Adebayor-some

Last updated: 31st January 2008

adebayor

Adebayor: a world beater

Adebayor is strong, he's quick, he's got pace and he's brilliant in the air - it's everything you want in a centre-forward.

Matt Le Tissier
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Man City v Arsenal
12.30pm, Saturday, Sky Sports 1

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  • Martin Petrov
  • Alexander Hleb

Man City v Arsenal
12.30pm, Saturday, Sky Sports 1

It has been a blessing for Arsene Wenger that Togo didn't qualify for the African Nations Cup because he has been able to hang onto Emmanuel Adebayor who has been awesome!

He is on fire at the moment and every time I see him play he looks like a world beater. He has got so many good attributes and it is so difficult for defenders to cope with him. He's strong, he's quick, he's got pace and he's brilliant in the air - it's everything you want in a centre-forward.

At the moment he's got plenty of confidence in front of goal and he seems to be forming a good partnership with Eduardo Da Silva. It took Eduardo a little while to settle, but the boy knows where the goal is and he's one of the best I've seen at tucking the ball away into the corner of the goal.

Those two look like a very dangerous partnership and if Eduardo had a fraction more pace they'd be one of the best strike duos in the world. Robin van Persie will struggle to get into the team when he is fit again, although he is a bit quicker than Eduardo and that will work in his favour.

When Van Persie finally recovers from his injury Arsenal will be immensely strong in the forward department, especially if you include Theo Walcott, who I feel has got very good ability, even though he has struggled for form recently.

Weak link

I can't really find a weak link in the Arsenal side at the moment. They are a little light in the centre-back department while Kolo Toure is away at the African Nations Cup, but otherwise they are very strong.

They have got a very realistic chance of pushing Manchester United all the way, even though I tipped Alex Ferguson's boys for the title at the start of the season. Both teams are looking very strong and I'm just hoping we will have more than one team in with a chance of winning the Premier League on the last day of the season.

One thing that's for sure is that there will be plenty of midfield talent on display at Eastlands on Saturday. Cesc Fabregas is back in goalscoring form again, Mathieu Flamini is Arsenal's unsung hero and Alexander Hleb has been excellent.

And then you look at the Manchester City side and you've got Martin Petrov, who has been in superb form and Elano is very talented, even though he hasn't been at his best in the last few weeks.

Sven Goran Eriksson has been saying his foreign players are perhaps a little bit mentally tired after a tough start to the season and they've had a couple of poor results recently.

Balloon

They went out of the FA Cup at Sheffield United after that bizarre incident when Michael Ball was put off by a balloon.

In all fairness, Sheffield United had a really good go at it and probably deserved to win the game anyway and it seems City's bubble (or should that be balloon?) has burst a little bit after such a good start to the season.

It has been tough for them to keep their good run going when they haven't got the depth of resources that some other clubs have. When the guys that were doing the business for them earlier in the season are not on top form then they struggle a little bit.

One bright spark for them is young Daniel Sturridge, who has been making a few headlines after scoring two goals in two games. His goal against Sheffield United in particular was taken fantastically well and he is staking a claim for a starting place in the team.

And the other thing in their favour on Saturday is their home record. They were awesome at Eastlands at the start of the campaign and although they have drawn a few lately they will give anybody a decent game on their own patch.

However, I think Arsenal will have a little bit too much for them on Saturday.

Le Tiss predicts

AWAY WIN - I am going to go for a narrow away win. City have not lost at home in the Premier League all season, but I reckon that run will end against Arsenal. I'll say 2-1 to the Gunners.

Matt's Main Man

EMMANNUEL ADEBAYOR - It simply has to be him at the moment because he is in awesome form and he looks like a world-class centre-forward. He is a handful for anyone who plays against him and he looks like he's going to score every time he gets the ball.