Gervinho: Cote d'Ivoire can succeed despite Afcon heartache

Feb 27, 2013 5:25:00 PM

The Arsenal striker has expressed disappointment with his side's failure to progress beyond the last eight, but insists the Elephants possess enough quality to flourish

Arsenal forward Gervinho is confident Cote d'Ivoire can move on from their Africa Cup of Nations heartache and build their success on an "excellent generation" of new players.

The Elephants, who have not lifted the Afcon title since doing so for the first time in their history in 1992, lost 2-1 to Nigeria at the quarter-final stage of the 2013 edition of the tournament in South Africa.

But the 25-year-old is remaining optimistic about the future, and feels his country are on the cusp of great things thanks to their emerging talents.

"I have bad memories about [losing to Nigeria]," Gervinho told Arsenal's official website. "It was one of the worst games the team played, we were not in it. It was a bad match and Nigeria deserved the trophy.

"This one is very painful because we never thought we would get knocked out in the quarter finals. Each year we get disappointed but we learn at the same time.

"I don't have any worries about Ivorian football, we have many players playing for big clubs, in big tournaments.

"There are new recruits with lots of skill, they just need to be trusted. There is a new excellent generation coming and I am not worried about it."

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