The Togolese striker has not scored in the league since cutting
his braids, with his record prior to doing so standing at an
exceptional 19 goals in 24 games.
Of those, Arsenal lost just one, while drawing four and winning the
other 18 — they were top of the table.
Since the dreaded snip, Arsenal have drawn four Premier League
games on the bounce — all games they, on paper, were expected to
win — and have since surrendered their five-point lead at the top
of the table and, barring a miracle from relegation strugglers
Bolton on Wednesday, will trail new leaders Manchester United by
three points.
Of course, there are far more logical reasons for Arsenal's slump
in form: the distraction of the Champions League, the demoralising
and somewhat humiliating exits from the Carling and FA Cup, the
demand in general of playing so many competitions at once, and of
course the loss of striker Eduardo Da Silva to a horrific broken
leg, just as the Brasilian-born Croatia international was looking
to play a key role for Arsene Wenger's men.
However, it has been deemed far more amusing to blame the barber
on this occasion, with Adebayor now having to come out and explain
exactly why he gave his dreads the drop, whilst maintaining they
had nothing to do with his lack of goals.
“They were getting on my nerves. I could only wash them once every
three weeks,” he said.
“I don’t feel I have lost form at all. If you watch our matches
closely, you will see that, even when I don’t score the goals, my
contribution to the team is 100 per cent.
“The most important thing is the team should win."
Which they're not — a fact becoming increasingly worrying for many
Gunners fans, as a potential dream season is now slipping away from
Arsene Wenger's inexperienced side. This will only serve to anger
many faithful fans who laughed off cynics predicting just this:
that Arsenal's inexperienced side wouldn't last the course of the
season.
Former Arsenal player Nigel Winterburn has chimed in on the debate,
claiming many footballers have dubious superstitions.
He himself, like Adebayor, is not one of them, and believes the
imposing forward will have to rediscover his form in front of goal
if Arsenal are to keep pace with Manchester United and now Chelsea,
who, though in third place, arguably have momentum on the
Gunners.
“A lot of players have superstitions or use psychology in their
game," said Winterburn.
“I never believed in anything like that but I remember David
O’Leary always used to put a ring in his pocket before the warm-up.
I’m sure the fans would like to think Adebayor’s dip in form was
down to his hair. But, for me, it’s all down to ability.
“He is one of a number of key players who are perhaps five per cent
off their best at the moment.
“To win the title you need all 11 players at their maximum.
“Manchester United look to Cristiano Ronaldo for inspiration,
Chelsea have Frank Lampard. Arsenal need Cesc Fabregas and Adebayor
to raise their game but recently that hasn’t quite been the
case.
“United and Chelsea might have the momentum, yet I’m certain
Arsenal are still in the title race and wouldn’t be surprised if it
goes down to the wire.”
