Friday, March 29, 2024

Much Eboue About Nothing

Emmanuel Eboue’s rollercoaster time at Arsenal looks set to come to an end as speculation mounts that the Ivorian international will move to Turkish side Galatasary in a deal worth £4 million.

Moving to the Gunners in January 2005 from Belgian side Beveren, Eboue quickly proved himself a useful squad member during the following season’s Champions League campaign when he featured regularly at right-back as the club set a new record for the most amount of consecutive clean sheets (10 in all) on their way to the final against Barcelona.

A dynamic operator in the wide right position, Eboue appeared to have a bright future in North London with Arsene Wenger even describing the energy expounded in one appearance against Aston Villa as similar to that of Brazilian legend Garrincha.

Unfortunately, after an injury hit first season at the Emirates, Eboue eventually lost his place in August 2007 to new arrival Bacary Sagna and has struggled for first team minutes ever since.

Capable of exasperating the crowd with his lack of concentration and frequent turf-rolling antics, he hit rock bottom in December 2008 when he was famously booed from the pitch following a disastrous 20 minute cameo appearance against Wigan in which he tackled teammate Kolo Toure before threading a near perfect through ball to an opponent. Although he did bounce back to earn cult hero status amongst a section of the fans, and a new contract at the Emirates, he struggled to win back the majority of doubters.

A popular and likable character but never a leader, Eboue perhaps represents much of what has been wrong with Arsene Wenger’s sides of recent years. More often than not he has been nothing more than a passable mediocrity; capable of delivering the goods when it suits him, but all too often liable to make costly mistakes when under pressure.

New signing Carl Jenkinson will take over the duty of providing back-up in the right-back position.

Eboue isn’t the only Emmanuel to follow namesakes Petit and Adebayor out of the club. According to Young Guns 20-year-old midfielder Jay Emmanuel-Thomas looks set to seal a £1.1 million deal with Ipswich this week with the Gunners inserting a sell-on clause should he attract the interests of bigger clubs in the coming years. A mercurial talent who helped steer Steve Bould’s under-18 side to FA Youth Cup glory in 2009, JET has struggled to follow the lead of Jack Wilshere by breaking into the first team and spent much of the last two seasons on loan.

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Savage is a Dave

Thank goodness for that.

NB

Please let this be true. I can’t take this hapless clown’s antics anymore.

Lord Teddy Ears

I always found this guy funny but his mistakes really have been his downfall !!!!

Maloney

A scapegoat for the collective failures of the team and the same blinkered fans who boo Bendtner yet cheer Marouane ‘one goal since November’ Chamakh.

NB

The guy’s a clown, come on. He named his son God. Chamakh has been poor, but his detrement to the team is only in his skill, not his utter God-bothering tomfoolery.

argonaut

“God-bothering tomfoolery”. Like it. May have to pinch that expression.

NB

Spread the word, brethren. Thou shall be blessed by the good Lord Eboue. The good Lord Eboue giveth, the good Lord Eboue falls over and pretendeth to be injured. Amen.

Goonersville

Agree Maloney
I know where I sit at the emirates the hatred towards bendtner from some fans is appalling. He’s frustrating and at times just plain crap but your more likely to get a goal from B52 than you are chamakh. Also last season I felt sorry for bendtner continuously played out of position and then villified for his performance.

out if interest didn’t Eduardo score more goals in his last year than chamakh got last season?

James

Good, he was a cheating cunt. These wankers who held him up as some kind of cult hero were surely taking the piss. Maybe they did it because they couldn’t bear to admit he’s been another of Wenger’s horrible disaster zones.

Robin

Yes use kinds of fans always say that horrible players are excellent. I swear there was a moment when we said that Almunia was a cult hero

Goonersville

The cheating and diving may go down better in turkey than over here
He should have been sold years ago
I remember the stupid sending off at old Trafford when flying kicked someone and then the blood boiling sending off at White hart lane

Plev

This would put a lot of expectation on Jenkinson, which can only be a good thing really. I never saw Eboue as a capable defender, he was much better going forward. He could play anywhere on the right or left and occasionally as a holding midfileder. But in my opinion his versatility was his weakness, jack-of-all-trades, master of none. This and the part where you said “More often than not he has been nothing more than a passable mediocrity; capable of delivering the goods when it suits him, but all too often liable to make costly mistakes when under pressure”…… Read more »

Sedara Percy

If Eboue moves on i’ll certainly miss him. Agreed he is not the fantastic footballer we all craved for but his character on(when team mates scores) and off the pitch makes him a hero to me.

Chris

Youre my hero. Please ship Chamack out, now.

Zman

Damn looks like I gatta support a new club

NB

Please go. And take your ‘I Love Eboue’ tiger suit with you?

Ben Savage

You could never doubt his effort and his enthusiasm, but unfortunately, he just made too many crucial mistakes. Liverpool last season summed it up for me.

He’s a great guy so if he does leave, he goes with my best wishes.

tiger POW

Eboue has a bigger penis than you guys

Goonersville

Tiger pow
No sir you are a bigger penis than eboue

T-H

I always held Eboué high, as he appeared to be Mr Arsenal off the pitch. I think it was Lansbury or Eastmond who once elaborated on the players off the pitch and pointed out that Eboué was crazy but also incredible dedicated to the club. And he surely holds a profound love for the club and the game. He’s always the first to celebrate a goal (whether he’s on the pitch or not!). But. I strongly disliked his lack of ability to keep on his feet. I never thought him to go, but we saw the poor Conor Henderson wear… Read more »

Jasonisimo

Well, those shirts had no names on them and Arsenal has said that the numbers were meaningless. I wouldn’t read anything into it.

I would credit, however, the numerous stories that said Eboue had attracted the interest of Galatasaray, which is has prepared a 4 million pound bid.

Stevep72

Tiger, I don’t think you’ve understood the term “arseblog” . You might find what your looking for if you search on google again….

Goonersville

Best wishes Emmanuel
Clown off the pitch clown on the pitch

Matty

All the best Eboue! And I mean it. Again like Denilson he never lived up to his early arsenal career. I remember the season we got to the CL final, that season eboue was superb at right back. Madrid away, juventus

Matty

Sorry pressed submit to early! Juve at home etc etc. Unfortunately it all started to go wrong for him. Top man off the pitch not good enough on it!

ken

He will be sorely missed! On the XBOX. I mean, he can be play at full back or in midfield. Come on people!

Oli

Can’t he just stay!?…in some sort of ineffective staff role..of course

Goonersville

So far we have racked up 7m clichy 4m eboue and 1.1m for jet which leaves us square for what we spent on gerv and jenks. our transfer budget is untouched and that’s before the impending sales of bendtner and faulty manuel.
It’s time thIngs started moving on acquiring the players needed. Barca need a deadline to pay the asking price or the whole cesc saga wil drag on til the end of august.

Alan

Should have been gotten rid of years ago by an objective manager. Same as Almunia, Diaby, Denilson, Bendtner. Rosicky, etc…

Wenger persisted with these average players to the detriment of the club’s results. You’re only as good as you’re weakest links.

Lawrence

What the balls are we doing this for if we aren’t gonna replace him? I’m shitting bricks to think Jenkinson is our only back-up for Sagna. Talk about throwing him in at the deep end, I was only hoping (and expecting) he’d be eased in with 5-10 league appearances this season and a Carling Cup starting berth :/ So the two full back positions, which have always been one of our strengths during Wenger’s reign, are going to have no depth whatsoever this year? Back-ups on both sides are hurrendously poor and inexperienced not to mention Gibbs as a starter… Read more »

j-gunner

Who needs an extra left-back when we’ve got Vermaelen as cover…or Vela, for that matter? We can play Song CB, Walcott CF, and Pat Rice CDM. Happy days, my friends, happy days.

Stevep72

Rosicky not that bad…. And if bendtner was happy to warm the bench I’d keep him. Goals to game ain’t that bad. Would have to stop playing him wide though. Irrelevant all the same as he wants to start regularly , can’t blame him for that will just have to do it somewhere else. Wouldn’t hold that against him and he is a lot better than average.

T-H

=> Alan. Fair point! As I see it Rosicky is ascending. He’s been virtually broken by injury, and had he been a horse, some soap wouldv’e smelled of Czech. However, he seems on his way up again. At the end of last season he was the only one (bar Wilshere) who drove forward – and did so well! He’s experienced and my guess (whatever that is worth) is that he still has a lot to offer. Bendtner could not go, as he certainly offered something completely different up front. Now we have something similar, so bye-bye Little Nicky. As for… Read more »

TrueGooner

The thing that rubbish most of the players we have, not all but most, is that the manager keeps playing them where they don’t belong. NickyB is not a winger he is a second striker that plays off of the main striker and he should never be the main striker. But wenger put him on the wing in a 433 instead of buying wingers to compliment the talents we already have and use these players in their natural positions instead of always trying to change every players into what they are not. It doesn’t work. Same thing with Chamack. Isn’t… Read more »

TrueGooner

By the way Eboue is a good player. Maybe Wenger should have bought a proper midfielder to alternate with theo and let Eboue be Sagna backup instead of trying to make him a midfielder. Atleast he is good going forward and the man scores for his country also. Long live the Ivorian Maradona. The only Arsenal player that had the guts to take on opposing players and make runs downfield with the ball at his feet, bar Cesc. Play to the strength of your man and you increase the chances of you winning, make them play against their strength, you… Read more »

welly

i’d love if wenger in his next press confernce said, ‘ eboue is gone, so thats like a new signing’……..

NB

Hahaha. Indeed.

Jasonisimo

I do remember that CL final season where Eboue was just great at RB. He also could deliver a good cross from wide positions, unlike Clichy. He had the skill and physical talent. There is just something off with his mental game.

Spooner

Didn’t Eboue deck Gary Neville a little while back? He’ll always be welcome as far as I’m concerned! Good luck to him if he goes.

Spooner

Also, though diving is nearly always a c*** thing to do, what about his dive against Barca in Paris from which resulting free kick big gay Sol nodded us up. Their player was nowhere near him – it was genius, plus in context entirely justified.

Good-Bloke

Denilson & Eboue gone…

…in the same summer…

BEST.

TRANSFER WINDOW.

EVER.

Gronk

BEST

COMMENT

EVER!

John B.

Okay, but I still don’t understand why we signed Carl Jenkinson. Back-up to Sagna? Sorry, but I just don’t see it. I mean, I guess I’m forced to see it, because it looks as if that was Wenger’s thinking, but it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Jenkinson may have all the promise in the world, but a novice even at League One level will simply not be able to cut it in the Prem when Sagna picks up a knock. No, Eboue was not the solution, I agree, but he’s a better defender than Jenkinson, and in my opinion, if… Read more »

Professor Plum

Simply, just not good enough for an Arsenal shirt.

smeghammer2

He did break John Terrys foot in one game, so he will always be a hero of mine

alex nasri

Poor Eboue. Great character, remember his hijinx with the North Korean coach? (youtube it!)

Played out of position the last few years as Sagna selfishly refused to get injured. WTF Sagna, help a brodder out!

He was great for the back room too, every interview with every Arsenal player has always had him as the funniest guy in the squad. Sometimes you need that after a defeat. Has a good heart, does Eboue.

Will be missed. I’m sure it’ll be a tearful farewell if he does take the flight to Turkey.

Lawrence

Agreed. The sad thing is, too often he seemed to take his joker status to the pitch, and for the wrong reasons. Eboue is the reason why Arsenal have a reputation as pussies and divers (in the context of the Premier League anyway), and the guy commits the stupidest and clumsiest of fouls imaginable. But several times a season he comes in and plays a blinder, not to mention his pace tracking back is a bonus and again I’d always feel a ton more comfortable with him replacing an injured Sagna than Jenkinson or a CB being played out of… Read more »

Lawrence

P.S. I will always hold dear those seasons when he was a starter and gave Cristiano Ronaldo no joy whenever we played United.

alex nasri

aah, yes. it’s the same reason i like rosicky in the squad – he and cesc are tight! then again, i don’t get the need to diss players like rosicky and eboue. you can’t expect a world class player to be content on the bench. and we’re not Citeh who can pay them inordinate amounts to keep them quiet. eventually of course they’ll realize it’s just not worth it, and ask for a loan (which Citeh will have to subsidize) out. Such a waste of talent when you consider Bellamy and Given. Rosicky and Eboue were great squad players when… Read more »

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