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Emmanuel Adebayor has told Arsenal fans not to give Ashley Cole a rough ride when the Chelsea defender returns to his former club for the first time on Sunday.
Cole will be making his first appearance at Arsenal since his acrimonious transfer to London rivals Chelsea last August. The England left-back made it clear he wanted to leave after falling out with the club over their failure to meet his contract demands.
Arsenal supporters dubbed Cole "Cashley" because of his perceived greed and waved fake English pound notes with the player's face on them when Arsenal played at Chelsea in December.
That hostile reception is likely to be surpassed this weekend, but Togo striker Adebayor insists Cole is not the bad guy he has been portrayed as.
"I don't know what happened between Ashley and the club, I just know him as a footballer," he said. "He is a good player and a good person. I like him because when I first came to the club he helped me a lot.
"I hope the fans focus on us rather than him. We want them behind us rather than what Ashley is going to do.
"I don't know what he has done to them. If they just shout at Ashley I don't know what that will achieve. If they cheer for Baptista or me to score or Kolo (Toure) to defend then that will be better."
There is no love lost between the team after the mass brawl that erupted at the end of Chelsea's League Cup final victory over the Gunners in February.
Adebayor was one of three players sent off at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and, with Chelsea having to win to maintain their fading title challenge, Sunday's clash is certain to be another feisty affair.
While Adebayor could be forgiven for relishing the chance to end Chelsea's reign as Premiership champions, he is adamant revenge is not on his mind.
"It hurt all the players to lose to them in the League Cup Final especially after we played so well," he said. "We didn't get the result we deserved.
"But with all what happened in Cardiff, it is not about us taking revenge on Sunday.
"We know the fans will be desperate for us to beat Chelsea. There is a big rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal and it's always a tough game on the pitch.
"But we are just going to play the game to win for the fans and as a footballer you always want to win against a big team like Chelsea."
Adebayor, who scored his 12th goal of the season against Fulham on Sunday, believes Arsenal have already proved they are more than a match for Jose Mourinho's side and he knows this is the perfect chance to underline the point.
"We have already shown we are as good as Chelsea, because the way we play football is amazing.
"This season we have had a lot of bad luck, sometimes the ball just does not want to go in the net, but that is football.
"We have learned a lot and now in this big game on Sunday we have to prove to our fans that they can still believe in us for next season."
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