Farewell, Eboué

Eboué has thrown his last custard pie

Three main ingredients make up the archetypal football cult hero. Firstly, you have to be a ‘character’. This largely involves doing stupid stuff, like dancing like a fool, playing with Royal corgis, or dressing as a tiger and scaring people at a party (which isn’t even fancy dress). The second criteria is that you have to have a good relationship with the fans. And lastly, the cult hero must be only a bit-part player. He can’t be any good. And that’s why he always gets moved on.

When Arsenal signed Emmanuel Eboué in January 2005, he was described by Arsene Wenger as a central defender who could play at right-back. In the years between then and now, I have never seen Eboué play in central defence, and the thought of him there sends shivers down my spine. Athletic and explosive at the best of times, erratic and calamitous at the worst, Eboué’s continued involvement has symbolised Arsenal’s defensive frailties, and no amount of shirts thrown into the crowd post-game can change that.

There is the distinct feel of a clear-out at Arsenal this summer. The ineffectual Brazilian midfielder Denílson, who specialised in crablike five-yard passes and allowing opponents to race past him into his penalty area, has already been palmed off to Sao Paulo, Gael Clichy has been shipped up north to Manchester City, while Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia continue to have discussions with other clubs with a view to permanent moves away. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas may still fulfill his obvious promise, but it seems that he won’t be doing that at Arsenal; today he completed a £1m switch to Ipswich Town. One suspects that were Abou Diaby not so susceptible to injury and his wages not so high, Arséne Wenger would have found a buyer for him too.

It’s a shame for Eboué, a man who clearly has a great relationship with fans and teammates at Arsenal, that he too is soon to be detritus. A £4m deal with Galatasaray is close to being agreed, and Wenger revealed in an interview yesterday that the Ivorian is free to go. It’s fair to say that in the six years he’s been at the club, he’s had more than his fair share of ups and downs.

First, the good. Eboué unexpectedly became a part of Champions League history as Arsenal’s right-back in the record-breaking run of ten games without conceding in 2005-2006. They made the final, and the run was only ended by Samuel Eto’o's 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona in Paris. Eboué’s surging runs from full-back throughout that season, when he was standing in for the injured Lauren, prompted many to earmark him for a great future. He attracted criticism for his penchant for a dive, but even so, it was a surprise when Arséne Wenger splashed out £7m on Bakary Sagna in 2007. Perhaps Wenger knew something the rest of us didn’t.

His stock fell naturally during Sagna’s emergence, but in the 2008-2009 season, with Arsenal struggling to keep in touch with Aston Villa in 4th place, Eboué experienced his nadir. Having just recovered from six weeks out with injury, Eboué was forced into the game early after Samir Nasri’s injury, and forced to play on the left wing. He was awful, and was frequently the chief threat to Arsenal’s frail 1-0 lead. On one occasion, he ran thirty yards only to rob team-mate Kolo Touré of the ball, and promptly fall over, setting up a counter attack. On the 89th-minute, and with Arsenal all over the place, Arséne Wenger hooked him off for Mikael Silvestre. The cheers from the home fans were unedifying and set off weeks of debate, but Eboué looked disconsolate.

There have been moments of redemption; after an unexpected flurry of strikes, his novelty tag became ‘goal machine’, and he was even dubbed a ‘pass master’ at one stage, but in general Eboué has found it difficult to recover from that night against Wigan. He has never regained his place as a first-choice player, filling in only when others are unavailable, and he’s even got the role of Steady Eddie wrong. Where Arsenal needed a cool head having taken the lead in the 97th minute against Liverpool, Eboué clumsily conceded a penalty in the 101st minute. No one game lost Arsenal the title, but I suspect that incredible failure probably cemented in the players’ minds that whatever they looked certain of achieving, they would probably always find a way to throw it away.

It’s nice for squad players to be liked by the fans and his team mates, but he must justify his presence on footballing terms. At Manchester United, champions of England, the more limited John O’Shea would never have given away that penalty. Of the few things Arsenal lacked last season, strong heads and composure were chief among them. Emmanuel Eboué provided neither, and never would. In a funny sort of way it’s sad to see him go, and I wish him all the best in Turkey (if that does turn out to be his destination), but I see the sale as positive action being taken. It was fun, but now the work starts.

I’ll leave you with some ludicrous Eboué dancing from Youtube.