Adebayor weighs up Arsenal's chances

'Sure of themselves'
Arsène Wenger's team had to settle for a goalless draw in the first leg at the Arsenal Stadium, Adebayor missing a gilt-edge chance in added time as he headed over the crossbar when it seemed easier to score. It was an unfortunate turn for the Togolese international striker, who had been a constant thorn in the visitors' side throughout, yet despite causing the veteran Milan rearguard a lot of problems, the 24-year-old was impressed with how they stood up to it. "In the second half, maybe for 20 or 25 minutes, we started to put pressure on them," he said. "But then you see [Kakha] Kaladze talking to [Paolo] Maldini, and the two of them are pretty much laughing together. They're a team that are sure of themselves."

Step up
It will be Adebayor's job to cast a shadow of doubt on that thick veneer of assurance. The Arsenal No25 has scored 19 times in the Premier League already this season, including a run of at least a goal in nine successive domestic outings, but is yet to register in the UEFA Champions League, and he admits the competition is a big step up in quality. "The difference between the Champions League and the championship is that in the championship, sometimes when you lose the ball there might not be that much danger, but in the Champions League if you lose the ball in the opponent's half it's not good, if you lose it in your half, then you're in real trouble," he said. "The Champions League sometimes feels like you're playing basketball – you lose the ball and then there's a goal."

First goal?
Standing at 1.90m, Adebayor would not look out of place on a basketball court, and in truth he has not seemed out of place in the UEFA Champions League either. He has just lacked that bit of fortune, but thinks now would be a fine time to deliver on his promise. "Saying and doing are different things. You can talk about scoring two goals and saying then we'd qualify easily, but how are you going to score them, that's the point," said the former AS Monaco FC man. "We were expecting a difficult game in the first leg, and we got one too. But now the fans can sit back and watch it on the telly, and now it's up to us to try to take the game to Milan. And I think it would be even more beautiful if we do it over there."