There were three clubs interested in signing me after my first season at Swansea: Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City.
City made their offer at the last minute – I wanted to join Arsenal. But at that time, the money City put on the table was something that nobody could match, especially in terms of salary.
When Arsene Wenger heard about the salary, he said, ‘That's too big for us! That's too big for us!’ I wanted to join Arsenal, so I met him again in Swansea when we were playing against them. I spoke to him in the Marriott hotel, and again Wenger said that the salary would be too much for them.
I knew that Swansea wanted to sell me because I started being put on the bench. When the time came to move, I was thinking about the African Cup [of Nations] and preparing myself for that. So when the opportunity to move came, it wanted it sorted quickly so that I was mentally ready for the tournament. I even signed for the club while I was in Abu Dhabi, where the Ivory Coast were based in preparation for the AFCON.
It pleased me that it was clubs like City and Arsenal who wanted to sign me because of the way they played. City’s way of playing was very similar to Swansea’s, so I knew that the intensity and everything would be fine. I was happy about that. I only regret one thing: When I returned from the AFCON, I was tired.
I was tired because of the heat, because of the intensity, because of everything. I was cooked. It was difficult for me to match the level where I wanted to be, what I had to be to stand out.
We had a party to celebrate winning the AFCON, but within a week I needed to play against Newcastle and then Barcelona. So everything was bam, bam, bam, and the heat added to it, which was up to 42°C. Then to go to Manchester and England, which was below 10°C at that time, does affect you.
In 18 months, I was fit for just three months because I kept getting injured. And it's difficult at clubs like City, who can buy any player they want rather than wait for you to get fit. So if they put a price on you and you've not performed, it's difficult for you to stay there.
