Arsene Wenger last night insisted that Emmanuel Adebayor is no Dimitar Berbatov.
And the Arsenal boss said his club should be "honoured" the Togo striker turned down mega-buck deals in Europe to stay with the Gunners this season.
After being courted by Milan and Barcelona over the summer, Adebayor's earlyseason form has suffered after signing a new deal and he was dropped to the bench against FC Twente on Wednesday.
And when he emerged as a late sub, sections of the Emirates Stadium crowd still booed the forward who scored 30 goals last season.
With Wenger set to reinstate the 24-year-old for this evening's visit of Newcastle, he admitted Adebayor had been affected by the reaction of the Arsenal fans. And appealed for them to get behind a player he insisted is fully committed to the club.
"His transfer saga - and the fact he was wanted by all the clubs in Europe - was not down to him," he said. "It was down to his performances.
"In the end he has chosen to stay here. On top of that, why should we turn against him.
"I feel that is very hard for him to take. We have to be realistic. It is an honour that a player like that is wanted by other clubs and an honour that he has decided to stay. The fact that he made financial sacrifices to remain at Arsenal should make us grateful too.
"I think he is committed to the club. If you look at just the facts, I can tell you face to face I have seen him many times, and he has always said he wants to stay. But of course if you can earn 10 here and 130 there, you are ready to stay for 60 but not for 10.
"At the moment he needs the fans to be behind him. He is under pressure always to score goals, but we want him to feel relaxed and play football like he loves it."
Wenger said his commitment to the Arsenal cause was the difference with Berbatov.
"Adebayor was committed first and kept his word," he explained.
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"He said if I have a choice, I want to stay and from the outside, I only read the newspaper, that doesn't look to be the case with Berbatov.
It looks like he wants a move."
But after apparently encouraging transfer interest over the summer, the Frenchman claimed Adebayor had only made "PR mistakes" and had not waged a campaign to escape, unlike the Bulgarian.
"But I like when a football player is not into PR because when that happens, they always have the right behaviour outside and the wrong inside, and I prefer the reverse situation,"
Wenger continued.
"I prefer a guy who makes a few mistakes. When they know all about PR, you are in trouble as a manager.
"But in Adebayor's case, he made maybe a little PR mistake but on what is really important, the way he practised, the way he worked, the way he behaved on a daily basis... credit to him. And I think we have to be intelligent enough inside, and the fans as well, and support him.
He didn't score for two games?
I don't care."
Wenger welcomed Kevin Keegan back to management in January with two 3-0 victories in four days over the Magpies.
But the Frenchman said: "I like Keegan because he loves football - it's as simple as that - and his genuine attitude. He looks like he will do a good job. You have to give him time."
