Arsene Wenger believes there is much more to come from Gervinho after his man-of-the-match performance against Reading, and he will improve if he maintains calmness in front of goal.
The Ivorian had suffered a dip in form prior to his African Nations Cup departure in the New Year but has returned to his best after a goalscoring outing over the weekend and Wenger feels the forward can grow from strength to strength if he can develop mentally.
The Frenchman told Arsenal’s official website:
He finishes well now. Much better than when he arrived and he will get better and better. But his finishing is linked with his psychology.
To be honest he is not clinical however when he is completely relaxed he is quite good. He rushes his finishing because when he arrives in front of the goal he wants to get rid of [the ball].
But you can gain experience and calmness. He wants to do well. He is a hard worker and, physically, you cannot fault his effort. Even when he had a bad period, he has always tried very hard.
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However, on Saturday, Santi Cazorla missed a lot in the first half because he wanted to always hit with his laces. At half-time he changed and just placed the ball then he scored straight away. The big goalscorers just pass it in and that’s what Gervinho has to learn.
However for me the big problem in the last two years has been the Africa Cup of Nations. Every time he came back it took him a while to recover.
But I thought when he came on at Swansea last week he was lively.
At Bayern he was lively and he scored the goal on Saturday which gave him confidence again.
Gervinho had been labeled a flop prior to his recent few positive performances however he seems to have gotten his Arsenal career back on track and is starting to find his confidence once again.
As Wenger admitted, the Ivorian is not a clinical finisher which is exactly what we need this summer. While you cannot fault the former Lille winger’s attitude, his ability to be a top player for Arsenal is questionable and the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and fellow youngster Serge Gnabry are far more exciting, long term options.
Composure isn’t always something you can teach, and after seeing some of the disastrous attempts at goal from the Ivorian international you can’t help but doubt his ability to be a player Arsenal can rely on during important moments.
To be honest I wouldn’t mind if Gervinho was sold this summer, he seems too soft mentally and will encounter inconsistency time and time in his career. But while he wears an Arsenal shirt we must stand behind him.
What are your thoughts on Gervinho? Has he really redeemed himself for his earlier poor form after a match against relegation battling Reading? Or do you think that should another club come calling this summer the Gunners should cash in on him?
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