Emmanuel Eboue is Taking the Piss Out of the Whole World

In an unprecedented era of Arsenal banter – where a menacing cabal comprising Gunnersaurus, Piers Morgan, and the blokes off Arsenal Fan TV rule Islington with an iron fist – only one man has come close to replicating the unparalleled #bants on the pitch.

That man is Emmanuel Eboue.

Emmanuel signed for Arsene Wenger's side in 2005, leaving for Galatasaray just over six years later. In that time, he brought a vast amount of comedy value to the side – mainly by playing like an absolute weapon at every given opportunity.

Who can forget the time that he came on as a substitute against Wigan in December 2008, only to be substituted in turn and jeered off the pitch after a performance so inept it was excruciating to watch? Then again, some of the best comedy ever made in this country has been hide-behind-the-sofa viewing. Eboue had clearly realised this, probably after an epic I'm Alan Partridge marathon. He applied the same principle to football, and made that ludicrous niche his own.

What about the time he gave away a 102nd-minute penalty against Liverpool in one of his very last games for the club? Even as Eboue kicked Lucas Leiva to the ground in the area, Arsenal fans couldn't be angry. They simply turned to each other in the stands, rolled their eyes and murmured indulgently: "Oh, Eboue".

Now, all our golden memories of the maverick right-back have been topped by the ultimate "Oh, Eboue" moment. Having signed a short-term deal with relegation-threatened Sunderland earlier this month, he's now been suspended from all football-related activity for a whole year after failing to pay money owed to a former agent.

Classic Eboue! What is he like?

This is comedy gold as far as Sunderland are concerned, obviously. In desperate need of reinforcements to aid their faltering efforts to climb out of the relegation zone, they've now had to terminate Eboue's contract and deal with a deluge of unwanted publicity as a result. Now that, that is true banter.

Sam Allardyce and co. should take this in good humour, though. Even though this is on the same banter level as tying a paralytic mate to a lamppost after a big night out, pulling his trousers down and leaving his windswept manhood exposed to the elements, it's not like Sunderland have been singled out by Eboue. If anything, he's taking the piss out of every single one of us at this point. He's pulling all of our trousers down, leaving us tied to the lamppost of life.

And the thing is, we can't help but love him for it. Oh, Eboue.