Adebayor: Arsenal fans drove me out

Manchester City recruit Emmanuel Adebayor has blamed his decision to leave Arsenal on his poor relationship with the club's fans. The Togo striker was booed by sections of the Gunners faithful last term after a summer which saw him linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium. AC Milan were favourites then but no move materialised. Instead, Adebayor claims the supporters' reaction to the rumours merely ensured he would leave this year, with City on hand with a reported £25million (Dh150m) transfer fee.

Adebayor said: "The way the fans behaved towards me was not nice at all. I can't understand why they were after me. I did my best for them and I was very happy there. I scored 30 goals in a season - it's not my fault Milan, Barcelona or Real Madrid wanted to sign me. In any summer, Barcelona try to sign Cesc Fabregas. But the fans never turned on him." Adebayor's arrival at Eastlands, along with fellow strikers Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez, has seen Felipe Caicedo leave the club on a year-long loan to Sporting Lisbon and reports suggest Bulgarian Valeri Bojinov could leave too.

* PA Sport