Before Gervinho made his £10.8m move to Arsenal he was extremely well thought of by those who followed French football. In the 2010/11 season he scored 15 Ligue 1 goals helping Lille to their first title in 56 years. During the summer he spent his time being courted by the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Newcastle (whose scouts know a thing or two about Ligue 1 football). Of course he opted to go to Arsenal and it’s been sad to see his career peter out.
He started his Arsenal career extremely brightly scoring two goals in his debut game (during pre-season). Unfortunately his fortunes soon changed and he ended up getting sent off against Newcastle during his Premier League debut after he let himself get provoked by Joey Barton.
When he got back from his three match ban he was a major part of an Arsenal side that often flattered to deceive and he ended up a major bone of contention for many fans. Yes he grabbed 4 goals and 8 assists but he also missed a good number of sitters and easy chances or made the wrong decisions at vital stages of matches.
The most disappointing aspect of this is that Gervinho hasn’t been able to unlock in the Premier League the qualities that made him stand out in Ligue 1. He’s renowned for his great close control (that we’ve only really seen in glimpses whilst he’s been in an Arsenal shirt) and for being ‘direct’, but Gervinho hasn’t really been able to influence games in any major way as an Arsenal player.
You look at a player like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who whenever he’s on the pitch always looks to drive forward making lung-busting runs into the enemy penalty area. That to me is a player who is ‘direct’. Whilst Gervinho doesn’t have the Ox’s pace, he does have remarkably tricky feet, I’m just not sure he puts them to good use. It’s frustrating to see him coasting through games unable to make his mark.
Since returning from the African Cup of Nations he’s gone from bad to worse. Before his African adventure he had a proper starting berth, was always involved in Arsenal’s build-up play and was able to influence games. Now he’s found his place in the squad taken by Aaron Ramsey (who definitely isn’t a winger) and when he does make the occasional appearance is unable to exercise any influence whatsoever.
It’s also worrying that he’s 24-years-old and ought to be entering his peak. It’s unlikely that he’s got too much more developing to do.
So what’s needed to get Gervinho firing on all cylinders? A run of games? A couple of goals? A decent pre-season? Let’s just hope that Arsenal can find a solution.
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Sell him
your website is a joke, constantly churning out shit articles! this isn’t the first bad article i’ve read about gervinho either. get off his back, it’s his first season in the prem and it was disrupted by the cup of nations (notorious for returning players in a far worse condition than before – look at toure and drogba too!).
He is jst suffering 4rm lack of confidence.
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‘Sad to see his career peter out’ !!
Ridiculous ! He’ll be more attuned to the league next season and be a very important player if we are to rotate and fight for every trophy.
You are forgetting that there is another African Nations Cup next year in Jan 2013. So let us prepare for Gervinho in the 2013/2014 season.
GERVINHO FLOURISHED AT LILLE BECAUSE HE PLAYED ON THE RIGHT OF ATTACK,ONCE AGAIN WE SEE WHERE MR. WENGER IS TRYING TO CONVERT A PLAYER TO PLAY A DIFFERENT ROLE TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE PLAYER. (ROSICKY, GERVINHO,EBOUE, ARSHAVEN ETC.) HE IS MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE ON THE RIGHT AND IF GIVEN THE CHANCE WILL DO EXCEPTIONALLY WELL TRUST ME.
you are being unfair to gerv in his 1st seson. judge him at the end of next season. even the ox has had his lows a la sunderland in the fa cup. give players time to acclimatize instead of rushing to post such damaging irrelevancies!
Agreed, Max. There are plenty of examples of players who have had worse first seasons in the Premiership than Gervinho, and gone on to great things.
I am also utterly frustrated with clumsy Gervinho, but we have to give him some time to adapt. I remember Thierry Henry’s first season at Arsenal was terrible. Of course, Gervinho is nowehere near Henry. I am just saying, let us see how he fares next season. I cannot say the same for Aaron Ramsey whom is destined for offloading, even if Wenger is stubborn to the bone.
Henry was shit in his first two seasons at arsenal,but guess what..the last time i checkd,henry had a statue in front of the emirates
Girvinho is a good player who can bush his oponent and can helb his left dender. but it’s arsen winger that wants to make erra of the position.
Gervinho is a good player.He has the pace,the skills & he is fast with ball.It’s just a matter of time to see him firing goals so lets be patient.
i quite agree with the observations raised but i still think Gervinho has tried EPL;is a league where players take time to gel.Didier Drogba never had a fantastic debut season in EPL. The player i never want to see wear Arsenal jerseys again is Aaron Ramsey imagine if that chance he had was the only chance to win a match that is how he would have messed it up.