Vote Emmanuel Eboue On May 6th

My highlight of the pedestrian 0-0 draw against Manchester City at the Emirates on the 24th of April was the banner in the stands that screamed: ’VOTE EBOUE ON MAY 6th’.

The irony is not lost on Gordon Brown when a section of Arsenal fans clearly think Emmanuel Eboue has a better chance of becoming Prime Minister. I can just picture Arsenal’s resident comedian sitting back left in that Jaguar riding into Buckingham Palace on May 7th to formerly ask Aunt Liz for the keys to Downing Street.

But yet behind the satire and comedy, is the story behind one of the favourite chants of the season – ”We only came to see Eboue”.

Arsenal's 'Goal Machine' - Emmanuel Eboue

This season, the Ivorian has had the most remarkable transformation from ’villain du jour’ to cult hero at the Emirates. His lowest point was last season’s home tie against Wigan Athletic when he came on as a substitute and swiftly suffered the humiliation of being substituted himself for a woeful performance that could only be described as criminal.

When your fans boo you off the park, more often than not, the only way out is a transfer to another club, in another country. Extreme credit has to be given to Eboue for knuckling down, dealing with his demons and getting on with the job the manager requires of him.

It’s not that Eboue is a flashy player who employs jiggery pokery to mesmerize the opponent – far from that. I submit to you that he is one of the most valuable players any manager could want in a squad.

I say this because I believe he is one of the best utility players in the league. Very few players if any, can competently do a job in different parts of the field and be able to keep the team ticking.

Though Eboue ordinarily plays as a right full back, he is often employed as a right winger. He can also play left full back and in recent games, has covered the role of left winger. My sense is that if Wenger asked Eboue to stand in goal, the Ivorian will look at Vic Acres with that ”where are the gloves kept?” look.

There is a lot that the entire team can learn from this young man this season, and it’s not necessarily about the football. Eboue does a great job like many unsung heroes in the squad, most notably Neves Denilson, who keep the team ticking without any razzmatazz. Their job is not to go all ’Hollywood’ during the game, but it’s to do the simple efficient things that many don’t notice but are necessary to keep the team moving.

The Ivoirian’s determination to prove to the Arsenal faithful that he is worthy of an Arsenal shirt is laudable and shows a strength of character that some members in the team can emulate if they’re going to make the next step. Lukasz Fabianski for one can’t do any worse than ’doing an Eboue’

In Friday’s post, Saloner and other readers suggested that Fabianski will benefit from game time as opposed to warming the Arsenal bench, and perhaps a lone spell like his compatriot Tech 9 is doing at Brentford, is the right way to go for him to ’do an Eboue’.

A respectable performance in goal in the next two games against Blackburn Rovers and Fulham won’t do his confidence any harm. Despite the disappointment in the way the season has petered out for Arsenal, we have an expectation that the next two games will provide some joy and entertainment. Hopefully, we’ll get to see fringe players like Craig Eastmond and Carlos Vela get some game time and show us what the future holds.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to vote for Eboue on Thursday May 6th.