Under-fire Arsenal star wants redemption

Wednesday, January 9, 2013
1:28 PM

Arsenal winger Gervinho is desperate to redeem his crucial penalty miss in last year’s African Cup of Nations as he prepares for this year’s tournament.

The Ivory Coast international’s spot kick miss in the shootout in last year’s final handed the trophy to Zambia, but this year he’s hoping for a change of fortunes.

“I am very excited and I am even more motivated than last year where we lost in the final and got denied that trophy that we have been waiting for so long,” he told Arsenal.com.

“We have the chance to redeem ourselves. We are determined to win it this year and free us from that spell which has been on us for a long time.

“It [the penalty miss last year] was very tough. I tried not to think about it. It should have been a great moment and it turned into a nightmare. It was frustrating. My aim is to redeem myself this time and I know I will do it.

“I missed my penalty last year but this time I will score the winner to offer the trophy to Ivory Coast. I have faith in myself and my team-mates. This year will be the one for us.

“We will aim to win every game until the end,” he continued.

“We are not getting carried away and thinking of the final yet but we want to stay focused for each game, and not panic.

“We learnt a lot from the defeat last season. We know we need to avoid the penalty kicks as we don’t have good takers, especially me!

“This is our European Championship. It’s the competition of the Africans.

“It’s the only competition that the African fans are really passionate about even if they love the domestic European leagues, the Champions League or the World Cup.

“This is their competition and they all want to win it. Each country and each president wants this trophy. It’s very special for us.”