So Manu Adebayor has signed a new deal, extending his previous contract by a year or two, with reports suggesting that he is now tied to the club until 2012 and on £80,000 per week.

Given his impact last season, I can understand why our Togo forward wanted to be recognised for his exploits, especially with football being such an uncertain and short term career.

Remember the start of last season? All the talk was of Robin Van Persie taking over the mantle as the number one striker at the Club.

Given his injuries and the fact that he plays in a deeper position, Adebayor’s importance became even more stark as the season went on.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Adebayor – his running and effort in his first two full seasons made up for a lack of the poise and excellence we’d seen from Thierry Henry. He wanted to prove his worth to the team and the fans and last season, he did that in spades.

But with success comes ego –and the shenanigans we endure during the summer. I don’t buy Adebayor’s assertion that he had nothing to do with it. He was looking after himself and letting the soap opera play out before deciding what would be his best play

We can’t dismiss his contribution last season, or indeed this, having slotted away a simple chance to make the FC Twente return something of a formality – but there have been plenty of misses that have left many of us scratching our heads.

It’s certainly not a lack of ability on Adebayor’s behalf, just a matter of not focusing to complete the execution of chances he has proved he can put away.

If Adebayor had left during the summer, I wouldn’t have been too upset, but seeing him in some of the pre-season games made me realise that his pace, power and aerial ability give him a combination of skills not many strikers can call upon.

A new player would have had to be integrated into the team and the less upheaval we have, the better.

The fact that he remained at Arsenal is actually a triumph for the Club. Arsene Wenger did not want to sell him, dug his heels in, and spun the situation to his advantage, getting the player to extend his deal and proving that, if he wants to keep a player, he keeps him. We’re not quite the selling club everyone claims us to be. 

So it is a concern to hear some Gooners booing Adebayor on Saturday. There was a muted response when he took to the pitch and when he missed another of the chances that could have made victory a little more comfortable, the boos started again.

I don’t blame Wenger when he said: “We have to get behind him and support him because he is a tremendous force and (is of) tremendous importance for the team - you want your own fans to be behind him.

"What happened in the transfer period did not always reflect his deep desire and there was manipulation from agents on both sides, but overall I am positive he will recover. Every player needs to feel wanted.”

Now is the time to get behind Adebayor. He is our player, for this season at least, and without him playing at his best and feeling loved, we won’t win anything.