Adebayor puts Gunners first (Premier League)

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor insists he is more concerned about the team being successful than personal glory.


The
Togo international ended his early-season famine in the Premier League
with a splendid hat-trick at Ewood Park as the Gunners beat Blackburn
4-0. With Robin van Persie also finding the target it was just
the boost Arsenal needed ahead of the Champions League match against
Dinamo Kiev on Wednesday in Ukraine. Adebayor said: "People kept asking me when I was going to score my first goal in the league this season. "But
I told them it is more important that the team wins. We showed good
character at Blackburn and that will help our confidence." While
manager Arsene Wenger is looking forward to returning to Europe he also
anticipates an exciting battle for domestic supremacy. Liverpool
stated their ambition by overcoming Manchester United, champions the
last two seasons, while Chelsea maintained their excellent form by
beating Manchester City. Wenger said: "It is always interesting
at the top of the table and these results show that this promises to be
a very interesting Premier League again." Arsenal are scoring
goals for fun - 11 in their last three games - and Theo Walcott is
growing in stature under the Frenchman's guidance. After scoring
a superb hat-trick for England in midweek, the 19-year-old set up the
opener for Van Persie in the eighth minute and played with growing
confidence. Adebayor added a second before the break with a free header, then scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining. He rounded off an emphatic victory with a cool finish in stoppage-time to complete a miserable day for Blackburn.Blackburn manager Paul Ince admitted his priority is to sort out conceding sloppy goals after a second successive defeat. He said: "We know we have to got to defend better as a unit not just the back five. "I feel sorry for (goalkeeper) Paul Robinson as he has not done anything wrong but conceded eight goals in two games. "The goal just before half-time killed us. We lost concentration, it was suicidal defending. "Even though we are playing well and creating chances, we have got to look at our defensive work." Meanwhile
Holland defender Andre Ooijer is expected to be out for two to three
weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in midweek while on
international duty.