Emmanuel Adebayor, who spent three years at the Emirates, has made public his annoyance that Ligue 1 side Lyon have opted against completing a deal to sign him, pointing to their manager not having the same authority as Arsene Wenger as one of his sore points.

The 32-year-old striker, who continues to divide opinion among supporters and critics alike, was set to join Lyon having been a free agent following his release from Crystal Palace in the summer.

However the deal has fallen through, with the club saying they’ve changed their mind due to Africa Cup of Nation concerns.

Adebayor, who is captain of his native Togo, will feature (provided he remains fit and isn’t injured) during the tournament and consequently miss at least a month of club football this term.

Lyon, who have two key players injured in Nabil Fekir (knee) and Alexandre Lacazette (muscle), are now without a centre forward with adequate experience in a crucial period of the season for them.

Adebayor could have potentially been a good acquisition for them, at least on a one-year deal given his expertise and experience across a number of English clubs as well as previous seasons spent in France with Metz (2001-03) and Monaco (2003-06).

He had the following to say, after telling L’Equipe that manager Bruno Genesio seemed afraid of recruitment manager Florian Maurice:

“I asked to see the locker room to soak up the atmosphere but he [Genesio] said he had to ask Florian Maurice.

“Imagine Wenger asking someone if he can show me around the facilities at Arsenal.”

He’ll be hoping to find better luck in the not-too-distant future as at 32-years-old, all he wants to do is play regular minutes and stay match fit.