Some may find it hard to believe that there are clubs out there who might be interested in Arsenal and Ivorian Coast winger, Gervinho.
After all, since arriving in England, the 26-year-old has been diabolically bad. Over the last couple of seasons, he must have cause more frustration, hair-pulling and grinding of teeth than any other player in the Premier League.
It’s not that he’s talentless. It’s not even that he doesn’t work hard. Neither claim seems to suit Gervinho particularly well.
We know he’s a talented footballer. When he’s playing well, he’s more than capable of bamboozling defenders with his quick feet, balance and sharp change of pace. The way he runs at defenders, weaving left and right, cutting inside and out, seems to be extremely difficult to deal with.
It would also be unfair to label him ‘lazy’, or to suggest that he doesn’t pull his weight. Gervinho is a great athlete, capable of running for 90 minutes+. He’s also willing to track back and perform defensive duties (can the same be said of Theo Walcott?)
When he’s running on pure impulse, he’s pretty handy. The problems arise when he’s given an opportunity to think. He makes bad decisions, his passing is poor and his shooting is even worse. He’s become something of a laughing stock as a result.
So it would upset very few Arsenal fans if Gervinho moved on this summer, particularly if the money from his sale was re-invested in the squad.
Given all the negatives listed above, it was interesting to see The Mirror claim that Roma had made a £6.5m bid for Gervinho, amongst interest from other clubs in Italy, Russia and Turkey. This suggests that there are at least three-or-four clubs interested in the Ivory Coast international, which is a shock in itself.
The Metro went even further claiming that Arsenal had recently turned down an £8m offer for Gervinho from Roma. They suggest Arsenal are holding out for £12m. Wait, what?
Reports vary, but Gervinho cost the Gunners around £10m in 2011. What has he done to merit a rise in his price-tag? Precisely nothing. If there’s a club out there willing to pay £8m (which would only represent a small loss), the Gunners should bite their hands off.
There’s a fair amount of re-structuring going on at the Emirates at the moment. Without wanting to sound cruel, the sooner Arsene clears Gervinho from his books, the sooner he can start planning for the club’s future.
What’s your take? Is it time for Arsenal to cut ties with Gervinho?
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The fm is deluded, he sooner he goes the better for all concerned.
his better than teo walcot
Listen wenger you MUG…. Just take the money and run
I like Gerv and this article is pointless to say the least. You have said the same abot a lot of our players and changed your mind latter, so get lost.
This is unfair to Gervinho
A very unfair take on gervinho who is a handful on his day and isn’t even half as bad as the article describes him. He can frustrate though, but he isn’t even Arseal’s worst player, let alone, being referred to as a player who has caused the most frustration, har pulling and grinding of teeth in the EPL. I think he is going to move on to be an important player for some club.