, and could even be enhanced, by the sale of Adebayor.

Whatever the effect the striker’s likely arrival in Manchester has on City’s fortunes, it is unlikely to have Arsenal fans jamming the phone-in lines complaining about seeing him in a sky-blue shirt.

So, in the end, bye-bye Adebayor!