Emmanuel Eboue hopes to have put his troubles behind him and is determined to end the season with a trophy.
Gunners star leaves troubles in the past
Emmanuel Eboue hopes to have put his troubles behind him and is determined to end the season with a trophy.
The Arsenal midfielder has endured a difficult campaign, with his woes culminating in a disappointing showing against Wigan on 6th December 2008.
The Ivorian, who had only entered the game as a substitute, came under fire from his own supporters after an inept performance, before suffering the indignity of being hauled off himself.
Eboue admits the incident knocked his confidence but insists he never had any intention of going into hiding or turning his back on the club.
"I was very nervous in the first game after Wigan (a UEFA Champions League clash at Porto)," Eboue told
The Guardian.
"The boss (Arsene Wenger) didn't want to put me in but I told him: 'It's okay, I'm feeling well'.
"I didn't want to play at first but I saw my team-mates and then I went to speak with the boss and he helped me a lot.
"He said to me that if I wanted to be a big player, I had to forget about it, think about the next game and show the fans that I am a good player.
"I also received a lot of emails from the fans. They said 'sorry' because they didn't want to do that. For me, that was very important."
Pressure
Eboue is all too aware that Arsenal have failed to claim a piece of silverware since taking the 2005 FA Cup, but is adamant that Wenger has a squad capable of ending that barren spell this year.
"Sometimes, Wenger is angry with us but that is normal," he added.
"He is like our dad so we try to make him happy, because at the moment it's very difficult for him. We know he is going through too much pressure.
"We try to win for us first and then for him because it's very, very important for him to win something this year.
"In the Premier League, it's very difficult at the moment. We will give our best to get into the top four but in the Champions League, we believe we can win it.
"If you play the Champions League final, as we did in 2006, you are capable of winning it."
