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Emmanuel Adebayor was not even named among the substitutes for Tottenham's north London derby clash with rivals Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime.

Mauricio Pochettino said in the build up to the clash at White Hart Lane that the Togolese centre forward was still an important player for the club, but his absence from the squad might suggest otherwise.

Former Arsenal striker Adebayor came close to leaving Spurs on transfer deadline with both QPR and West Ham wanting to take the 30-year-old on loan.Adebayor rejected a move to west London but was willing to join Sam Allardyce's side but the transfer was blocked by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.

'The club decided to send me out on loan, which I was pleased with,' Adebayor told Sky Sports News on Wednesday. 

'I was lucky enough to have five good clubs in my hand, and I decided to go for three... and then I chose the one I wanted to go to. Luckily Mr Levy was against this because they're kind of like rivals.' The forward is the all-time leading scorer in north London derbies with eight goals have played for both sides, but he will be unable to add to his tally on Saturday.

Adebayor has only made one appearance in the Premier League since November after he criticised Tottenham fans following a 2-1 defeat to Stoke.

Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead at White Hart Lane in the 11th minute.