Emmanuel Eboue has insisted he does not deserve to be viewed as one of football's 'bad guys'.

Eboue has collected five yellow cards in 25 appearances for Arsenal this season and was also sent off in the recent FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

He does not believe he should have been dismissed for his challenge on Patrice Evra at Old Trafford, and does not wish to develop a reputation as a dirty player.

"People think I am a bad guy, I am not. I am a nice guy when I play," the Ivory Coast international said in the Sunday Mirror.

"I swear I did not touch Evra. I don't know why I got the red card. I jumped in a way to protect myself, not to hurt him.

"Now I have to be careful when I am on the pitch."

Eboue accepts that he does look to put in strong tackles, but he does not want his aggression to be misunderstood and is now considering a change of approach.

"I want to win the ball in the tackle and I want to win the game, but if I have a card I have to stop.

"Maybe I have done some bad things but am I an animal? No, I am not."