Caz
2nd May 2007, 10:25 AM
Emmanuel Adebayor feels beating Chelsea on Sunday will show just what Arsenal can achieve next season.
The Togo striker chalked up his 12th goal of the campaign with a late strike in the 3-1 victory over Fulham at Emirates Stadium yesterday.
The Gunners are now only a point behind Liverpool as they look to salvage a third-place finish from what has been a disappointing year for Arsene Wenger's squad.
Chelsea's hopes of retaining the Barclays Premiership title could end with defeat in north London to the side they beat in the Carling Cup (http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8689_2098983,00.html#) final.
However, Adebayor - who served a four-match ban for his part in the melee which marred the end of the match at the Millennium Stadium - maintains Sunday's encounter will be about putting on a fine display for the home fans, rather than exacting any sort of "revenge".
"It hurt all the players to lose to them in the Carling Cup final, especially after we played so well and did not get the result we deserved," the 23-year-old said.
"But with all that happened in Cardiff, it is not about us taking revenge.
"We are just going to play the game to win for the fans and as a footballer you always want to win against a big team like Chelsea.
"There is a big rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal and it is always a tough game on the pitch.
"We have already shown we are as good as Chelsea, because the way we play football is amazing. This season we have had a lot of bad luck, sometimes the ball just does not want to go in the net, but that is football.
"We have learned a lot and now in this big game on Sunday we have to prove to our fans that they can still believe in us for next season.
"We are doing our job and are progressing in each game. We have to keep on going and give it our best.
"It is important for us to finish as well as possible and we can still finish third. That is what we are working for."
Sunday's game will also see Ashley Cole return to Arsenal for the first time since his controversial transfer to Chelsea.
But Adebayor hopes the Gunners faithful will not be too harsh on their former hero.
"I do not know what happened between Ashley and the club, I just know him as a footballer," said Adebayor.
"Ashley is a good player and a good person. When I first came to the club he helped me a lot.
"I do not know how the fans are going to treat him next week, but I hope the fans focus on us rather than him.
"We want them behind us rather than (focusing on) what Ashley is going to do.
"If they just shout at Ashley, I do not know what that will achieve.
"If they cheer for [Julio] Baptista or me to score or Kolo [Toure] to defend well, then that will be better."
Arsenal eventually secured a 12th Premiership home win with two late goals to see off the brave resistance of the Cottagers and Adebayor believes the experiences of earlier in the campaign are now finally beginning to sink in.
"Many of the players have matured this season and we have learnt how to live in the difficult moments, to cope when things are going wrong on the pitch, you could see that against Fulham," he said.
"After they equalised, we kept our shape, continued to play football and in the end we won 3-1.
"At the beginning of the season we would have drawn that match, but we know we have to play our best from the start of the match to the end.
"I think we understand how football is now. We have to play the same way with the same concentration whether it is against Tottenham, Manchester United or Fulham.
"We have to keep this in our heads.
"We know what we have to do now and are going to continue at a high level for the rest of the season."
The Togo striker chalked up his 12th goal of the campaign with a late strike in the 3-1 victory over Fulham at Emirates Stadium yesterday.
The Gunners are now only a point behind Liverpool as they look to salvage a third-place finish from what has been a disappointing year for Arsene Wenger's squad.
Chelsea's hopes of retaining the Barclays Premiership title could end with defeat in north London to the side they beat in the Carling Cup (http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8689_2098983,00.html#) final.
However, Adebayor - who served a four-match ban for his part in the melee which marred the end of the match at the Millennium Stadium - maintains Sunday's encounter will be about putting on a fine display for the home fans, rather than exacting any sort of "revenge".
"It hurt all the players to lose to them in the Carling Cup final, especially after we played so well and did not get the result we deserved," the 23-year-old said.
"But with all that happened in Cardiff, it is not about us taking revenge.
"We are just going to play the game to win for the fans and as a footballer you always want to win against a big team like Chelsea.
"There is a big rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal and it is always a tough game on the pitch.
"We have already shown we are as good as Chelsea, because the way we play football is amazing. This season we have had a lot of bad luck, sometimes the ball just does not want to go in the net, but that is football.
"We have learned a lot and now in this big game on Sunday we have to prove to our fans that they can still believe in us for next season.
"We are doing our job and are progressing in each game. We have to keep on going and give it our best.
"It is important for us to finish as well as possible and we can still finish third. That is what we are working for."
Sunday's game will also see Ashley Cole return to Arsenal for the first time since his controversial transfer to Chelsea.
But Adebayor hopes the Gunners faithful will not be too harsh on their former hero.
"I do not know what happened between Ashley and the club, I just know him as a footballer," said Adebayor.
"Ashley is a good player and a good person. When I first came to the club he helped me a lot.
"I do not know how the fans are going to treat him next week, but I hope the fans focus on us rather than him.
"We want them behind us rather than (focusing on) what Ashley is going to do.
"If they just shout at Ashley, I do not know what that will achieve.
"If they cheer for [Julio] Baptista or me to score or Kolo [Toure] to defend well, then that will be better."
Arsenal eventually secured a 12th Premiership home win with two late goals to see off the brave resistance of the Cottagers and Adebayor believes the experiences of earlier in the campaign are now finally beginning to sink in.
"Many of the players have matured this season and we have learnt how to live in the difficult moments, to cope when things are going wrong on the pitch, you could see that against Fulham," he said.
"After they equalised, we kept our shape, continued to play football and in the end we won 3-1.
"At the beginning of the season we would have drawn that match, but we know we have to play our best from the start of the match to the end.
"I think we understand how football is now. We have to play the same way with the same concentration whether it is against Tottenham, Manchester United or Fulham.
"We have to keep this in our heads.
"We know what we have to do now and are going to continue at a high level for the rest of the season."