Now firmly established as one of the leading lights on the English, Togolese and African football scenes, Emmanuel Adebayor is demonstrating the wisdom of those who plucked him from the relative obscurity of Lome outfit Etoile Filante. The player who came to prominence with Metz in Ligue 2 at just 18 years of age is currently leading the English scoring charts and confirming his immense but previously unexploited potential.

"Until recently I used to always come in for a lot of criticism, but I've worked hard and the fact that I get more respect is down to what I do on the pitch, and I'm proud of that," said the rangy forward.

Labelled erratic and clumsy in the months following his December 2005 move to English football, many were driven to publicly question Arsene Wenger's purchase of the tall Togolese. Wenger himself had no such doubts, and his faith has since been more than justified.

After more than two years of hard work on the training ground and a thorough integration into his new surroundings, the wiry sharpshooter has gone from strength to strength. With 13 goals to his name already this campaign, the 1.90m front-runner has seamlessly stepped up to the responsibility of replacing Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

"If anything, he's even stronger and braver than Thierry. He's had to work on his finishing but he's a clever player and Thierry Henry definitely passed on plenty of tips to him," says Wenger. "They used to talk to each other a lot and Thierry advised him to try and be calmer (in front of goal). When he scored his third goal, I said to myself, 'Now that was a Thierry Henry goal,' I really did," enthused the Gunners' boss immediately after Adebayor's hat-trick against Derby County.

"Let people judge for themselves"
This complement further underlined the ascent of the man from Togo, who had been virtually overlooked during the English media's summer speculation surrounding a replacement for Arsenal's Barcelona-bound former captain. "You have to let people judge for themselves. When the season began, most were looking to Robin (van Persie) or Eduardo, but not to me. At the end of this campaign, they'll see the stats and it will be clear who's taken Thierry Henry's place," says the player who netted 11 times for his country in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying. "It's pointless saying 'it's me' or 'it's him'. My objective is come out on top, but what matters most is winning trophies, scoring goals and enjoying my football. Afterwards, I'll let other people and the fans rank me in the Arsenal hierarchy."

"When the subject of the best players in the English league is discussed, my name comes up and that's obviously really nice," says the self-confessed admirer of former Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu. "But now, to make the season perfect, we need to win things. I really want to get my hands on some silverware this year. If I score 30 goals but end up with an empty trophy cabinet, it won't mean anything." Able to provide an attacking threat in a variety of ways, including dealing with long balls on the rare occasions the Gunners forego their slick passing game, Adebayor has well and truly found his feet in front of goal since returning from injury last September.

Trouble at Monaco
"At the moment, I've managed to discover a new level of effectiveness. I'm good with my back to goal, I've got a good leap and I'm quick. Now, I need to become more consistent over the season as a whole. That's what makes a truly great player," says the former Metz man. After cutting his teeth with the Lorraine region outfit he made the move to the top flight and Monaco, where he scored a total of 17 league goals over the course of the 2003/04 and 2004/05 Ligue 1 campaigns.

"I sometimes feel I still don't get as much media recognition as some other players, but that's not a problem," adds a player whose image was tarnished during the latter stages of his spell in the principality, a pay dispute followed by a few ill-timed and hot-headed statements in the media which only worsened matters. The time had come to move on and his choice of destination has proved a wise one.

In his first year and a half with the North Londoners, Adebayor struck 12 times in forty-two Premiership outings, a satisfactory total but one that left many observers feeling there was more to come from the gifted African. In the event, it was Henry's departure for Catalan shores that proved the catalyst for his former strike partner's explosion.

Despite a morale-sapping summer injury blow, Adebayor hit the ground running on his return to full fitness. "I'd been really sharp mentally and physically, so when I injured my thigh muscles in Austria, it was a massive blow for me," says the player himself. "It was a serious injury and I knew I'd miss the first few matches of the season, not to mention the vital pre-season preparations. But now I'm back. I'm not quite ready to play three games a week, but I'm 100-percent again."

Back in the Sparrowhawks' fold
An integral part of Arsenal's superb opening half of the season, Adebayor has continued to grow in confidence and maturity. "This year, the team is playing freely. It's good for the players and for the coach. We're happy to be out there and making progress. Last year, we were a young side and when we conceded, we didn't know what to do and used to fall apart. But now we're learning all the time and playing good football to boot," says the livewire goalgetter.

"Every player knows what to do for the whole 90 minutes. Even when we're behind, we don't let it get to us, and it's up to us to maintain this successful dynamic. The way we control the ball as a team makes it harder for our opponents," continues the Togo international, recently recalled by his country after being dropped for non-football reasons. Bursting with confidence and scoring goals aplenty, will 2008 go down as the year of Emmanuel Adebayor?