Adebayor: Season not over

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Emmanuel Adebayor admits that he has already turned his focus to Sunday's Premier League showdown with Manchester United.

The Arsenal striker was part of the Gunners side which crashed out of the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool on Tuesday night.

European glory had appeared to represent Arsenal's best opportunity of picking up some silverware this season, but victory at Old Trafford this weekend could keep their push for domestic success on track.

Maximum points in Manchester would see the Gunners move to within three points of the Red Devils at the top of the table, and Adebayor is well aware that the weekend encounter has now become a must-win fixture for Arsene Wenger's men.

Answers

"Of course we can still win the league," the Togo international said on Uefa's official website.

"Sunday is our season now, it determines whether we still have something to play for or whether we can go on holiday.

"If we win in Manchester we can still hope to win the league so we have to get our focus back, stay strong and make sure we do that.

"Right now we're all disappointed but we will be back in the Champions League next season and the boss knows the answers. He knows what to do and what's needed to win it."

Frustrating

The Gunners stood on the brink of progression at Anfield on two occasions having taken an early 1-0 lead and pulled the tie level at 2-2 with just six minutes remaining.

However, they were ultimately unable to hold on and eventually fell to a 4-2 defeat.

Adebayor was understandably downbeat after slipping out of the competition in such a frustrating manner, but is determined to help the club bounce back as soon as possible.

"Of course we're all disappointed but it's happened now and we have to respond," he said.

"We were in a position to get through twice and that's the worst thing. We had chances to win and we didn't take them.

"Perhaps we weren't sure how to take our opportunities but that's football and we have to accept it."

Penalties

Much of the post-match reaction to the quarter-final contest on Merseyside has focused around the contentious penalty awarded to Liverpool in the dying minutes of the game following Kolo Toure's challenge on Ryan Babel.

Adebayor admits that the decision left him baffled, and is adamant that the Gunners were dealt a raw deal by the match officials throughout their recent trilogy of matches against the Reds.

"There's a lot of things I don't understand in football and I couldn't say if it was a penalty or not tonight," he said.

"We had the chance of a penalty in both the last two games against Liverpool and the referee didn't see it like that, but tonight he gave them a penalty.

"That happens in football and we have to be big enough to take it."