Adebayor targets the ultimate goal

But the one boot colour the Premier League's two most in-form players would love to be parading when the end-of-season gongs are dispensed is golden.

The race to secure the Golden Boot - the Premier League version rather than it's pan-European counterpart - isn't in the home straight yet but already there appear only two realistic contenders.

In the red corner is the favourite Ronaldo, the dazzling trickster from Madeira, who finishes with the coolness and precision of a brain surgeon and is pioneering a whole new line in free-kick sorcery, the like of which has not been seen before at the top level.

Representing the red-and-white half of north London is the underdog Adebayor, the uber-gifted African who combines all the attributes of the prototype centre-forward with the work ethic of a racehorse.

Ronaldo's two brutally dispatched goals against Portsmouth on Wednesday evening took his League tally for the campaign to 19 goals - 27 in all competitions - and he is now rated odds-on at 2-5 with bookies to win the Golden Boot.

The previous evening, Adebayor's inevitable header added another bullseye to a record that stands at 16 League goals - 19 in all competitions - and he is offered at 4-1 to be top scorer this season as he rides the crest of a scoring wave that those who witnessed his cumbersome finishing during his early days at Arsenal can barely comprehend.

It is a race that adds extra chilli to a spicy title tussle, particularly as it involves the totems for the leading sides, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The experts are throwing their money at the feet of the reigning player-of-the-year but Adebayor has plenty of supporters in N5.

"He is now the idol of the club," said Cesc Fabregas of his colleague, although some would argue this is mere modesty on his part and the Spanish wizard is still Wenger's most significant player.

So just how good is Adebayor? "He is one of the best in the world, without any doubt," replied Fabregas. You can't fault him in any way. He works, he defends, he chases the centre-backs, he goes behind, he can play to feet, he has a good first touch, a good technique. He has improved amazingly and for us I don't think we could live without Adebayor right now."

Captain William Gallas echoes those sentiments but also insists that the rest of the side must continue to chip in and not put too much expectation on the broad shoulders of the 23-year-old.

"Manu is very important for the team," said Gallas. At the moment, he is feeling good and playing well.

"We are all happy for him and he wants to score in every game. It is important for every striker to have that ambition, to win something this year with Arsenal.

"He has to continue now, because for me he can be the big striker. But we have to help him as well.

"I do not want everything to be on his shoulders, that would be too much for him. It is important to show everybody that not only the strikers can score, but that the midfielders can too."

Fabregas, however, has no doubt that Adebayor can follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Thierry Henry, and assume the 30-goal-a-season mantle, the gold standard of the A-list marksman.

"Definitely," replied the Spaniard. "He has improved a lot in front of goal and for us he is the key man."

It is a mantle that the devastating Ronaldo seems to wear lightly at Old Trafford and he will once again be expected to wreak havoc when United pitch up at Tottenham tomorrow.

The case for the Portuguese poster boy's greatness is growing by the match. His unstoppable free-kick moved Sir Alex Ferguson to hail it as the best he has ever seen and sent a generation of schoolboys up and down the land scurrying to the parks to try and emulate it.

Even allowing for his set-piece conversion rate, Ronaldo's goal output is staggering and his supporters would point out that his achievement is even greater because he is a winger and not a recognised front-man, although he did play there on Wednesday night.

Coincidentally, Arsenal are also visiting the neighbours of their title rivals tomorrow and Adebayor will spearhead his team's bid to wrest three points from Manchester City's fortress home.

While it is premature to hail Adebayor as a great finisher, or in Ronaldo's elite class, his improvement this season has been so marked that it is worth comparing his record with last season, which yielded just 12 goals for the beanpole striker. Some critics have argued that Adebayor's altercation with Nicklas Bendtner last week was not only an ugly blot on his copybook but evidence that he had got a bit too big for his boots.

Yet if Arsenal's No25, and not Ronaldo, is galloping around in golden spikes in May, then we could just have witnessed one of the great title conclusions, and any White Hart Lane misdemeanours will have been quickly forgotten.